Another Cosmopolis

2019 ◽  
pp. 63-76
Author(s):  
Ashis Nandy
Keyword(s):  
South Asian ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Ethnic Cleansing ◽  
The South ◽  
First Case

There is vague, random, empirical support for the persistence of some features in the South Asian concept of hospitality even among those who have experienced or witnessed large-scale ethnic cleansing and massive pogroms. Foremost among these features is the ability to live with radical diversities of the kind that can be easily seen as humiliating to other communities and capable of provoking ethnic and religious hostility and serious conflicts. The caste system with its ornate concepts of purity and pollution—and the touchable and the untouchable—is often seen as a prime example of this. Yet, persons, families, and communities can be found who navigate these barriers sometimes playfully and casually, sometimes by reading the offensive practices as cultural oddities of an otherwise friendly community that one must learn to respect. In the first case, by not taking the offending practices seriously enough; in the second case, by taking them seriously, as an essential part of the faith of another community that demands almost unconditional respect.

scholarly journals Interannual Variability in the Large-Scale Dynamics of the South Asian Summer Monsoon

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 3731-3750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Walker ◽  
Simona Bordoni ◽  
Tapio Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Interannual Variability ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Summer Monsoon ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Asian Summer Monsoon ◽  
Sea Breeze ◽  
South Asian Summer Monsoon ◽  
The South ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Asian Summer

Abstract This study identifies coherent and robust large-scale atmospheric patterns of interannual variability of the South Asian summer monsoon (SASM) in observational data. A decomposition of the water vapor budget into dynamic and thermodynamic components shows that interannual variability of SASM net precipitation (P − E) is primarily caused by variations in winds rather than in moisture. Linear regression analyses reveal that strong monsoons are distinguished from weak monsoons by a northward expansion of the cross-equatorial monsoonal circulation, with increased precipitation in the ascending branch. Interestingly, and in disagreement with the view of monsoons as large-scale sea-breeze circulations, strong monsoons are associated with a decreased meridional gradient in the near-surface atmospheric temperature in the SASM region. Teleconnections exist from the SASM region to the Southern Hemisphere, whose midlatitude poleward eddy energy flux correlates with monsoon strength. Possible implications of these teleconnection patterns for understanding SASM interannual variability are discussed.

Marx, Anderson and the Critique of Indian Political Economy and the Caste System

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-171
Author(s):  
Rajesh Sampath
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Caste System ◽  
The South ◽  
Caste Discrimination ◽  
German Ideology ◽  
New Directions ◽  
British Colonial

This article will deconstruct the assumptions of the famous British Western Marxist, Anderson (2012) , and his recent critique of the Indian political economy in his controversial The Indian Ideology. Anderson’s work is a blistering critique of the origins of the post-British colonial Indian political-economy, society and culture. The paper examines different critical responses to Anderson’s work by Indian intellectuals in light of our re-interpretation of Marx and Engel’s classic, The German Ideology. Our aim is to critically appropriate the salience of Ambedkar’s ideas today in treating contemporary modalities of social exclusion, the continued practice of caste discrimination and political and constitutional responses to caste inequality. The paper argues for the development of new philosophical tools beyond the twentieth century Western Marxist frameworks, which informs the work of current thinkers like Anderson, to extend in new directions Ambedkar’s initial impulses in the South Asian critique of caste.

scholarly journals Ethnicity and social relations in Indonesian television production houses

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Myutel
Keyword(s):  
South Asian ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Caste System ◽  
The Other ◽  
The South ◽  
Television Production ◽  
Cultural Frameworks ◽  
Material Capital

In Indonesia the industry producing the most popular commercial TV programmes, known assinetron, is largely dominated by Indonesians of Indian (Sindhi) origin. This article examines social relations within thesinetronproduction houses and argues that between the 1990s and the early 2010s the distribution of symbolic and material capital depended on ethnicity, as it was imagined and constituted by two rather different cultural frameworks and historical experiences. One is based on the occupational distinction, rooted in the South Asian caste system, while the other can be traced back to ethnic classifications in colonial Indonesia.

Combined effects of anthropogenic aerosols and global warming on the South Asian Monsoon

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayantika Dey Choudhury ◽  
Krishnan Raghavan ◽  
Manmeet Singh ◽  
Swapna Panickal ◽  
Sandeep Narayansetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Monsoon Circulation ◽  
South Asian Monsoon ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
The South ◽  
Anthropogenic Aerosols ◽  
Aerosol Forcing

<p>The South Asian monsoon (SAM) precipitation has been generally regarded to exhibit contrasting responses to greenhouse gas (GHG) and anthropogenic aerosol forcing, although it is not adequately clear as to how it might respond to the combined influence of GHG and aerosol forcing.  The present study examines the individual and combined effects of global warming and anthropogenic aerosols on the SAM based on a suite of numerical experiments conducted using the IITM Earth System Model version2 (IITM-ESMv2). Four sets of 50-year model integrations are performed using IITM-ESMv2 with different anthropogenic forcings 1) Pre-Industrial control, 2) anthropogenic aerosols of 2005 3) CO2 concentrations of 2005 4) anthropogenic aerosols and CO2 of 2005. In the experiment with the elevated CO2 level of 2005, an intensification of SAM precipitation and strengthening of large-scale monsoon cross-equatorial flow is noted relative to the PI-CTL run. In contrast, the experiment with elevated anthropogenic aerosols of 2005 shows a decrease of SAM precipitation and weakening of monsoon circulation relative to the PI-CTL run. A striking result emerging from this study is the strong suppression of SAM precipitation, pronounced weakening of the monsoon circulation and suppression of organized convection in response to the combined radiative effects of elevated CO2 and anthropogenic aerosols relative to the PI-CTL run. By diagnosing the model simulations it is noted that the radiative effects in the combined forcing experiment lead to a pronounced summer-time cooling of the NH as compared to the equatorial and southern oceans which are predominantly influenced by global warming, thereby creating a north-south differential radiative forcing over the Indian longitudes.  Additionally, the influence of absorbing aerosols over South and East Asia creates a surface radiation deficit over the region, stabilizes the lower troposphere, slows down the monsoon winds and reduces surface evaporation.  Although the anticyclones over the subtropical Indian Ocean intensify in the combined forcing experiment, the model simulation shows that much of the precipitation enhancement occurs to the south of the equator over the Indian Ocean whereas the moisture transport and convergence to the north of the equator is substantially reduced. Furthermore, the combined forcing experiment shows that anomalous large-scale descent over the subcontinent reinforces the suppression of organized convection giving rise to more intense breaks and weaker active spells in the southwest monsoon on sub-seasonal time-scales. This study hints that future decreases in NH aerosol emissions could potentially reverse the ongoing decreasing trend of the observed SAM precipitation since 1950s in a purely global warming environment.</p>

scholarly journals Tibetan Plateau climate dynamics: recent research progress and outlook

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoxiong Wu ◽  
Anmin Duan ◽  
Yimin Liu ◽  
Jiangyu Mao ◽  
Rongcai Ren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Dynamics ◽  
Water Vapor Transport ◽  
Research Progress ◽  
The South ◽  
Thermal Forcing ◽  
The North ◽  
Asian Summer

Abstract This paper reviews progress in the study of Tibetan Plateau (TP) climate dynamics over the past decade. Several theoretical frameworks, including thermal adaptation and the TP sensible heat (SH) driving air-pump, have been developed to identify the mechanisms responsible for the circulation anomaly produced by thermal forcing of the TP. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the thermal effects of large-scale orography, including the Tibetan and Iranian Plateaus (TIP), are crucial for the formation of the East Asian and South Asian summer monsoons (SASM) because the surface SH of the TIP is the major driver of the water vapor transport required for the genesis of the north branch of the SASM. The large-scale orography of the TP affects the Asian climate through thermal forcing in spring and summer, and mechanical forcing in winter. The TP forcing can also influence the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) onset over the Bay of Bengal (BOB) by enhancing the BOB warm pool at the surface and by modulating the South Asian High (SAH) in the upper troposphere. On intra-seasonal timescales, the TP thermal forcing significantly modulates spring rainfall in southern China and generates the biweekly oscillation of the SAH in summer. Despite climate warming, the atmospheric heat source over the TP, particularly the spring SH, exhibits a clear weakening trend from the 1980s to 2000s. This weakening of the spring SH contributed to the anomalous ‘dry in the north’ and ‘wet in the south’ rainfall pattern observed over East China. Also discussed are challenges to further understanding the mechanism of TP forcing on the multi-scale variability of the ASM.

scholarly journals Upper-Tropospheric Forcing on Late July Monsoon Transition in East Asia and the Western North Pacific

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 3929-3941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi-Hua Wu ◽  
Ming-Dah Chou
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Monsoon Circulation ◽  
South Asian Monsoon ◽  
The South ◽  
The North

By investigating the large-scale circulation in the upper troposphere, it is demonstrated that the rapid late July summer monsoon transition in the East Asia and western North Pacific (EA-WNP) is associated with a weakened westerly at the exit of the East Asian jet stream (EAJS). Even in a normally stable atmosphere under the influence of the North Pacific (NP) high in late July, convection rapidly develops over the midoceanic region of the western NP (15°–25°N, 150°–170°E). Prior to the rapid transition, the EAJS weakens and shifts northward, which induces a series of changes in downstream regions; the northeastern stretch of the Asian high weakens, upper-tropospheric divergence in the region southwest of the mid-NP trough increases, and convection is enhanced. At the monsoon transition, upper-level high potential vorticity intrudes southward and westward, convection expand from the mid NP westward to cover the entire subtropical western NP, the lower-tropospheric monsoon trough deepens, surface southwesterly flow strengthens, and the western stretch of the NP high shifts northward ~10° latitude to the south of Japan. This series of changes indicates that the EA-WNP late July monsoon transition is initiated from changes in the upper-tropospheric circulation via the weakening of the EAJS south of ~45°N. The weakening of the EAJS south of ~45°N is related to a reduced gradient of the geopotential height on the northern flank of the Asian high, which is related to the massive inland heating and weakening of the South Asian monsoon circulation. The exact timing of the monsoon onset might be tied to the hypothesized “Silk Road pattern” and/or a strong weakening of the South Asian monsoon circulation.

scholarly journals Drought in South Asia: A Review of Drought Assessment and Prediction in South Asian Countries

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 369
Author(s):  
Sewwandhi S.K. Chandrasekara ◽  
Hyun-Han Kwon ◽  
Meththika Vithanage ◽  
Jayantha Obeysekera ◽  
Tae-Woong Kim
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The South ◽  
Individual Country ◽  
Drought Assessment ◽  
Drought Prediction

South Asian countries have been experiencing frequent drought incidents recently, and due to this reason, many scientific studies have been carried out to explore drought in South Asia. In this context, we review scientific studies related to drought in South Asia. The study initially identifies the importance of drought-related studies and discusses drought types for South Asian regions. The representative examples of drought events, severity, frequency, and duration in South Asian countries are identified. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was mostly adopted in South Asian countries to quantify and monitor droughts. Nevertheless, the absence of drought quantification studies in Bhutan and the Maldives is of great concern. Future studies to generate a combined drought severity map for the South Asian region are required. Moreover, the drought prediction and projection in the regions is rarely studied. Furthermore, the teleconnection between drought and large-scale atmospheric circulations in the South Asia has not been discussed in detail in most of the scientific literature. Therefore, as a take-home message, there is an urgent need for scientific studies related to drought quantification for some regions in South Asia, prediction and projection of drought for an individual country (or as a region), and drought teleconnection to atmospheric circulation.

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