R. K. Singh: The Poet Who Celebrates 'senses' to attain 'Nirvana'

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-154
Author(s):  
Ram Thakur

This paper discusses a few of R.K.Singh’s characteristic poetic traits that make him stand apart from all his contemporary Indian poets writing in English. His poetry is an honest attempt to portray the contemporary world in its true hue and color; present an inside-out delineation of the modern man; and touch upon all the so-called ‘untouchable’ i.e., topics such as ‘Sex’, ‘Prostitution’, ‘Cultural Degradation’, ‘Stinking Politics’, ‘Religion’, etc. Reader finds Singh celebrating all his senses in his ‘unique’ attempt to attain the state of complete ‘Peace’ or ‘Calm’. His poetry serves as a medium for him to reach the state of ‘nirvana’. Reader finds Singh’s poetry as a prism that diffracts the worldly affairs into different spectrums, analyses each, and again sums it all into a single hue of liberation and peace with ‘detachment’ displaying the mark of a seasoned ‘yogi’. The paper aims to encourage other researchers and people in the academia to explore recent band of emerging Indian poets expressing themselves in English.

This paper discusses a few of R.K.Singh’s characteristic poetic traits that make him stand apart from all his contemporary Indian poets writing in English. His poetry is an honest attempt to portray the contemporary world in its true hue and color; present an inside-out delineation of the modern man; and touch upon all the so-called ‘untouchable’ i.e., topics such as ‘Sex’, ‘Prostitution’, ‘Cultural Degradation’, ‘Stinking Politics’, ‘Religion’, etc. Reader finds Singh celebrating all his senses in his ‘unique’ attempt to attain the state of complete ‘Peace’ or ‘Calm’. His poetry serves as a medium for him to reach the state of ‘nirvana’. Reader finds Singh’s poetry as a prism that diffracts the worldly affairs into different spectrums, analyses each, and again sums it all into a single hue of liberation and peace with ‘detachment’ displaying the mark of a seasoned ‘yogi’. The paper aims to encourage other researchers and people in the academia to explore recent band of emerging Indian poets expressing themselves in English.


This paper discusses a few of R.K.Singh’s characteristic poetic traits that make him stand apart from all his contemporary Indian poets writing in English. His poetry is an honest attempt to portray the contemporary world in its true hue and color; present an inside-out delineation of the modern man; and touch upon all the so-called ‘untouchable’ i.e., topics such as ‘Sex’, ‘Prostitution’, ‘Cultural Degradation’, ‘Stinking Politics’, ‘Religion’, etc. Reader finds Singh celebrating all his senses in his ‘unique’ attempt to attain the state of complete ‘Peace’ or ‘Calm’. His poetry serves as a medium for him to reach the state of ‘nirvana’. Reader finds Singh’s poetry as a prism that diffracts the worldly affairs into different spectrums, analyses each, and again sums it all into a single hue of liberation and peace with ‘detachment’ displaying the mark of a seasoned ‘yogi’. The paper aims to encourage other researchers and people in the academia to explore recent band of emerging Indian poets expressing themselves in English. Key Words: Poetic traits, brevity, sensual imagery, social consciousness, existential concern, degrading values, politics, spirituality.


Author(s):  
V. V. Naumkin

The presentation analyzes three belts of ethno-political conflict that directly affect the national interests of Russia. The link between ethno-political processes and globalization is highlighted, uncovering a number of challenges. Seven characteristic features of the contemporary world order are identified and their influence on the state of ethno-political conflicts and the prospects for their settlement are discussed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 34 (4II) ◽  
pp. 619-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Titus

Because of its potential to disrupt economic development, it is necessary to understand the dynamics of ethnic conflict in the contemporary world. A prevalent trend in the study of ethnicity is to focus on the creation and/or maintenance of ethnic identities and mobilisation on the basis of those identities as groups compete for resources, opportunities, or political power in the context of the nation-state [Barth (1969); Brass (1985); Comaroff (1987); Mumtaz (1990)]. In this approach, an ethnic group's distinguishing markers-language, custom, dress, etc.-are treated less as manifestations of tradition which define or create the group and more as arenas of negotiation and contestation in which people strive to realise their practical and symbolic interests. This happens as individuals or families, pursuing their livelihoods with the skills and resources available to them, find (or create) opportunities or obstacles which appear to be based on' ethnic criteria. The state can intensify this process as it uses positive or negative discrimination in order to achieve some desired distribution of wealth and opportunity. In turn, political leadership becomes a key in realising the experience of shared ethnic interests. Leadership develops as a kind of dual legitimation process, i.e., as individuals or organisations seek to be accepted as spokesmen both by members of the group itself and by outsiders.


Author(s):  
Robert Pippin

In a famous passage in his Elements of the Philosophy of Right, Hegel claimed that ‘philosophy is its own time comprehended in thought’. But our time is very different from Hegel’s, so two approaches have developed to understanding the relevance of his work for the contemporary world. One looks to remaining points of contact, such as his criticism of a contractualist view of the state. Another tries to apply his general approach to contemporary issues. Both are valuable, but in this article, the latter is taken up, and one issue is the focus. The question is, assuming there can be collective intentionality and collective agency (what Hegel calls Geist (spirit)), how should we understand Hegel’s claim that such group agents can be collectively self-deceived? And how would that claim bear on the contemporary political world?


2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Buchli ◽  
Mark P. Leone ◽  
Michael Shanks ◽  
Laurent Olivier ◽  
Julian Thomas ◽  
...  

Archaeology, defined as the study of material culture, extends from the first preserved human artefacts up to the present day, and in recent years the ‘Archaeology of the Present’ has become a particular focus of research. On one hand are the conservationists seeking to preserve significant materials and structures of recent decades in the face of redevelopment and abandonment. On the other are those inspired by social theory who see in the contemporary world the opportunity to explore aspects of material culture in new and revealing ways, and perhaps above all the central question of the extent to which material culture — be it in the form of objects or buildings — actively defines the human experience. Victor Buchli's An Archaeology of Socialism takes as its subject a twentieth-century building — the Narkofim Communal House in Moscow — and seeks to understand it in terms of domestic life and changing policies of the Soviet state during the 70 or so years since its construction. Thus Buchli's study not only concerns the meaning of material culture in a modern context, but focuses specifically on the household — or more accurately on a series of households within a single Russian apartment block. A particular interest attaches to the way in which the building was planned to encourage communal living, during a pre-Stalinist phase when the State sought to intervene directly in domestic life through architectural design and the manipulation of material culture. Subsequent political changes brought a revision of modes of living within the Narkofim apartment block, as the residents adjusted and responded to changing political and social pressures and demands. The significance of Buchli's study goes far beyond the confines of Soviet-era Moscow or indeed the archaeology of the modern world. He questions the role and potential danger of social and archaeological theory of the totalizing kind: a natural response perhaps to the experience of the Narkofim Communal House as an exercise in Soviet social engineering. He poses fascinating questions about the relation between individual households and the state ideology, and he emphasizes the role of material culture studies in reaching an understanding of these processes. In the brief essay that opens this Review Feature, Victor Buchli outlines the principal aims and conclusions of An Archaeology of Socialism. The diversity of issues that the book generates is revealed in the series of reviews which follows, touching in particular upon the ways in which routines of daily life — archaeologically visible, perhaps, through the analysis of domestic space — relate to structures of authority in society as a whole.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-126
Author(s):  
André Luiz Olivier da Silva

Resumo: Neste trabalho analisam-se as exigências por direitos humanos enunciados a partir de uma perspectiva universal, segundo a qual esses direitos se constituem dentro de obrigações gerais e são válidos para todas as pessoas do mundo. Mas podemos falar em direitos humanos considerados gerais e absolutos mesmo quando não se consegue especificar o detentor e o destinatário dos direitos em uma relação obrigacional específica? Com base em um procedimento de observação e na explicitação de algumas exigências por direitos humanos no mundo contemporâneo, aborda-se a natureza dos direitos a partir da correlação obrigacional entre direitos e deveres, bem como a distinção entre direitos especiais e direitos gerais, destacando que os direitos humanos são reivindicados como direitos gerais e universais, embora não se possa afirmar que sejam universais em si mesmos. A hipótese  neste artigo é a de que os direitos humanos são reivindicados “como se” fossem “gerais” dentro de obrigações específicas, seja em um conflito entre cidadãos e o Estado, seja a partir das relações dos países na comunidade internacional. Quando não estão especificados em obrigações concretas, esses direitos apresentam dificuldades quanto à sua efetividade justamente porque não se consegue identificar e especificar sujeitos e destinatários – que não são exatamente o Estado ou o cidadão deste ou daquele país, mas, sim, a pessoa humana. Nesse sentido, ainda estamos longe do ideal de universalização dos direitos humanos na comunidade internacional, e esses direitos só podem ser exercidos quando incorporados a um ordenamento jurídico ou, ao menos, inseridos em práticas morais e sociais.Palavras-chave: Direitos humanos. Direitos gerais. Universalidade. Obrigações específicas. Abstract: This paper discusses the claims by human rights from a universal perspective, according to which human rights constitute general obligations and are valid for all people of the world. Can we talk about human rights considered general and valid for all human beings even when we can not specify the holder and the addressee of rights in a specific obligational relationship? Based on a procedure of observation and explanation of some claims for human rights in the contemporary world, this article aims to approach the nature of these rights from the obligational correlation between rights and duties, as well as the distinction between special rights and general rights, highlighting that human rights are claimed as general rights, emphasizing its “universal” character, although we can’t ensure that these rights are universal in themselves. Our hypothesis is that human rights are claimed “as if” they were “general” within specific obligations, whether in a conflict between citizens and the state, as based on the relations of countries in the international community. When not specified in concrete obligations, human rights have doubts as to its effectiveness precisely because it is not easy to identify and specify recipients and subject of rights – which are not exactly state or country, but rather the human person. In this sense, we are still far from the ideal of universal human rights in the international community, and these rights may be exercised only when incorporated into a law, or at least, embedded in moral and social practices.Keywords: Human Rights. General rights. Universality. Specific obligations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
A. V. Bleshchik ◽  
E. G. Kalinina ◽  
S. E. Nesmeyanova

The subject. This article represents an attempt to research the notion of “constitutional identity”, which has recently emerged as a relevant concept in constitutional law, through the prism of its transformation reacting the world’s challenges.The purpose of the research is to confirm or disprove hypothesis that both typical and extraordinary factors may influence differently on the transformation of constitutional identity.The methodology. The article is based on the dialectical method, as well as on the logical, historical, systemic methods. A comparative method was applied to study the features of the constitutional identity of States. Authors pay attention to the interaction of international and national policies.The main results, scope of application. Within the doctrine of constitutional identity it is presented a discussion with respect to terms and definitions of constitutional, state or national identity, constitutional identity of citizens. Moreover, such two notions as “individuality” and “identity” form a curious couple since “identity” may contravene “individuality”. Different factors which can influence on transformation of the constitutional identity, are listed (globalization (antiglobalism), universalization of constitutional values, COVID-19 pandemic, migration, etc.). In particular, different countries choose different models of reflecting the processes of globalization in their domestic constitutional legislation: from striving for unification to systematic confrontation. In this regard, it seems necessary to assess these factors, taking into account the experience of different states. Besides, the activities of international bodies can give rise to the universalization of constitutional values. For example, supranational bodies (in particular, the European Court of Justice) develop generalcial common culture. Another example is the current epidemiological crisis. The coronavirus infection has made its own adjustments to the constitutional identity of states. Examples of such transformation are full border closures or partial closures with individual states; amendments to the national legislation, according to which the issues of measures permissible for implementation by the state are being revised in order to ensure the life and health of the population.Conclusions. Definition the constitutional identity is an important strategic framework for national policy. However, there is no certain fixed constitutional identity of the state. On contrary, the identity of the state tends to be changeable. Transformation can be regarded as voluntary, forced or consciously responsive, expected or not. Voluntary transformation usually becomes a response to the evolutionary development of society, scientific and technological advances and discoveries. Forced transformation is likely to be a reaction to economic, epidemiological, political crises. Therefore, in order to determine the constitutional identity of certain state it is necessary to understand the cultural, historical, social and political contexts of its formation and current development in the conditions of the contemporary world.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-136
Author(s):  
Liburn Mustafë Mustafa

The right to be educated in mother tongue is considered among the most important human rights in the contemporary world. Such a right is guaranteed to the all world communities in spite of the state and international rights, regardless of the location, extent, and size of the community. Every state is obliged to respect and make possible the realization of the rights to be educated in their language to every minority within it, because the right to education in mother tongue is now considered a crucial tool for preserving and strengthening the cultural and ethnic identity, and vice versa, the non-implementation of these rights to certain communities implies the state's tendency towards these communities. Also, minorities are predestined that the educations in their language attend similar to their mother country, based on textbooks and curricula of the respective states, as such a right is guaranteed by international norms and conventions. But such a thing, very often faces a strong resistance from the states where these minorities are, because in these textbooks is reflected the history, culture and tradition of the past, which in most cases is a clash between identities and produce numerous value controversies between the parties. This situation is particularly reflected in some Balkan countries where ethnic minorities are not "bridges" between communities but are "quarrelsome" among communities. In such a situation is the Albanian minority in Serbia, who because of the conflicting past between the two nationalities, the Albanian and the Serbs, are victimized by preventing the right to learn their history, culture, tradition and their mother tongue. Thus the Serbian state, because of the past between the two nations and issues still open with the state of Kosovo, denies Albanians in Serbia using textbooks from this country. This form of approach reflects state policies on curricula and textbooks currently being implemented by the Albanian minority. In this paper we will explain the problems faced by the Albanian minority in Serbia in the field of education, respectively the problems of the lack of textbooks in Albanian language. We will present the causes and obstacles of the lack of school textbooks in Albanian language in Presheva Valley schools, strategies developed by various factors to solve this problem, implicated parties, legal rights issues and the possible solution of this problem.


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