Summer School on Rethinking ‘Development’
Registration: https://www.sambhaavnaa.org/programs/nayi-dishayein-summer-school-on-rethinking-development-2/
Join the discussion surrounding ‘development’ and its effects on world communities and beyond. During this period we would indulge in some interactive discussions, and field trips and pragmatically work through the pertinent issues of our time.
Most countries in the world seem to have adopted a similar ‘development’ model. We in India are also following suit. Like everyone, we too are aiming to be a predominantly urban, fossil fuel-based, industrial technology-intensive, consumer economy and society of the Euro-American variety.
A careful look however reveals that the adoption of this model in India, more explicitly and aggressively since the 1990s and has resulted in very different outcomes for various groups. On one end, we find glittering malls making available the highest-end consumer brands and goods, state-of-the-art cars, booming air travel, dazzling gated apartment complexes, a dozen sports leagues on TV, and much more.
However, there is a not-so-glittery side to this story. The top 10% of the countrymen hold over 75% of the country’s wealth, and 57% of the total income! Consequently, most of the ‘glitter’ mentioned earlier is accessible only to the top 10% of India. The other 90% struggle to make ends meet, often living right next to the dazzling apartment complexes in slums with no water, sanitation, or housing to speak of.
Most rural India continues to depend on agriculture, which provides meager incomes. There has been an alarming dearth of well-paying, non-agricultural jobs in urban or rural India. Little wonder that youth unemployment in 2021 was close to 29%, the highest in the last 40 years! The state of air, water, soil, and rising waste dumps cannot escape even blind eyes anymore.
This model of ‘development’ has also pushed the cities to encroach upon the land, water, and other resources of the rural areas for mineral extraction, power generation, cement-steel production, and connectivity via roads and airports. This is a model of development of a few at the cost of the many.
This workshop is ideal for anyone who ardently seeks to balance and make the progress more sustainable.
In this program, we work with young people to:
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- Deconstruct, and critically examine, the notion of development – to understand it as a field of ideas.
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- Examine the root causes of growing inequality in the distribution of wealth, resources, and opportunities, and its impacts on nature and people, in a society fractured along the lines of gender, caste, race, class, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, knowledge, and language.
- To re-examine and challenge our beliefs, views, convictions, and privileges resulting from the enduring power structures that stem from the social markers of caste, gender, religion, and class; and how they are linked with the notion(s) of development.
- To analyze and understand the impact of an extractivist economy and growth-oriented economic system on climate, ecology, and society.
- Examine how the State and its institutions of policy-making and governance influence these power structures and vice versa.
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Summer School on Rethinking ‘Development’
Registration: https://www.sambhaavnaa.org/programs/nayi-dishayein-summer-school-on-rethinking-development-2/
Join the discussion surrounding ‘development’ and its effects on world communities and beyond. During this period we would indulge in some interactive discussions, and field trips and pragmatically work through the pertinent issues of our time.
Most countries in the world seem to have adopted a similar ‘development’ model. We in India are also following suit. Like everyone, we too are aiming to be a predominantly urban, fossil fuel-based, industrial technology-intensive, consumer economy and society of the Euro-American variety.
A careful look however reveals that the adoption of this model in India, more explicitly and aggressively since the 1990s and has resulted in very different outcomes for various groups. On one end, we find glittering malls making available the highest-end consumer brands and goods, state-of-the-art cars, booming air travel, dazzling gated apartment complexes, a dozen sports leagues on TV, and much more.
However, there is a not-so-glittery side to this story. The top 10% of the countrymen hold over 75% of the country’s wealth, and 57% of the total income! Consequently, most of the ‘glitter’ mentioned earlier is accessible only to the top 10% of India. The other 90% struggle to make ends meet, often living right next to the dazzling apartment complexes in slums with no water, sanitation, or housing to speak of.
Most rural India continues to depend on agriculture, which provides meager incomes. There has been an alarming dearth of well-paying, non-agricultural jobs in urban or rural India. Little wonder that youth unemployment in 2021 was close to 29%, the highest in the last 40 years! The state of air, water, soil, and rising waste dumps cannot escape even blind eyes anymore.
This model of ‘development’ has also pushed the cities to encroach upon the land, water, and other resources of the rural areas for mineral extraction, power generation, cement-steel production, and connectivity via roads and airports. This is a model of development of a few at the cost of the many.
This workshop is ideal for anyone who ardently seeks to balance and make the progress more sustainable.
In this program, we work with young people to:
|
- Deconstruct, and critically examine, the notion of development – to understand it as a field of ideas.
|
|
- Examine the root causes of growing inequality in the distribution of wealth, resources, and opportunities, and its impacts on nature and people, in a society fractured along the lines of gender, caste, race, class, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, knowledge, and language.
- To re-examine and challenge our beliefs, views, convictions, and privileges resulting from the enduring power structures that stem from the social markers of caste, gender, religion, and class; and how they are linked with the notion(s) of development.
- To analyze and understand the impact of an extractivist economy and growth-oriented economic system on climate, ecology, and society.
- Examine how the State and its institutions of policy-making and governance influence these power structures and vice versa.
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| Assess possibilities of transformation through people’s actions, through exposure to, and dialogue on, a range of initiatives/movements towards a more just society. |
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| For more info on this visit the website here |
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Who is the program for?
This program is open to anyone in the age group of 21-28 years who is – find out more on the website.
Resource Persons:
Aswathy Senan – Researcher, translator, and writer based out of Delhi. Works on issues of gender, resistance, and social justice and designs pedagogical methods to understand them. She has recently joined the international organization Break Free from Plastics
Moggallan Bharti – Professor at the School of Development Studies at Ambedkar University.
Praveen Singh – IITian turned researcher on a capitalist economic model.
Janaki Srinivasan- Janaki Srinivasan teaches political science at Panjab University. Her research interests are in the areas of development studies and political theory with special attention to the politics of social movements and feminist theory and practice.
Language: This program will be conducted in English and Hindi. Basic proficiency in both is preferred.
Contribution to the Program: We request participants to contribute an amount of Rs. 9500/ – towards workshop expenses, inclusive of all onsite workshop costs: boarding, lodging, and all the materials used in the workshop.
Do not let money be an impediment to your application. Need-based fee waivers are available. We have a limited number of scholarships so please apply for a fee waiver if you really need it. Do remember that there may be others who need it more than you. The fee waivers will be offered to people from marginalized groups and non-funded social, political, or student movements.
Date : 25th May to 5th June 2023
Venue: Sambhaavnaa Institute, Kandbari, Tehsil – Palampur, District – Kangra, PIN 176061, Himachal Pradesh
Register to know more! Limited slots available.
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