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Who is a Fellow Indian? Towards a Dialogue Between 2006 and 2024 Editions of Grade 6 NCERT Social Studies
No full textThe 2024 grade 6 NCERT social studies textbook significantly differs in its interpretation of nationalism from the previous generation of social studies textbooks. The new textbook emphasises an ancient territorial definition of India in comparison with the older textbooks, which went with how the 1952 Constitution of India saw who is an Indian. The new textbook version of nationalism also largely ignores social inequality and the role of justice. This article explores whether it is possible to have a dialogue between the respective discourses in which the 2024 and 2006 textbooks are embedded. One possible starting point for the conversation can be that the 2024 textbook’s definition of India actually differs from that of several of its ideologues like Savarkar, Upadhyaya and Madhav, who seem to be more in line with the previous textbooks’ definition of India. Perhaps it is still possible to discuss which version of nationalism can lead to greater fraternity and justice in India
Trajectories of labour market transitions in the Indian economy☆
No full textThe Indian economy, despite registering high growth, is characterised by a persistent and vast informal economy. Using India as an illustration, we draw lessons for characterising labour markets in contexts of high informality. We employ a group-based statistical modelling method to identify whether systematic patterns exist in the high volume of worker transitions across different employment arrangements. Using panel data for eight points between 2017 and 2019, we identify seven dominant labour market trajectories. The trajectory capturing stable formal salaried employment, with the highest average earnings, accounts for only 6.7% of the sample. None of the dominant trajectories denote a job ladder from informal to formal work, and the sorting of individuals into informal trajectories is far from voluntary, indicating the existence of formal–informal segmentation. The most populous trajectory, comprising 38.4% of the sample and associated with the second-highest average income (although less than half that of the formal salaried trajectory), is stable self-employment, followed by a trajectory representing transitions within different forms of informal wage work (27.2%). Most trajectory groups associated with informal wage arrangements exhibit high flux, indicating a lack of stability. Furthermore, trajectories associated with informal wage employment have even lower earnings than those linked to informal self-employment. Far from suggesting the desirability of informal self-employment, this pattern indicates a breakdown of the expected voluntary transition from self- to wage employment in the process of structural transformation. Access to trajectories is stratified along several correlates, especially caste. Caste hierarchy operates most starkly at the point of access to trajectories, while its influence on earnings penalties or gains does not always operate uniformly. Overall, our findings disrupt standard expectations in structural transformation models and labour market theories, highlighting the need to foreground the evolving nature of informality in labour market models for developing economies
Exploring natural acid–base indicators: Teaching experiences
Full text linkNatural indicators are simple, inexpensive tools for classifying everyday substances as acidic, basic, or neutral. How do we engage students and teachers in a handson exploration of familiar and new sources of these indicators
Can CAMPA compensate for the loss of forest land?
Full text linkThe Supreme Court of India in October 2002 directed that a “Compensatory Afforestation Fund’ (CAF) shall be created, where money is collected from user agencies towards compensatory afforestation (CA) under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 for accelerating activities for the preservation of natural forests, management of wildlife, and infrastructure development
Assam to witness rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns by 2040: Study
Full text linkMean annual temperatures in some districts of the state may rise by up to 0.83 degrees Celsius
A balanced approach to large-scale assessments
Full text linkEducation is a topic on which everyone likes to have an opinion. However, relying on personal biases or unverified opinions, whether in individual choices or policy decisions, can be dangerously misleading. To truly make informed and effective decisions about education, it is crucial to base them on reliable data and thorough, systematic analysis. This is where large-scale assessments (LSAs) come into play for data-driven decision-making in educational governance. Students learning data is increasingly being recognized as a critical component of monitoring mechanisms to measure progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the global, regional, and national levels. In India, several LSAs are conducted at national, state and district level
Fond recollections, bittersweet memories, or markers of a forgotten past? Uncultivated foods in rural Chintamani, Karnataka (Working Paper No. 27)
No full textSome experts consider “food” as the most critical issue of the 21st century. Countries such as India are experiencing what has been described as a triple burden of malnutrition – characterised by high prevalence of undernutrition, obesity, and micro-nutrient deficiency. These are a result of inadequate access to healthy foods, increased use of highly processed foods, and low dietary diversity, besides factors related to sanitation. Changes in the practice of agriculture has resulted in a reduction in agrobiodiversity. The challenges to accessing food during shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts in various parts of the world demonstrated the importance of local food security and reminded people of the importance of local food sources, including uncultivated or wild foods.
There is ample literature on the contribution and types of uncultivated foods in various parts of the world, across high-income and low-income countries, in urban and rural areas. Research has also tried to characterise these foods, their nutritive value, and more recently, their potential role in sustainable diets. Furthermore, scholars have discussed the importance of local foods as part of culture, increasingly seeing foods as a political expression of identity. The recently introduced food environment framework (studying the interface between the food systems and the consumer) has also been used to better describe people’s food options and choices.
Given this background, we sought to understand the role of uncultivated foods in the communities living in the diverse landscapes of Chintamani taluk of Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka. Elderly people from ten panchayats in Chintamani from various castes recollected their life situations from over fifty years ago, their experiences of hunger and poverty, and their sources of food from fields, forests, lakes, hills, and forests. They described the practices of collecting uncultivated foods, preparing them, and their taste. They reflected on changes in food consumption and their life situations, and how the use of uncultivated foods has reduced. We discuss how the changes in foods consumed are linked to socio-ecological changes. We add to the argument that uncultivated foods should be considered more seriously in deliberations on food policy, in relation to dietary diversity and strengthening local food systems
A review of the new NCERT math textbooks for grades 1 and 2
Full text linkThis article examines the new NCERT Math textbooks for grades 1 and 2, comparing them with the vision outlined in the NCF-FS. Some teachers also share their experiences and feedback, followed by a summary of insights from about 90 teachers across Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka regarding the updated textbooks
