Vikash Yadav

Hobart & William Smith Colleges

POLS 281-01: Politics of South Asia

Syllabus

Week 1 – Introduction 

  • Session 1 – Introduction: Nationalism as a Problem (1/20)
    • Readings:
      • Partha Chatterjee, Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World, pp. 1-84.
  • Session 2 – Gandhi and the Critique of Civil Society; Nehru and the Passive Revolution (1/22)
    • Readings:
      • Partha Chatterjee, Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World, pp. 85-170.
    • Film Screening:
      • Richard Attenborough, “Gandhi”

Week 2 - Caste

  • Session 1 – The Long Tentacles of the Indian State (1/27)
    • Readings:
      • Edward Luce, In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India, pp. 1-104.
    •  
  • Session 2 – Colonialism & The “Invention” of Caste; Battles of the Righteous (1/29)
    • Readings:
      • Nicholas B. Dirks, “Castes of Mind,” Special Issue: Imperial Fantasies and Postcolonial Histories, Representations 37 (Winter 1992): 56-78. [JSTOR – PDF ]
      • Edward Luce, In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India, pp. 105-142.
      • Christophe Jaffrelot, “The Rise of the Other Backward Castes in the Hindi Belt,” The Journal of Asian Studies 59, no. 1 (February 2000): 86-108. [JSTOR – PDF ]
    • Film Screening:
      • Deepa Mehta, “Water”

Week 3 – From Mandal to Mandir

  • Session 1 –  The Threat of Hindu Nationalism (2/3)
    • Readings:
      • Edward Luce, In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India, pp. 143-179, 218-256.
      • Barbara D. Metcalf, “Too Little and Too Much: Reflections on the History of Muslims in India,” The Journal of Asian Studies 54, no. 4 (November 1995): 951-967. [JSTOR - PDF]
  • Session 2 –  A Muslims Minority in a Secular State (2/5)
    • Readings:
      • Sumit Ganguly, “The Crisis of Indian Secularism,” Journal of Democracy 14, no 4 (October 2003): 11-25. [MUSE - PDF]
      • “On the Margins: The Sachar Report Reveals the Extent of Muslim Deprivation and Makes Far-Reaching Recommendations” Frontline (15 December 2006): 1-36. [PDF]

Week 4 – Ethnic Conflict (Part I)

  • Session 1 –  A History of Violence; Local Variations (2/10)
    • Readings:
      • Ashutosh Varshney, Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India, pp. 1-148.
  • Session 2 –  Integration & the Decline of Civic Institutions; Ethnic Conflict, the State, & Civil Society (2/12)
    • Readings:
      • Ashutosh Varshney, Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India, pp. 149-218.

Week 5 – Ethnic Conflict (Part II)

  • Session 1 –  Theft of an Idol (2/17)
    • Readings:
      • Paul R. Brass, Theft of an Idol, pp. 1-128.
  • Session 2 –  Ethnic Conflict, the State, and Civil Society (2/19)
    • Readings:
      • Paul R. Brass, Theft of an Idol, pp. 129-288.

Week 6 – Class (Part I)

  • Session 1 – Historical Roots of Class Politics (2/24)
    • Readings:
      • Leela Fernandez, India’s New Middle Class: Democratic Politics in an Era of Economic Reform, pp. 1-87.
  • Session 2 – Social Capital, Labor Market Restructuring, and India’s New Economy (2/26)
    • Readings:
      • Leela Fernandez, India’s New Middle Class: Democratic Politics in an Era of Economic Reform, pp. 88-136.
    • Film Screening:
      • Meera Nair, “Monsoon Wedding”

Week 7 – Class (Part II)

  • Session 1 –  State Power, Urban Space and Civic Life (3/3)
    • Readings:
      • Leela Fernandez, India’s New Middle Class: Democratic Politics in an Era of Economic Reform, pp. 137-172.
  • Session 2 –  Liberalization, Democracy, Middle Class Politics (3/5)
    • Readings:
      • Leela Fernandez, India’s New Middle Class: Democratic Politics in an Era of Economic Reform, pp. 173-224.

MIDTERM ESSAY (Essay question handed out in class)

Week 8 – Protracted Territorial Disputes

  • Session 1 –  Partition & The Kashmir Wars (3/10)
    • Readings:
      • Sumit Ganguly, Conflict Unending: India-Pakistan Tensions Since 1947, pp. 1-50.
  • Session 2 –  The Bangladesh War (3/12)
    • Readings:
      • Sumit Ganguly, Conflict Unending: India-Pakistan Tensions Since 1947, pp. 51-100.

MIDTERM ESSAY (Due 3/13 before noon)

Week 9 – The Nuclear Dimension

  • Session 1 –  Tit-for-Tat Tests (3/24)
    • Readings:
      • Sumit Ganguly, Conflict Unending: India-Pakistan Tensions Since 1947, pp. 101-113.
      • Jaswant Singh, “Against Nuclear Apartheid,” Foreign Affairs 77:5 (September/October 1998): 41-52. [PDF]
  • Session 2 –  The Kargil War (3/26)
    • Readings:
      • Sumit Ganguly, Conflict Unending: India-Pakistan Tensions Since 1947, pp. 114-143.
      • Ramesh Thakur and Oddny Wiggen, South Asia in the World: Problem-Solving Perspectives on Security, Sustainable Development, and Good Governance, pp. 37-83.

Week 10 – Failing States, Terror, & Civil War (3/31)

  • Session 1 –  Failing States: Pakistan & Afghanistan
      • Feisal Khan, “Corruption and the Decline of the State in Pakistan,” Asian Journal of Political Science 15:2 (August 2007): 219-247. [PDF – Ask VY]
      • C. Raja Mohan, “What if Pakistan Fails? India Isn’t Worried … Yet,” The Washington Quarterly 28:1 (2004): 117-128. [MUSE – PDF]
      • Pamela Constable, “A Wake-Up Call in Afghanistan,” Journal of Democracy 18:2 (April 2007): 84-98. [MUSE – PDF]
  • Session 2 –  Terror as Tactic & Theatre; Sri Lanka and Nepal (4/2)
    • Readings:
      • Stephen P. Cohen, “The Jihadist Threat to Pakistan,” The Washington Quarterly 26:3 (2003): 7-25. [MUSE – PDF]
      • Vyjayanthi Rao, “How to Read a Bomb: Scenes from Bombay’s Black Friday,” Public Culture 19:3 (2007), pp. 567-592. [PDF]
      • Neil DeVotta, “Control Democracy, Institutional Decay, and the Quest for Eelam: Explaining Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka,” Pacific Affairs 73:1 (Spring 2000): 55-76. [JSTOR - PDF]
      • Sumit Ganguly and Brian Shoup, “Nepal Between Dictatorship and Anarchy,” Journal of Democracy 16:4 (October 2005): 129-143. [MUSE – PDF]

Week 11 – Poverty & Development

  • Session 1 –  Pro-Poor Policies (4/7)
    • Readings:
      • Ramesh Thakur and Oddny Wiggen, South Asia in the World: Problem-Solving Perspectives on Security, Sustainable Development, and Good Governance, pp. 129-144.
      •  T. Mathew, “Matters of Life and Death,” Himal Magazine (April 2003).
  • Session 2 –  Trade and Investment (4/9)
    • Readings:
      • Ramesh Thakur and Oddny Wiggen, South Asia in the World: Problem-Solving Perspectives on Security, Sustainable Development, and Good Governance, pp. 145-170.  
      • T. N. Srinivasan, “Privatization, Regulation, and Competition in South Asia,” unpublished speech, pp. 1-37. [PDF]

Week 12 – Human Security

  • Session 1 – Child Labor & Malnutrition (4/14)
    • Readings:
      • Ramesh Thakur and Oddny Wiggen, South Asia in the World: Problem-Solving Perspectives on Security, Sustainable Development, and Good Governance, pp. 293-354.
      • Geeta Chowdhry and Mark Beeman, “Challenging Child Labor: Transnational Activism and India’s Carpet Industry,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 575 (May 2001): 158-175. [JSTOR - PDF]
  • Session 2 – Patriarchy & Gender Discrimination (4/16)
    • Readings:
      • Kamala Visweswaran, “Gendered States: Rethinking Culture as a Site of South Asian Human Rights Work,” Human Rights Quarterly 26 (2004): 483-511. [MUSE – PDF]
      • Rajeswari Sunder Rajan, “Women between Community and State: Some Implications of the Uniform Civil Code Debates in India,” Social Text 65, vo. 18, no. 4 (Winter 2000): 56-82. [MUSE – PDF]
    • Film Screening:
      • Ross Kaufmann and Zana Briski, “Born into Brothels”

Week 13 – Environmental Issues

  • Session 1 –  Environment & Development (4/21)
    • Readings:
  • Session 2 –  Environment & Human Security (4/23)
    • Readings:
      • Ramesh Thakur and Oddny Wiggen, South Asia in the World: Problem-Solving Perspectives on Security, Sustainable Development, and Good Governance, pp. 225-266.
      •  

Week 14 – Regional & Global

  • Session 1 –  Regional Cooperation & Intergovernmental Organizations (4/28)
    • Readings:
      • Ramesh Thakur and Oddny Wiggen, South Asia in the World: Problem-Solving Perspectives on Security, Sustainable Development, and Good Governance, pp. 267-292, 104-128.
  • Session 2 –  India, China, and America (4/30)
    • Readings:
      • Edward Luce, In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India, pp. 257-294.

Week 15

  • Session 1 – Opportunities and Challenges Ahead (5/5)
    • Readings:
      • Edward Luce, In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India, pp. 295-356.
  • Final Exam (TBA)