| 12 May 2011 | 12:00pm - 2:00pm | CRASSH Seminar Room | |
- Description
Description
Dr Louise Tillin presents her work at the CRASSH Postdoctoral Research Seminar
A light buffet lunch will be provided. Please contact Dr Anne Alexander (raa43 [at] cam.ac.uk) to reserve a place.
Abstract
India is one of the most populous and diverse countries in the world, yet its people are divided into the fewest subunits of any federal system. Until recently the main rationale for creating new states was linguistic – making borders fit better with distinct language communities. This talk will address the dynamics of post-linguistic reorganisation, focusing in particular on the reasons for the creation of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand all formed in the year 2000 from the large, predominantly Hindi speaking states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. It will consider the significance of the politicisation of caste identities in north India for debates about the placing of internal borders, and the intersection of social movements and political parties in the process of state creation.
