Ambedkar’s role as an Indian political leader during the late colonial period has attracted increased attention politically and historically. However, there is a startling disconnect between the modern, often mythological, construction of Ambedkar and the near forgotten historical figure. His broader programme for social uplift of the underprivileged is often lost in the record of his conflict with M. K. Gandhi and the Indian National Congress and their role as the dominant nationalist group in India at the time. The deification that has resulted from his use of Buddhism as an emancipatory identity has obscured his interpretation of it as a secular political tool in a political debate shaped and dominated by religious identity. This thesis will argue that the Buddhist conversion was a continuation of his political and social programme, not, as some have suggested, a retreat to religion after failing to secure reforms to Indian law and society.

Ambedkar’s role as an Indian political leader during the late colonial period has attracted increased attention politically and historically. However, there is a startling disconnect between the modern, often mythological, construction of Ambedkar and the near forgotten historical figure. His broader programme for social uplift of the underprivileged is often lost in the record of his conflict with M. K. Gandhi and the Indian National Congress and their role as the dominant nationalist group in India at the time. The deification that has resulted from his use of Buddhism as an emancipatory identity has obscured his interpretation of it as a secular political tool in a political debate shaped and dominated by religious identity. This thesis will argue that the Buddhist conversion was a continuation of his political and social programme, not, as some have suggested, a retreat to religion after failing to secure reforms to Indian law and society.

This thesis aims to understand the political sociology of Maoist insurgency in India using a combination of disaggregated statistics and qualitative data. The vast majority of insurgent leaders are from dominant or upper caste, middle class backgrounds. Their participation in the insurgency can be understood in terms of ideology and short-term processes of mobilization. The Maoist insurgents provide a unified organizational structure for two separate sections of society. On the one hand, are untouchable or dalit landless laborers who suffer economic exploitation at the hands of higher caste landowners. On the hand are tribal or adivasi landowning cultivators whose relative autonomy has come under increasing pressure over the past two centuries as the state has established control over natural resources in their area. Their support for the insurgents does not just manifest itself from exploited untouchables’ and oppressed tribals’ positions in the social structure as structural theories would assume. Rather, the insurgents provide them with collective incentives in order to encourage their support. The actors at the macro and micro levels have very different reasons for participating in the insurgency. The insurgent leaders aim to capture state power through a Protracted People’s War, while the objectives of supporters at the micro-level tend to be more concerned with local and short-term issues. The insurgency should be conceptualised as a state building enterprise in which the interests of supporters at all levels are served by seizing local political power and the building of a base area. The thesis demonstrates that the insurgency is expanding most rapidly in the central Indian tribal belt. I use a case study to show that not all tribal communities support the insurgents. Some oppose them, either because their interests have been harmed by the presence of the insurgents, or as a result of a variety of endogenous mechanisms. This indicates that insurgency is a more dynamic and complex process than structural and rational actor theories allow for. The thesis finishes by placing the subject of indigenous communities and insurgency in the global context. It demonstrates that, while so-called indigenous communities listed by the Minorities at Risk project amount to 4.8% of the world’s population, they were involved in 43% of the intra-state conflict years listed by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program Armed Conflict Dataset between 1946 and 2010.

This netnography depicts the notions of India’s subaltern voices entering the public via social media. The study puts an emphasis on feminists and caste critics, divided into two case studies. The study witnessed dynamics of Twitter use between sociality and activism as well as the notions of performance and identity of these two intersecting, yet polarised groups.Privilege remains a governing factor, which regulates access, accessibility and the use of the subaltern sphere and makes it exclusive for a privileged group of the subaltern. The main benefits of Twitter in the subaltern sphere, as the study suggests, is the factor of sociality and networking around causes, which leads to peer dialogue in the public sphere and increases visibility. This eventually leads to more attention for certain causes in the public discourse and to the countering of mainstream media narratives, for example in the case study of the Dalit Lives Matter Movement and its ad hoc fame, which evolved after the suicide of the Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula.Further, while online activism is present, its impact remains hard to measure. The main benefits of the space are the plurality of voices that inhabit it. Also, the unleashing of the counter­narratives towards the mainstream media that are even more controlled by the state than the new media landscape, is an important benefit.

The impact of religious conversion on cultural identity is a study of conversion story of South African Indian Anglican Christians rooted in the oppressive history of casteism in India and Racism in South Africa. This study has used multi discipline approach using various schools of human sciences and broader theological framework in dealing with moral and ethical issues. This study defends the religious conversions and highlights the impact it has made on cultural identity of converts from social, economic, psychological and spiritual perspectives. While highlighting the positive impact of religious conversion on cultural identity this study has also pointed out some ambiguities attached to this process. This study looks into the possibilities of Native and Indian Christians working together to create a healing culture in South Africa. An attempt is made to point out the interrelatedness of the experiences of suffering of Native Christians and Indian Christians from indentured backgrounds in South Africa. This study does not cover disparity issues between native Africans and the Indian Community in South Africa. However, an attempt is made to encourage Indian Christians in South Africa to connect with the pain and pathos of poor communities in South Africa. This study encourages the Indian Christians hi South Africa to read Dalit theology and get involved with Black theologians in formulating appropriate mission praxis for their mission and ministry in post apartheid South Africa. This study concludes on a positive note and hope based on my eight years of ministry in Lenasia. During my ministry I had experienced that South African Anglican Indian Christians and native Christians have the developing ability and capacity to become a spiritual resource in building a transformed and transforming society in South Africa. I could see in them a reconciled 'wounded healers' and for me this is a powerful impact of religious conversion on their cultural identity, "Victims' now have the capacity to act as 'Wounded Healers'. / Religious Studies & Arabic / D.Th. (Religious Studies)

Evangelicals have an unquestionable heritage for involvement in the world and its social problems and the Bible provides a basis for a liberative gospel. For the God of the Bible is not only a God of love and peace, but also of justice and he is therefore on the side of the poor, oppressed and suffering. he has given us a spirit of engagement with the world as salt and light and not escapism. As we give serious consideration to the challenges of liberation theologies, we need to hear the voice who calls his people in every age to go out into the lost and lonely world (as he did), in order to live and love, to witness and serve like him and for him and that is what African Evangelicalism is all about. / Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics / M. Th. (Religious Studies)

Evangelicals have an unquestionable heritage for involvement in the world and its social problems and the Bible provides a basis for a liberative gospel. For the God of the Bible is not only a God of love and peace, but also of justice and he is therefore on the side of the poor, oppressed and suffering. He has given us a spirit of engagement with the world as salt and light and not escapism. As we give serious consideration to the challenges of liberation theologies, we need to hear the voice of him who calls his people in every age to go out into the lost and lonely world (as he did), in order to live and love, to witness and serve like him and for him and that is what African Evangelicalism is all about. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Systematic Theology)

Women are central to human development and yet, nowhere around the globe are they treated as equals to men. Although the need to empower them has been widely recognised, equality is not more than a theoretical construct and empowerment remains low, especially for female Dalits (the most disadvantaged social group in India). This study thus seeks to explore the impact of public secondary school education on the empowerment of Dalit women in Andhra Pradesh, India. Twelve female Dalits were interviewed to better comprehend the effects of their educational experiences from their own perspective. Nine indicators for empowerment were used, among them decision making, social and physical mobility, choices surrounding sexuality and self-reported attitude changes. Findings showed a positive effect of education on empowerment, although deeply embedded social and patriarchal thought patterns were challenged only partly. The study suggests that education clearly needs to exceed primary schooling to result in empowerment. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

The impact of religious conversion on cultural identity is a study of conversion story of South African Indian Anglican Christians rooted in the oppressive history of casteism in India and Racism in South Africa. This study has used multi discipline approach using various schools of human sciences and broader theological framework in dealing with moral and ethical issues. This study defends the religious conversions and highlights the impact it has made on cultural identity of converts from social, economic, psychological and spiritual perspectives. While highlighting the positive impact of religious conversion on cultural identity this study has also pointed out some ambiguities attached to this process. This study looks into the possibilities of Native and Indian Christians working together to create a healing culture in South Africa. An attempt is made to point out the interrelatedness of the experiences of suffering of Native Christians and Indian Christians from indentured backgrounds in South Africa. This study does not cover disparity issues between native Africans and the Indian Community in South Africa. However, an attempt is made to encourage Indian Christians in South Africa to connect with the pain and pathos of poor communities in South Africa. This study encourages the Indian Christians hi South Africa to read Dalit theology and get involved with Black theologians in formulating appropriate mission praxis for their mission and ministry in post apartheid South Africa. This study concludes on a positive note and hope based on my eight years of ministry in Lenasia. During my ministry I had experienced that South African Anglican Indian Christians and native Christians have the developing ability and capacity to become a spiritual resource in building a transformed and transforming society in South Africa. I could see in them a reconciled 'wounded healers' and for me this is a powerful impact of religious conversion on their cultural identity, "Victims' now have the capacity to act as 'Wounded Healers'. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D.Th. (Religious Studies)

Evangelicals have an unquestionable heritage for involvement in the world and its social problems and the Bible provides a basis for a liberative gospel. For the God of the Bible is not only a God of love and peace, but also of justice and he is therefore on the side of the poor, oppressed and suffering. he has given us a spirit of engagement with the world as salt and light and not escapism. As we give serious consideration to the challenges of liberation theologies, we need to hear the voice who calls his people in every age to go out into the lost and lonely world (as he did), in order to live and love, to witness and serve like him and for him and that is what African Evangelicalism is all about. / Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics / M. Th. (Religious Studies)