During the 1950’s the Dalit leader Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar managed to revive Buddhism in India as a protest against, what he considered to be, injustices towards low-caste people that were said to be caused by Hinduism. This study was done to investigate the presence of Ambedkar Buddhism in the holy city of Hinduism Varanasi. By interviewing people and field studies it was possible to see how Ambedkar Buddhism has been transferred to contemporary Varanasi, how the religion is being practices and whether it is a religious or political movement. The results that were found were that Ambedkar Buddhism has existed ever since 1956 when Ambedkar held mass conversions in Maharashtra and that the religion has been kept and transferred within families to today’s generations of Varanasi and also partially because of academics associated with Banaras Hindu University who have move to the city for work and studies. Ambedkar Buddhists practice their religion like most Buddhists with the exception of not having a tradition of monasticism. The movement is both religious and political as it was started as a protest against Hinduism, which is also both religious and political according to Ambedkar. The movement has prospered because it seems that Buddhism is a beneficial way for Dalits to gain power and success.

This study focuses on multiculture from a teacher's point of view. Five teachers, all working in a governmental school in Banaras were interviewed about their thoughts on multiculture and how they act in the classroom. The question formulations are the following: How do the teachers in a governmental school in Banaras approach and work with the religious diversity that exists in the classroom? In what ways are the teachers in a governmental school in Banaras observing and working with the students’ different culture? What are the thoughts about teaching and school situations with students from different socioeconomic backgrounds among teachers who work in a governmental school in Banaras? The theory in this study is an intercultural perspective which we used by using multicultural learning, culture and language. The conclusion is that the teachers are working in a inclusive way in a diverse school in Banaras, India.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地域研究) / 甲第23308号 / 地博第289号 / 新制||地||111(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院アジア・アフリカ地域研究研究科グローバル地域研究専攻 / (主査)准教授 D'SOUZA Rohan Ignatious, 教授 中溝 和弥, 教授 藤田 幸一, 准教授 中村 沙絵 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Area Studies / Kyoto University / DGAM

In this study I explore two understudied aspects of India's informal economy, viz. the institutions that sustain informal knowledge, and gender disparities among self-employed workers using a combination of primary survey and interview methods as well as econometric estimation. The data used in the study come from the Indian National Sample Survey (NSS) as well as from fieldwork conducted in the city of Banaras (Varanasi) in North India. The vast majority of the Indian work-force is "uneducated" from a conventional point of view. Even when they have received some schooling, formal education rarely prepares individuals for employment. Rather, various forms of apprenticeships and on-the-job training are the dominant modes of knowledge acquisition. The institutions that enable creation and transfer of knowledge in the informal economy are poorly understood because informal knowledge itself is understudied. However, the rise of the so-called "Knowledge Society" has created a large literature on traditional and indigenous knowledge and has brought some visibility to the informal knowledge pos- sessed by peasants, artisans, and other workers in the informal economy. The present study extends this strand of research. In Chapter Two, taking the weaving indus- try as a case-study, work is introduced into the study of knowledge. Thus informal knowledge is studied in the context of the production relations that create and sustain it. Further, the family mode of production and apprenticeships are foregrounded as important institutions that achieve inter-generational transfer of knowledge at a low cost. Clustering of weaving firms ensures fast dissemination of new fabric designs and patterns which holds down monopoly rents. In Chapter Three taking advan- tage of a recently issued Geographical Indication (GI), an intellectual property right (IPR) that attempts to standardize the Banaras Sari to protect its niche in the face of powerloom-made imitation products, I investigate the likely effects of such an at- tempt to create craft authenticity. Through field observations and via interviews with weavers, merchants, State officials and NGO workers, I find that the criteria of authenticity have largely been developed without consulting artisans and as a result tend to be overly restrictive. In contrast, I find that weavers themselves have a more dynamic and fluid notion of authenticity. Homeworking women are widely perceived to be among the most vulnerable and exploited groups of workers. Piece-rates and undocumented hours of work hide ex- tremely low hourly wages and workers themselves are often invisible. Though women form a crucial part of the Banaras textile industry, to the outside observer they are invisible, both because they are in purdah and because women's work proceeds in the shadow of weaving itself, which is a male occupation. In Chapter Four, using field observations, interviews, and time-use analysis I show that women perform paid work for up to eight hours a day but are still seen as working in their spare time. Because the opportunity cost of spare time is zero, any wage above zero is deemed an improvement. Hourly wage rates in Banaras are found to be as low as eight to ten cents an hour, well below the legal minimum wage. In Chapter Five, I use Na- tional Sample Survey data on the informal textile industry to test the hypothesis that emerges from ethnographic work in Banaras. If women are indeed penalized for un- dertaking joint production of market and non-market goods, women working on their own without hired workers are expected to perform much worse than men working by themselves. I find that after accounting for differences in education, assets, working hours, occupation and other relevant variables, women working by themselves earn 52% less than their male counterparts. This gender penalty disappears in case of self- employed women who can afford to employ wage-workers. I also show that women in the informal economy are more likely to be engaged in putting-out or subcontracting arrangements and suffer a gender penalty as a result.

The Ayodhya dispute with the following wave of Hindutva has resulted in a rising number of Hindu claims of Mosques getting raised in other places in Uttar Pradesh as well. This thesis presents a suggestion for understanding these types of claims by analyzing the Gyanvapi Mosque dispute through the theoretical framework of violences of development. In order to present a context for the formation of the dispute, the political development of Hindutva is mapped, firstly by exploring the uprising of the ideology and later the transgression of the Hindutva ideology into new spheres. The spatial transgression of Hindutva is further explored in the analysis of the interconnection between the current development discourse and Hindutva. In doing this, the paper analyzes material from both Hindu and English newspapers through the framework of violences of development and suggests spatial displacement, marginalization and erosion of heritage as important components of the Gyanvapi Mosque dispute.

The study investigates and evaluates chemical parameters in handpumped water along Assi, a tributary to Ganga, south of Varanasi, northern India. Assi is polluted from raw sewage, landfill runoff and outlets from industries. To find out if the stream affects the groundwater in its basin, regression analysis of the easily moving ions, nitrite, nitrate and chloride were done during spring and autumn 2008. Significant trends were found for nitrate, most of them in the after monsoon period. No other chemical parameter gave significant trends. Metals as manganese and hexavalent chromium was measured in the spring period. Levels were higher closer to the stream. Significant trends when tested with regression analyses could not be found and the hexavalent chromium do not exceed guideline values in the handpumps measured. Interviews made clear that one quarter of the users of handpumped water have bad water quality during the monsoon period. The mean value of TDS in these pumps were higher than for the pumps that have good water quality and exceeds 500 mg/l. The mean value for turbidity was higher than 5 NTU in these pumps and in pumped water with good quality lower than 5 NTU. High levels of turbidity did not seem to affect the experience of having a good water. Pumps with higher TDS-values shows higher risk for polluted surface runoff together with risk for a broken construction that can allow seepage into the pumped water. Assi gives a severe contribution of raw sewage to Ganga upstream the bathing area in Varanasi and the pollution in the stream seams to affect the groundwater in its basin.

<p>In his own time, the nirguna poet-saint Kabir was a controversial figure. He spoke ill of Islam and Hinduism alike, yet, in the end, both groups claimed him as their own. In this essay, various images of Kabir are discussed. Kabir as he appears in legends; Kabir as he appears in his poems; Kabir as a historical figure. But more importantly, Kabir as he is perceived as today. The image of Kabir, as it were. The question of ‘who Kabir was’ is posed to members of two groups in the city of Banaras, India — one group Muslim (Julaha), the other Hindu (Yadav).</p> / <p>Under sin egen tid var nirguna helgonpoeten Kabir, en kontroversiell figur. Han pratade illa som såväl Islam som Hinduism --- men till slut kom ändå båda grupperna att anamma honom som sin egen. I den här uppsatsen diskuteras olika bilder av Kabir. Kabir som han beskrivs i legender; Kabir som han träder fram i sina dikter; Kabir som en historisk figur. Men kanske viktigast av allt, bilden av Kabir idag. Frågan om "vem Kabir var" ställs till personer ur två grupper i staden Banaras, Indien --- en grupp Muslimer (Julaha), den andra gruppen Hinduer (Yadav).</p>

In his own time, the nirguna poet-saint Kabir was a controversial figure. He spoke ill of Islam and Hinduism alike, yet, in the end, both groups claimed him as their own. In this essay, various images of Kabir are discussed. Kabir as he appears in legends; Kabir as he appears in his poems; Kabir as a historical figure. But more importantly, Kabir as he is perceived as today. The image of Kabir, as it were. The question of ‘who Kabir was’ is posed to members of two groups in the city of Banaras, India — one group Muslim (Julaha), the other Hindu (Yadav). / Under sin egen tid var nirguna helgonpoeten Kabir, en kontroversiell figur. Han pratade illa som såväl Islam som Hinduism --- men till slut kom ändå båda grupperna att anamma honom som sin egen. I den här uppsatsen diskuteras olika bilder av Kabir. Kabir som han beskrivs i legender; Kabir som han träder fram i sina dikter; Kabir som en historisk figur. Men kanske viktigast av allt, bilden av Kabir idag. Frågan om "vem Kabir var" ställs till personer ur två grupper i staden Banaras, Indien --- en grupp Muslimer (Julaha), den andra gruppen Hinduer (Yadav).

The purpose of this master thesis in history was to examine the use of history of an Indian queen, the Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi. The Rani Lakshmi Bai was born in Banaras and married a king – the Raja of Jhansi. The Rani Lakshmi Bai fought against the British during the first war of independence year 1857-58. Recently, a memorial has been built at her supposed birthplace in Banaras, more than 150 years after her death. This development has raised several questions about the use of history of the Rani Lakshmi Bai. How has the use of history of Rani Lakshmi Bai changed? Why has it become relevant to build a statue of the Rani now and not before? The purpose of this study has been answered with the help of oral history and text analysis. Firstly, this has been done, by examining the knowledge of people from Banaras and Jhansi as well as through their perceived image of the Rani Lakshmi Bai. Twenty people from Banaras and four people from Jhansi have been interviewed. Secondly, the institutional level information has been examined which is presented in educational textbooks and newspapers like the local newspaper Aaj and the national newspapers The Hindu as well as The Times of India. The results show that the level of historical knowledge about the Rani is low, though the love and affection for her are great. The use of history of the Rani Lakshmi Bai has been as a freedom fighter, a role model in different contexts and a symbol, as well as an inspirational source of women empowerment. There is also a political use of the Rani. All these uses of history in combination with the increased economic interest in the neighbourhood of Assi in the city of Banaras made it relevant and possible to build a monument of the Rani Lakshmi Bai in present time.

L'époque contemporaine se caractérise par une omniprésence de la technique, qui soulève des inquiétudes croissantes. Ce constat a conduit nombre de chercheurs à interroger les relations que la technique et la société entretiennent. Dans le sillage de ce questionnement, cette recherche vise à examiner en quoi les techniques sont parties prenantes des changements anthropiques à l'oeuvre, qu'ils soient d'ordre social, politique, culturel, religieux, environnemental, législatif. Pour ce faire, cette thèse étudie, à partir d'une approche ethnographique, les modalités d'existence de dispositifs urbains d'assainissement dans le cadre du Ganga Action Plan, lequel vise la dépollution du Gange. Ces modalités d'existence sont analysées à partir des chroniques des projets urbains se déroulant dans deux villes indiennes, Kanpur et Varanasi, et des controverses suscitées par leur mise en oeuvre. Cette thèse démontre que les objets techniques et les activités qui leur sont liées, tout en confortant des règles déjà en place, en instituent de nouvelles, ce qui ne va pas sans susciter des résistances tant d'ordre social que politique.