"Thesis approved for the degree of doctor of philosophy in the University of London." / Bibliography: p. [487]-493.

"Thesis approved for the degree of doctor of philosophy in the University of London." / Bibliography: p. [487]-493.

Texte remanié de: Ph. D.--Shillong--North Eastern Hill University, 1985. / Bibliogr. p. [174]-186.

Thesis--University of London. / Bibliography: p. [598]-613.

The impact of ICT in open and distance learning is now become a common phenomenon. The rapid use of internet and other communication facilities have brought the open and distance education closer to the student community. The paper highlights the application of ICT in open and distance learning system of Assam.

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Ma thèse est consacrée aux Brahmanes du complexe de temples de Kamakhya; et plus particulièrement sur les dynamiques socio-politiques et sur les enjeux économiques internes de la communauté de Brahmanes. J'analyse la logique qui organise et hiérarchise la vaste gamme d'activités que seul les Brahmanes peuvent entreprendre; les aspects économiques de ces activités ; et la façon dont les Brahmanes conçoivent et légitiment leurs activités et leur statut. Les Brahmanes sont impliqués dans deux séries d'activités: celles liées au culte publique et celles liées au culte privé (dans leurs rapports avec leurs pèlerins, les Brahmanes ayant droit délèguent certaines activités auxBrahmanes de l'extérieur). Considérer les deux sphères d'activités des Brahmanes m'a permis d'analyser l'importance respective des deux sphères d'activités au niveau des conceptions et au niveau des pratiques entreprises par les Brahmanes ayant droit. Les chapitres de cette thèse démontreront qu'un écart important existe entre ces deux niveaux. Le culte public est la seule activité qui (en théorie] devrait être exécutée chaque jour, ainsi que pendant les fêtes. En même temps, à présent, le complexe de temples reçoit chaque jour des milliers de pèlerins ; cela a un impact profond sur l'organisation interne et l'action de la communauté des Brahmanes. Une des taches de ma thèse sera alors de repérer les dynamiques spécifiques au complexe de temples de Kamakhya que le flux de pèlerins contribue à mettre en place, comme par exemple l'enrichissement de certains Brahmanes et l'émergence de différences économiques importantes au sein de la communauté, avec les inimités auxquelles on peut s'attendre dans une telle situation. La dernière partie de la thèse explore le rôle des Brahmans ayant droit dans l'administration du complexe de temples. A travers J'analyse d'une dispute actuellement en cours, j'explore Ia façon dont les différents acteurs voient la relation entre la distribution des taches rituelles et la hiérarchie qui en résulte et le pouvoir politique. / This thesis studies the Brahmans of the Kamakhya temple complex; and in particular the social, economic and political issues agitating the priestly community. My interest concerns all Brahmans active at the temple complex. l analyze the logic that organizes and hierarchizes the wide range of activities restricted to Brahmans; the financial aspect of these activities; and the way Brahmans conceptualize and legitimize their activities and standing. The Brahmans are basically involved in two sets of activities: those connected to the public worship and those connected to their relations with pilgrims and the private worship (in dealing with pilgrims, the rights—holder Brahmans delegate certain activities to the Brahmans from outside the Nilachal). Considering both the spheres of activity allowed me to analyze the relative significance of the two spheres at the level of concepts and at that of the practices undertaken by the Brahmans. The chapters of this thesis will show that a significant gap can be detected between the two levels. The public worship is the only activity which (in theory) should be undertaken every day and is understood to be the essential activity of the temple complex. On the 0ther hand, at present the temple complex receives thousands of pilgrims every day; as will be shown, that has a profound impact on the internal organization and agency of the Brahman community. One 0f the main tasks of this thesis will be to find 0ut the specific ways in which the flow of pilgrims contributes to shaping new models of relationships between the Brahmans of the Kamakhya temple complex, to orientating the Brahmans' choices and actions, and to creating significant economic differences among the Brahmans. The last part of the thesis explores the role of the Brahmans in the administration of the temple complex. Through the analyse of a seventeen—year—old dispute l explore the way different actors answer the question whether the political sphere should be informed by ritual ranking among Brahmans and between Brahmans and non—Brahmans or not.

Tea is a drink the Western world associates with Britain. Yet at one time tea was new and exotic. After tea was introduced to Britain, tea went through a series of social transformations. The British gradually accepted tea consumption as a sign of gentility and all social classes enjoyed the drink. After 1834, when the East India Company lost their monopoly on the trade with China, a new tea industry began in India and control passed to British entrepreneurs. Faced with difficulty in their efforts to make their industry into a facsimile of Chinese methods, the British reconstituted their tea industry from the ground up. British ingenuity flourished under the guidance of innovators with machines reshaping the industry. As tea became part of British society and industry, an image of tea formed. Advertising brought that image to the public, who accepted the concept of a proper cup of tea.

Als "Coolie" gilt gemeinhin der "ungelernte" Arbeiter. Das Anbieten von Leiharbeit hatte diverse präkoloniale Vorläufer. Im 19. Jahrhundert wurde der Versuch unternommen, den Begriff des "Coolies" durch diskursive Auslegungen und die Methoden einer "flexiblen-inflexiblen" Arbeit neu zu prägen. "Coolie"-Arbeit galt meist als ein Kompromiss zwischen der Vergangenheit (Sklavenarbeit) und der Zukunft (freie Arbeit/Lohnarbeit) und als Spagat zwischen beiden Systemen. Sie wurde als ein Übergangsstadium und Teil eines versprochenen Wandels dargestellt. Die Teeplantagen Assams nahmen wie viele andere tropische Plantagen in Südasien auch im 19. Jahrhundert offiziell ihren Betrieb auf. Ursprünglich wurden sie von lokalen Arbeitern betrieben. Erst in den späten 1850er-Jahren wurden die lokalen Arbeiter durch von außerhalb der Provinz importierten Arbeitskräften ersetzt, die in der historischen Literatur gemeinhin unproblematisch mit dem Begriff "Coolies" belegt werden. Durch eine Analyse des Übergangs von der lokal rekrutiert für "Kuli" Arbeit und durch eine Analyse seiner Einführung die Studie argumentiert, dass "Kuli" Arbeit wurde "produziert" in den Kolonialkapitalistischen Plantagen in Assam. Mein Anliegen besteht dabei ausdrücklich nicht darin, einen zügellosen kolonialen Kapitalismus nahezulegen, dessen Strategie es ist, "Coolies" zu definieren und hervorzubringen oder die historischen Umstände, Verhandlungen, Streitfragen und Krisen zu betonen. Ich versuche vielmehr, die Erzählungen vom plötzlichen Auftauchen des archetypischen Teeplantagen-"Coolies" (d.i. als importierter und unfreier Lohnarbeiter) zu hinterfragen und sein Erscheinen, sein Bestehen und seine Verlagerungen mehr im Sinne grundlegender und diskursiver Prozesse auszulegen. / “Coolie” is a generic category for the “unskilled” manual labour. The offering of services for hire had various pre-colonial lineages. In the nineteenth century there was an attempt to recast the term in discursive constructions and material practices for “mobilized-immobilized” labour. Coolie labour was often proclaimed as a deliberate compromise straddling the regimes of the past (slave labour) and the future (free labour). It was portrayed as a stage in a promised transition. The tea plantations of Assam, like many other tropical plantations in South Asia, were inaugurated and formalized during this period. They were initially worked by the locals. In the late 1850s, the locals were replaced by labourers imported from outside the province who were unquestioningly designated “coolies” in the historical literature. Qualifying this framework of transition (local to coolie labour) and introduction (of coolie labour), this study makes a case for the “production” of coolie labour in the history of the colonial-capitalist plantations in Assam. The intention of the research is not to suggest an unfettered agency of colonial-capitalism in defining and “producing” coolies, with an emphasis on the attendant contingencies, negotiations, contestations and crises. The study intervenes in the narratives of an abrupt appearance of the archetypical coolie of the tea gardens (i.e., imported and indentured) and situates this archetype’s emergence, sustenance and shifts in the context of material and discursive processes.

The destruction of tropical forests is the most concerning current threat to biodiversity. Although protected areas have long been used as the primary tool for biodiversity conservation, there is an increasing need to find suitable conservation strategies for the growing area of human-modified land. This thesis addresses three themes that have been identified as the most pressing areas for research in human-modified landscapes: biodiversity conservation beyond protected areas, forest restoration, and the human–environment relationship. By studying the interactions between birds, plants, and people with isolated Ficus (Moraceae) trees in Assam, India, this thesis reports several important findings: 1) isolated Ficus trees are extraordinarily important to frugivorous bird communities that inhabit human-modified landscapes; 2) the frugivores visiting these isolated trees still sustained the majority of ecological function found in trees close to the forest edge; 3) isolated Ficus trees are also exceptionally important feeding sites for insectivorous birds in human-modified landscapes, compared to other trees; 4) Ficus trees are better restoration nuclei than other isolated trees; 5) although the sacred status of Ficus trees in Assam has a major influence on their abundance and distribution, faith-based values are insufficient in ensuring their conservation. In conclusion, this thesis finds that isolated Ficus trees are critically important micro-sites for conservation in human-modified landscapes, the loss of which may lead to avifaunal collapse and a reduction in restoration potential. However, by stressing their ecological and cultural properties, it may be possible to build a strong case for the conservation of isolated Ficus trees in Assam and elsewhere.