Book chapter / Masculinity in Malayalam cinema

Pillai, Meena T. ‘The Feudal Lord Reincarnate: Mohanlal and the Politics of Malayali Masculinity’.

in Lawrence, Michael, ed. Indian Film Stars: New Critical Perspectives. London: British Film Institute, 2020. pp. 87-98.

Excerpt: This chapter seeks to interrogate the representational politics of stardom and masculinity in Malayalam cinema, one of the most prolific of the regional film industries in India, with special reference to the rise of Mohanlal as a ‘superstar’. The entry of Mohanlal (Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair, 1960—) into Malayalam cinema as a villain in the early 1980s, his much-praised energetic and performative prowess in a succession of highly successful roles in light-hearted romantic social comedies, and his gradual transformation into the ultimate icon of Malayali masculinity in the 1990s, mark a paradigm shift in the ideology and visual iconography of Malayalam cinema.

More info: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/indian-film-stars-9781844578542/

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Book chapter / First Malayalam Female Star

Mini, Darshana Sreedhar. ‘Star’s “Dust”: Miss Kumari and the Fossilized Memory of the “First Malayalam Female Star”’.

in Lawrence, Michael, ed. Indian Film Stars: New Critical Perspectives. London: British Film Institute, 2020. pp. 31-44.

Excerpt: Taking a slight detour from prevalent works on stardom in South Indian cinema and female actors in particular, this chapter looks at the star persona of Miss Kumari, the actress whose filmic career and rise to fame was entwined with the success of Merryland studios, one of the foremost studios in Kerala established in 1951. Drawing on archival sources, film texts and interviews, I look at the varied modes through which the figure of the female star emerges in the construction of Miss Kumari as a studio artist.

More info : https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/indian-film-stars-9781844578542/

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Encyclopedia entry / Wetland Conservation and Sustainable Development in Kerala

Karunakaran Prasanna, Chitra, Preetha Kizhakkekara Vannadil, and Vikas Pattath Ayyappan. ‘Wetland Conservation and Sustainable Development in Kerala, India’. In Life on Land, edited by Walter Leal Filho, Anabela Marisa Azul, Luciana Brandli, Amanda Lange Salvia, and Tony Wall. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Cham: Springer International Publishing. Published ahead of print, 17 June 2020.

Abstract: The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat held at Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, defines wetlands as areas that are marshy, fen, peatland, or water. Wetlands in India encompassing both natural and human-made inland and coastal wetlands add up to 757,060.

Kerala has a rich biophysical system due to the presence of three biodiversity rich ecosystems: the tropical rainforest, the coastal marine coral reefs, and the coastal brackish water and freshwater wetlands. It has 160,590 Ha of wetlands, including both inland and coastal wetlands, and is key for wetland conservation because it includes three large wetlands that are Ramsar sites—Vembanad, Ashtamudi, and Sasthamkotta.

Kerala saw its inland wetland area considerably reduced in the past decades. Pressure on natural resources and on wetlands in particular has increased over the last few decades due to increasing industrialisation, urbanisation, and the lack of environmental considerations in development projects.

Protection of wetlands can contribute to the achievement of nearly all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whether it is eradication of poverty, water and food security, combating climate change, or development of inclusive and sustainable human settlements. In Kerala, this could be attained by integrating wetland conservation goals into the SDG planning process and the State sectoral policies.

More info: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71065-5_115-1

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Book Chapter / The History and Practice of Kutiyattam and Kathakali in Kerala

Daugherty, Diane. ‘Women on the Classical Kerala Stage: The Kutiyattam and Kathakali Traditions’. In The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Women on Stage, edited by Jan Sewell and Clare Smout, 585–615. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2019.

Abstract (edited): This chapter examines the history and practice of Kerala’s two classical theatre forms: kutiyattam (possibly the oldest continuously performed dramatic tradition in the world) and its later offshoot, kathakali. It discusses the origins, training and historical context of both as well the traditional costumes, make-up, and codified sign language or system of the hands, face and eyes with stylised movement and vocalisation used in performance.

It goes on to discuss later developments in both traditions and modern performances, focusing on the work of two of the most distinguished contemporary performers: Kalamandalam Girija (kutiyattam) and Geetha Varma (kathakali).

More info: <https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23828-5_26>

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Book chapter / Future of Asian Migration to the Gulf

Rajan, S. Irudaya and Ginu Zacharia Oommen. “The Future of Asian Migration to the Gulf.” pp. 281-86. in Rajan, S. Irudaya, and Ginu Zacharia Oommen, eds. Asianization of Migrant Workers in the Gulf Countries. Singapore: Springer, 2020.

Abstract (edited) : International migration is one of the most ubiquitous realities in the Gulf states. In many ways, the inexhaustible availability of a foreign labour force has allowed the Gulf nations to become what they are today.

Migration has been instrumental in nation-building processes in the Gulf. At the same time, the sheer scale of the phenomenon – with foreign majorities in the workforce as well as in total population of several states – is regarded as a challenge to nationhood.

At the other end of the migratory routes, for many countries of origin in South Asia, the Arab world and East Africa, migration to the Gulf is an integral part of the lives of tens of millions and a constitutive element of economies and societies.

About the book (edited): This edited volume contains sixteen chapters by eminent scholars on one of the largest migration corridors in the world i.e., between South and South-East Asia and the Gulf region.

Few chapters in this book focus on migration from the India state of Kerala- a state where migration to the Gulf is prominent and where remittances make up over 36 per cent of the state GDP. Furthermore, the issues covered range from labour practices and policies, citizenship and state protection, human rights, gender and caste as well as the diaspora.

More info: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-32-9287-1_16

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Book chapter / Indian Trade Diaspora in the Arabia

Jain, Prakash C. “Indian Trade Diaspora in the Arabian Peninsula: An Overview.” pp. 267-80.
in Rajan, S. Irudaya, and Ginu Zacharia Oommen, eds. Asianization of Migrant Workers in the Gulf Countries. Singapore: Springer, 2020.

Abstract : This chapter presents a historical and contemporary sociological profile of Indian trade diaspora in the Arabian Peninsula countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Although in modern times, the presence of Indian traders in the Persian Gulf region can be traced back to at least the sixteenth century in Oman, and the early nineteenth century in Bahrain, Yemen and the present-day UAE, it got consolidated during the inter-war period throughout the region.

Indian traders’ status as ‘British subjects’ particularly helped them in this regard. Further fillip to Indian commercial and entrepreneurial activities was provided by the emergence of Gulf countries as oil-exporting economies since the mid-1970s.

Liberalization of economies and opening of free-trade zones in many countries further helped the Indian entrepreneurs in launching a wide variety of commercial and trading activities in the region.

About the book (edited): This edited volume contains sixteen chapters by eminent scholars on one of the largest migration corridors in the world i.e., between South and South-East Asia and the Gulf region.

Few chapters in this book focus on migration from the India state of Kerala- a state where migration to the Gulf is prominent and where remittances make up over 36 per cent of the state GDP. Furthermore, the issues covered range from labour practices and policies, citizenship and state protection, human rights, gender and caste as well as the diaspora.

More info: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-32-9287-1_15

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Book Chapter / Examining the Unique Success of Participatory Budgeting in Kerala

Blair, Harry. ‘Accountability Through Participatory Budgeting in India: Only in Kerala?’ In Governance for Urban Services: Access, Participation, Accountability, and Transparency, edited by Shabbir Cheema, 57–76. Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements. Singapore: Springer, 2020.

Abstract (edited): Since its beginning in Brazil in 1989, participatory budgeting (PB) has spread worldwide to several thousand local governmental units (LGUs) in all continents, celebrated for its success in combining citizen involvement and state accountability in delivering public services.

While PB has been adopted in most places by individual LGUs on their own initiative, in India, the state of Kerala implemented PB throughout all its governmental units from rural villages and urban wards up through district in one ‘big bang’ move in 1996.

Over the succeeding two decades and more, PB has become securely institutionalised, surviving numerous changes of ruling party at state level. Outside of Kerala, however, few LGUs of any sort have implemented PB, and it has not flourished in any of the adopters.

Using the World Bank’s principal-agent model of state accountability for public service delivery, this paper will explore Kerala’s experience at PB and more briefly look at its lack of success elsewhere in India.

More info: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2973-3_3

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Book chapter / Gulf migration and Syrian Christians in Kerala

Oommen, Ginu Zacharia. Gulf Migration, Remittances and Religion: Interplay of Faith and Prosperity Amongst Syrian Christians in Kerala. pp. 247-66.

in Rajan, S. Irudaya, and Ginu Zacharia Oommen, eds. Asianization of Migrant Workers in the Gulf Countries. Singapore: Springer, 2020.

Abstract : The religious topography of Kerala, southern state of India, is quite unique. Muslims and Christians together constitute nearly 40% of the total population, which is a rather different demographic pattern from the rest of India.

Along with the social changes, by the beginning of twentieth century, the newly introduced colonial economy prompted Keralites to migrate to plantations in Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia (Malaya) as clerks and coolies.

About the book (edited) : This edited volume contains sixteen chapters by eminent scholars on one of the largest migration corridors in the world i.e., between South and South-East Asia and the Gulf region.

Few chapters in this book focus on migration from the India state of Kerala- a state where migration to the Gulf is prominent and where remittances make up over 36 per cent of the state GDP. Furthermore, the issues covered range from labour practices and policies, citizenship and state protection, human rights, gender and caste as well as the diaspora.

More info : https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-32-9287-1_14

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Book chapter / Governance and protection of migrants in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

Rajan, S. Irudaya, and Jolin Joseph. Migrant Domestic Workers in the GCC: Negotiating Contested Politics and Contradictory Policies. pp. 233-46.
in Rajan, S. Irudaya, and Ginu Zacharia Oommen, eds. Asianization of Migrant Workers in the Gulf Countries. Singapore: Springer, 2020.

Abstract : Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries together host among the largest global contingents of migrant domestic workers. Much of this labour force is composed of women migrating from South and Southeast Asia. This chapter details a number of distinctive characteristics and challenges of Asian domestic work migration and their implications for governance and protection.

The first section examines the over-reliance on Asian female domestics across the Gulf states, pointing to entrenched social norms that sustain the demand for and division of labour along ethnic and gender lines. The second section considers ambiguities in legislative frameworks of labour-sending and receiving countries, tracing conflicting policy rhetoric and uneven outcomes.

The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for transnational policy coordination that builds on local partnerships and regional collaboration to enhance inclusive, gender-sensitive labour migration infrastructure.

About the book (edited): This edited volume contains sixteen chapters by eminent scholars on one of the largest migration corridors in the world i.e., between South and South-East Asia and the Gulf region.

Few chapters in this book focus on migration from the India state of Kerala- a state where migration to the Gulf is prominent and where remittances make up over 36 per cent of the state GDP. Furthermore, the issues covered range from labour practices and policies, citizenship and state protection, human rights, gender and caste as well as the diaspora.

More info: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-32-9287-1_13

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Book chapter / Migrant Workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

Bijulal M.V. Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Citizenship and Human Rights of Migrant Workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries. pp. 69-82.
in Rajan, S. Irudaya, and Ginu Zacharia Oommen, eds. Asianization of Migrant Workers in the Gulf Countries. Singapore: Springer, 2020.

Abstract :   Independent investigations by human rights organizations and public interest reports through investigative journalism have exposed many areas of urgent human rights concerns for the workers. Governments across South and South East Asia have responded to such precarious situations in varying degrees. Some interventions have resulted in immediate strategies for reinstating confidence and guarantee of rights and dignity to the workforce.In some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, official sources have acknowledged the highly deplorable state of life of the workers and have even opined that the unrest among workers is an expression of their angst. Governmental response to crises has varied across the GCC; from minimal regulation measures, to radical intervention for protection of rights of the workers. However, in the last decade, there are indications of a common GCC policy on migrant labour. Recent press reports also indicated fresh diplomatic moves in this direction.

About the book (edited): This edited volume contains sixteen chapters by eminent scholars on one of the largest migration corridors in the world i.e., between South and South-East Asia and the Gulf region.

Few chapters in this book focus on migration from the India state of Kerala- a state where migration to the Gulf is prominent and where remittances make up over 36 per cent of the state GDP. Furthermore, the issues covered range from labour practices and policies, citizenship and state protection, human rights, gender and caste as well as the diaspora.

 

More info: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-32-9287-1_5

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