Vivekananda Journal of Research

Vol.8 – Issue 1 January-June 2019 ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online)

VIVEKANANDA JOURNAL OF RESEARCH

ADVISORY BOARD

Justice V.K. Shali Prof. R. K. Mittal Former Judge, Delhi High Court Professor- Director Planning & Development New Delhi Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University New Delhi Prof. Rabi N. Kar Principal, Shyamlal Collage, Prof. K. N. Chandrasekharan Pillai University of Delhi Former Director, Indian Law Institute New Delhi New Delhi

Dr. P. K. Das Prof. V. Sudesh Professor, IIT Guwahati, Professor, University Law College Assam Bangalore University

Prof. K. Parmeswaran Dr. Sudesh Avte Professor, National Law School, President COPCONSULT, Gandhi Nagar Formerly Executive Vice President Security Mumbai International Airport Dr. Hamid Nemati Chef Editor of IJISP Prof. Devesh Kishore University of North Carolina, USA Professor Emeritus India Today Media Institute (ITMI) Noida Dr. Sanjeev Singh Head – Institute of Informatics and Prof. S. Balakrishnan Communication, cluster Innovation Centre, Department of Information Technology, University of Delhi Anna University, Coimbatore

Prof. Mirza S. Saiyadain Prof. K.G. Suresh Ex-Professor IIM Ahmedabad & Former Director General Mc Gill University, Canada Indian Institute of Mass Communication New Delhi Vol.8 – Issue 1 January-June 2019 ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) VIVEKANANDA JOURNAL OF RESEARCH

Editor-in-Chief Prof. Sidharth Mishra Chairperson, Research Committee

Editor Dr. Pawan Whig Dean Research

Associate Editor Dr. M. Balasubramanian Associate Dean Research

Members • Dr. Anuradha Jain • Dr. Supriya Madan • Dr. Rashmi Salpekar • Dr. Charulata Singh • Dr. Indira Bhardwaj • Dr. Salonee Priya • Dr. Anuradha Mishra • Dr. Isha Narula • Ms. Dimple Chawla • Ms. Ankita Kumar Gupta • Ms. Avneek Kaur • Ms. Khyati Kathuria • Ms. Avani Bhatnagar • Ms. Yogita Thareja

Published & Printed by Mr. Dalip Kumar (For and on behalf of Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, New Delhi) Vol.8 – Issue 1 January-June 2019 ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Editorial

Greetings from editor’s desk!!! It is our pleasure to bring you volume 8, January -June 2019 issue. Vivekananda Journal of Research (VJR) is a UGC listed bi-annual, peer reviewed, research journal. VJR is published with enriched papers from various disciplines. This issue contains rich mixture of articles & insight of diverse areas like Law, Management, IT, Economics and Journalism. We are happy to share that this time we cover research thoughts based on multidiscipline environment from various reputed institutes across the country covering PAN India. First paper in this issue is from Chairperson, School of journalism VIPS and it discusses very interesting facts about Gandhian Images. Second paper from Mizoram University is conceptual paper to study the influences of various factors on media content and about Dalit in India. Third paper is from Punjabi University which gives insight in geographic trends in international news coverage of Indian English dailies. Fourth paper is from Devi Ahilya University, Indore based on Social Media. Fifth paper from Kompally, Secunderabad discusses about how the increase in production of Handlooms will reduce the pollution and will provide employment to the needy people. Sixth paper is from Vivekananda institute of Professional studies, Delhi presents the comparative analysis of consumer behaviour towards automobile industries. The seventh paper is from University of Kashmir highlights the of mental health among college students with reference to their gender, locality and category. The eighth paper is from Ambedkar University, Delhi about Writing Knowledge/Writing Power. Ninth paper is from University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun based on Cloud Computing. The tenth paper is Vol.8 – Issue 1 January-June 2019 ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) from Amity University which critically analyses Mediating Role of Facebook. The eleventh paper from Kurukshetra university discusses novel one-way cryptographic hash algorithm which takes input of any length and produces an output of fixed length. The twelfth paper from South Asian University is based on foreign policy. The thirteenth paper is from University law school(GGSIPU) New Delhi is based on International arbitral awards in China and Australia. The fourteenth paper is also from University law school(GGSIPU) New Delhi presents a study based on Hampering Women to enter religious places in India. Fifteenth paper from RDIAS Delhi analyses the determinants of financial literacy among working women in Delhi. Sixteenth paper is from Indore which presents a study based on the issues surrounding the transparency and authenticity of the index. Seventeenth paper is from Assam presents a case study on entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Eighteenth paper is from department of management studies GL Bajaj Institute which gives insights into organizational flexibility. Nineteenth paper is from Indira Gandhi University Rewari, Haryana is based on the study of Primary Agricultural credit societies. Twentieth paper from Andhara university Vishakhapatnum discusses the requisites and fulfillment of Rural family Migrants. Last paper in this issue is a case study based on Social Infrastructure and Economic Development in Punjab. I feel privileged to thank our reviewers and editorial committee for releasing the issue in time. I hope this journal will prove to be a valuable reference material for the researchers working in the same area. Dr. Pawan Whig Editor CONTENTS

Title of The Article Page No.

Abuse of Gandhian Images : A Study of The Anna Hazare Movement 1-11 Sidharth Mishra

Coverage of Dalits in Indian Media: A Critical Analysis of Influences on Content 12-27 Milli Singh

Geographic Trends in International News Coverage of Indian English Dailies 28-44 Happy Jeji and Vijayta Taneja

Online Forums: Motives For Consumer Activity and The Social Media Behaviour of it’s Participants 45-63 Prerna Kumar and Sumit Maheshwari

Promote Handloom Fabrics to Reduce Pollution and to Encourage Degradable : A Study of Handloom and Textile Sector 64-70 Anumala Kalyani

Comparative Analysis of Consumer Preference Towards Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai 71-83 Kanishk Gupta and Ruchika

A Study of Mental Health Among College Students with Reference to their Gender, Locality and Category in Jammu Division 84-91 Mohd Haneef Kumar

Writing Knowledge/Writing Power: Disciplining Gender Studies 92-105 Shubhra Nagalia and Rachna Chaudhary

Macro: Cost-Oriented Autonomic Resource Management for Cloud Computing 106-115 Bhupesh Kumar Dewangan, Amit Agarwal, Venkatadri M and Ashutosh Pasricha

Mediating Role of Facebook between Brand Communication Strategies and Consumer Behaviour 116-134 Priya Handa and Ruhi Lal A New One-Way Cryptography Hash Function for WSN 135-143 Pooja and R.k.chauhan

Conceptualizing Ambiguity in Indian Foreign Policy 144-159 Syed Eesar Mehdi

Emerging Trends in the Enforceability of International Arbitra Awards in China and Australia 160-179 Misha Bahmani and Ramakrishna Srinivasan

Hampering Women to Enter Religious Places in India: Chauvinism & Conventionalism in 21St Century 180-193 Shivani Goswami

Determinants of Financial Literacy: A Study Among Working Women in Delhi 194-213 Kamini Rai, Shikha Dua and Miklesh Yadav

Ease of Living Index: Why it Fails to Inspire Confidence? 214-228 Varun Sarda, Yamini Karmarkar and Neha Lakhotia

Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Appraisal and Entrepreneurial Intentions of Commerce and Management Students of Assam – A Study 229-237 Nilanjana Deb

Insights into Organizational Flexibility Inspired by Human Body as a System 238-249 Alpana Agarwal and Prem Vrat

Recovery Performance of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies: an Evaluationz 250-260 Vijay Singh and Amit Dangi

Rural Family Migrants as Apartment Caretakers: Requisites and Fulfilment–Visakhapatnam, India 261-278 Asha Bandaru

Social Infrastructure and Economic Development in Punjab: A Study of Post Reform Period 279-292 Rajinder Kaur and Avinash Kaur

Guidelines for Submission of Research Papers to VJR 293

Subscription Form 301 Abuse of Gandhian Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 1-11 Images : A Study of The Anna ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Hazare Movement © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Sidharth Mishra

Abstract

The visage of the father of the nation has been employed in the most unusual ways and has triggered disputes. His glasses are the Swachh Bharat symbol, which have made their way to the new Rs 2,000 notes. PM Narendra Modi mimicked his iconic position at the charkha on the cover page of the Khadi Village Industries Commission calendar and diary, sparking protests. Then a Haryana minister said Gandhi would be removed from currency notes; he soon recanted, but Gandhi remains a visual spectacle. – The Times of India 26 February 2017

Keywords: Gandhi, Anna Hazare, India Against Corruption, Ramlila Grounds, Khadi

Introduction

In August 2011 dawned on historical Ramlila Grounds in Delhi a social reformer from Maharashtra, Kisan Baburao Hazare, at the helm of an anti-corruption movement against the Congress governments both at the Centre and in the state. Popular as Anna among his followers, Hazare, a former army truck driver, dressed like an Indian farmer— dhoti (a wrapper), kurta (a tunic) and a cap, popularly called Gandhi Topi (cap), all made in handspun fabric of Khadi. In Anna people saw, though briefly, a reincarnation of Mahatma Gandhi, and no wonder in effort to identify themselves with Anna they started to wear the Gandhi like cap with these words printed on it “Main Hun Anna” (I am Anna).

* Adjunct Professor, Vivekananda School of Journalism & Mass Communication,VIPS GGSIPU, New Delhi. E-mail : [email protected] 2 Abuse of Gandhian Images : A Study of The Anna Hazare Movement Superficial Identification

People who joined the agitation wearing Anna Caps were later to realize that the movement was Gandhian neither in letter nor in spirit but did thrive on Gandhian imageries. The identification with Gandhi, as the events which later unfolded showed, was superficial and focused only at giving a Gandhian image to Anna Movement. This was a successful exercise in the branding of the movement by its clever brand managers. While Gandhi insisted that his followers wore caps made from handspun fabric, Anna’s followers wore caps from an environmentally degrading synthetic material. The environmentalist in Gandhi would have never approved of use of synthetic material for sewing caps.

Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicines in Non- Western Cultures (1997) mentions,

“In India, Khadi is not just a cloth, it is a whole movement started by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The Khadi movement promoted a socio-cultural aesthetic, an idea that Indians could be self-reliant on cotton and be free from foreign cloth and clothing. The Khadi movement by Gandhi aimed at boycotting foreign goods including cotton and promoting Indian goods, thereby improving India’s economy. Mahatma Gandhi began promoting the spinning of Khadi for rural self-employment and self-reliance (instead of using cloth manufactured industrially in Britain) in the 1920s in India, thus making Khadi an integral part and an icon of the Swadeshi movement. The freedom struggle revolved around the use of Khadi fabric and the dumping of foreign-made clothes. When some people complained about the costliness of Khadi to Mahatma Gandhi, he started wearing only dhoti (loin cloth).”

Mahatma started the movement in 1920s and sustained it through his life and such has been the impact of Khadi movement that it continues to matter as a brand even seven decades after his assassination. This, despite the fact that the political class of the country which has worn Khadi all these years, has not really conducted itself with much splendor.

Media Event Sold As Gandhian Movement

Use of Gandhian caps was not the only instance of misuse of the Gandhian image during the Anna Hazare Movement. During the agitation in April 2011 at Jantar Mantar, the highest circulated newspaper of the nation—The Times of India—carried the headline: “INDIA WINS AGAIN.” If culmination of every successful media event was to make India win, yes, the headline was appropriate. Sidharth Mishra 3 Despite the hype created around it, the India Against Corruption agitation led by Anna Hazare was not even a public movement in true sense, forget about it being Gandhian in nature. It was a media spectacle, which was very successfully executed around the image of Mahatma Gandhi. It was not even comparable the Sampurna Kranti (total revolution) movement of Jaya Prakash Narayan launched in the 1970s.

If one looks for comparisons for Anna Hazare’s agitation, one can find only one— the public outcry in 1999 against the hijacking of the Indian Airlines IC-814 flight from Kathmandu to Delhi to the Taliban land of Kandhar. The television cameras then too had gone to town over people agitating against “the Government’s failure to save the lives of its citizens.” It brought such pressure on our Government that we had to release the terror vendors, who had been arrested following martyrdom of several Indian soldiers. Till date, the nation is paying a heavy price for releasing the likes of Azhar Masood, who later founded Jaish-i-Mohammed, to secure the release of citizens held hostage.

An evil plaguing the television media is that in their craving for TRPs they rush to ferret out the imitation as the real. They seldom make an effort to go beyond the superficial. In my initial years as journalist, my first chief reporter would always take me to the task for having an opinion. “Report news, write comments when you have a column to yourself,” he would thunder.

In 1999, when the television media cried hoarse on the demand by the citizens to secure release of the hostages of IC-814, little did it realize that it was the Opposition Congress, in a bid to embarrass the Government, which was surreptitiously instigating people. The leader of the agitation was one Shreeram Maggo, a Congress worker from West Delhi. For his services, he was later bequeathed with a ticket to contest the Assembly polls and still later his daughter-in-law became member of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on a Congress ticket.

In a just case of poetic justice, the Congress-led Government in 2011 suffered at the hands of the same media when Anna Hazare movement broke out. The Congress claim of the Opposition elements adding fuel to the Jantar Mantar fire went uncontested as then non-Congress Chief Ministers Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar openly supported the movement. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) too released a statement in the support of the cause. There was open sloganeering against Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin and Manmohan Singh being of not much consequence than a family butler.

What added to making this media spectacle a success was the arrogance, brashness 4 Abuse of Gandhian Images : A Study of The Anna Hazare Movement and insolence of the faces of the Congress party—Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari and Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Judging well the people’s pulse, Bollywood veteran Anupam Kher, who later joined the BJP bandwagon along with his actor wife Kiran Thakur Kher, in his address to the agitators, compared the Government to the Hindi film villains especially the incomparable Ajit. The faces of the Government and ruling party suitably fitted the role of the sidekicks Roberts and Michaels of the arch-villain “Loin” (Ajit would often parrot these lines: “Mera nam Loin hain” (My name is Loin aka Lion)). Yes of course, Loin, because Manmohan Singh certainly didn’t have the wherewithal to be called a Lion.

This brings us to the core issue of a pusillanimous Government genuflecting to the pressure built by the media around the borrowed image of Gandhi. Thankfully, the Government showed some spine after a section of the print media raised questions about the content and intent of the movement, forcing a climb down by the agitators and matter resolving into a settlement “respectable” both to the Government and the agitators.

Non-Gandhian Venue for Protest

Another point of difference between Gandhi’s and Anna’s movements was venue of the protest. Gandhi never chose New Delhi as the site for any of his major Satyagraha Movements. New Delhi is best remembered as the site of his assassination. The studio hunters of national Capital would do well to travel to Motihari, where Gandhi launched the Champaran Satyagraha a century ago. Even in this age, a television OB van would find difficult to easily reach Motihari. A century ago Gandhi went there to launch movement to be with the people and not the Press reporters.

Talking of the Press, Gandhi seldom took criticism negatively. Mahatma recounts in My Experiments with Truth an interesting appointment with the editor of The Pioneer, then considered an opponent of Indian aspirations, at Allahabad: “He promised to notice in his paper anything that I might write but added that he could not promise to endorse all the Indian demands, inasmuch as he was bound to understand and give due weight to the viewpoint of the Colonials as well. It was enough that he should study the question and discuss it in his paper.”

Unlike the Mahatma, the Anna Gandhians took to lobbying, threat and blackmail to silence voices of criticism. Attempts by probing reporters to question the protagonists of the movement were stonewalled with replies, “What’s the point talking to you people, you are against us.” Sidharth Mishra 5 Talking of the dangers of media hysteria, one is reminded of Amitabh Bachchan starrer Main Azaad Hoon. The 1989 film was adaptation of 1941 Frank Capra film, Meet John Doe. It was about a journalist, out to save her job in the face of failing circulation of the paper, concocting fictitious character and weaving a story around him to boost newspaper sales. The story gets popular and the newspaper owner Seth Gokulchand, enacted in a masterly way on the screen by late Manohar Singh, sees opportunity to promote sales and together with the journalist creates “Azaad” in flesh and blood.

As sales soar and the business peaks, in a moment self-confession the newspaper owner makes known his intent of turning ruler of the country. Today, one notices the same villainous streak in television anchors pushing India to become a nation of rabble rousers.

The similarity between Hazare’s agitation and Gandhi’s movement ended with the images that the organisers tried to create including Kiran Bedi pushing a clueless girl child to offer juice to Anna to end his fast. Bedi in her own way tried to recreate the famous image of a young Indira Gandhi offering juice to Mahatma to end his fast in 1924.

When the fast by Anna Hazare at Ramlila Maidan ended in August 2011, in a speech, Hazare sermonised on the virtues that every participant of his movement should follow. The sermon would have been most welcome during the course of his fast when rampant hooliganism ruled roost on the streets. Those who lived and worked in central Delhi areas in those days would vouch that for the days Anna fasted extraordinary disorder prevailed on the roads leading to Ramlila Maidan.

Groups of riders doing stunts on motorcycle zipped past the citizens. These bikers wore the Anna Cap made of some kind of polythene by-product, as mentioned earlier, with “Main Hun Anna” printed on them, held flags and kept whizzing past, whistling and shouting, violating all rules and regulations but making great images for the television cameras. The traffic cops stood as mute spectators, allowing them to do whatever they wanted to do lest it be construed as the Government’s attempt at using force to break an agitation.

Thanks to the third bridge on river Yamuna at Geeta Colony, built a year earlier during the Commonwealth Games, Delhi’s underbelly stood connected with the heart of the Capital like never before. Hoodlums, urchins and rowdies all had a gala time in the name of fighting corruption. Barely few of them knew that the agitation was for the passage of a Jan Lokpal Bill.

Inside the historic Maidan, the agitators had their appetite for agitation whetted by 6 Abuse of Gandhian Images : A Study of The Anna Hazare Movement loads of eatables like puree-sabzi, chole-chawal, kadhi-chawal, cartons of biscuits, truck- loads of bananas, crates of soft drinks and nimbu pani. In my quarter of a century long career as reporter, I have not seen such felicitation for the delegates to any public rally of any political party. We repeatedly raise the question of funding of political rallies, but nobody gathered the courage to audit the expenditure incurred on the jamboree which was witnessed at Ramlila Maidan.

When I talk of audit, I just do not mean just auditing the well-kept account books of the organisations run by members of Team Anna, but those organisations which put up the public kitchens etc. It should have been explained how come in a nation where crores fail to get two square meals a day, so much money was spent on food to keep an agitation going. Names of these organisations and the names of the people behind them should have been made public and they should have been made to vouch that the money spent by them was all clean, free of any taint.

Difference in Approach

Having discussed matters material, I would once again come back to the question of the ideological moorings of this agitation. What change this agitation brought to our social system? It’s difficult to find an answer. If it failed to bring social change, is it correct to even call Anna’s agitation a public movement, let alone a Gandhian movement.

Hazare wore Gandhi cap, increasingly acquired Mahatma’s mannerism (as seen in Richard Attenborough’s magnum opus) and resorted to some bhajan listening. But unlike the Mahatma, he tore constitutionalism to shreds at the outset. He held out a threat to the Government at every step of negotiation. Those who reached out to cheer him realised little that in action Hazare was actually eroding the authority of Parliament, something which suited a highly discredited Manmohan Singh Government.

It created a committee to draft the Lokpal Bill, denying the Opposition benches the right to debate the provisions of the Bill. The Government then thought that to get the Bill passed, the treasury benches could conveniently deploy the Movement Against Corruption to have its own way. Hazare in a way usurped the space of legitimate Opposition. Gandhi for sure would have never advised to lose faith in our Constitutional mechanism.

During their agitation in Ramlila Ground in August 2011 I vividly recall a placard carrying photos of Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan calling them present day Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Lakshmi Bai and Chandrashekhar Azad Sidharth Mishra 7 respectively. The makers and promoters of this placard obviously had no respect for history and true nature of Gandhian movements.

Mahatma was never comfortable with the politics and ideas of Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad. One of the major charges against Gandhi is that he never pleaded with the British Empire for reprieve to Bhagat Singh and his comrades Raj Guru and Sukhdev, who were hanged in Lahore jail after being convicted in the Saunder’s Murder Case. There are enough evidences to show that Gandhi abhorred the methods of Chandrashekhar Azad, the leader of Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, to which Bhagat Singh and others were also affiliated.

This placard made it abundantly clear that the movement orchestrated by Team Anna did not have a cohesive ideological base. Forget their inspirations even in their practice, the members of the core committee showed very divergent personal worldviews. The only point, on hindsight, which seems to have brought them together, with the exception of Kisan Baburao Hazare, was the desire to destabilize the government. There were established evidences and reasons to this effect against Kejriwal, Bedi and the Bhushan. The revelation of the shenanigans of Swami Agnivesh too was well known.

They together with the Government representatives—Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khursheed and Veerappa Moily—were initially tasked to give us the Lokpal Bill, which was to act as panacea to all ills related to corruption. I recall Hazare having rebuffed a media query on how the Opposition is kept out of the law- making process. He said and probably believed also that the Opposition mattered little. Less than six months later, his Team was wooing the Opposition to rescue them, when Government decided a go-slow on the Bill.

More shamelessly members of his team went to Hisar in Haryana campaigning against the Congress and nearly facilitating victory of a tainted and charge-sheeted Ajay Chautala in the assembly bypolls. Earlier in April, when the father of Ajay Chautala, former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala had come to pledge support to Hazare at Jantar Mantar, he was shooed away. How quick the change of heart and colour!

The other weakness which this movement (or shall we call it an event) suffered was from lack of social base. On the first signs of adverse conditions they withered. Unlike other social and political movements in the country, they never had to put-up with State repression. Rather, they thrived on State facilitation. The moment State sponsorship was withdrawn they went rushing to the High Court for a discount and got rapped on 8 Abuse of Gandhian Images : A Study of The Anna Hazare Movement the knuckles. With crowds not showing up, they lost the heart and steam to carry their campaign forward.

Here the question arises, did the crowd ever matter to Mahatma? I have made this point earlier and would do it again—Mahatma went to as remote a place as Champaran and that too in the beginning of the 20th century to launch his fight against the repressive Empire. He drew inspiration from Rabindranath Tagore’s “Ekla Chalo” (walk alone). Lack of crowds never disheartened him.

Tagore’s 1905 song exhorts to continue the journey despite lack of support from others. Mahatma never took decisions in a hurry and never really craved for the crowd and media support when he decided to launch a movement in sustenance of a cause. He in fact walked an extra mile to convince those holding adverse opinion in media and never indulged in McCarthyism as in the case of the pretenders to the Mahatma’s legacy.

Conclusion

Given the above facts, the readers would appreciate my reservations about the movement led by Anna Hazare. First, it certainly didn’t have Gandhian moorings as was claimed. In fact, I am still to be told what was the ideological basis of this movement? The leaders from the movement have gone different ideological ways. What change it brought other than blowing our Constitution to the smithereens and setting up another political party? Gandhi had Vaishnavite moorings, he believed in Vaidyo Narayano Harihi, meaning doctors are equivalent to Lord Vishnu.

When Gandhi was in the custody of the British, he was attended by British military doctors. Gandhi did not ask for “comfort with his personal doctors” as Anna Hazare did during his fast at the Ramlila Grounds. Gandhi did not “distrust Government appointed doctors,” as Hazare did allowing the forum of his protest to top corporate honcho Doctor Naresh Trehan to brand his new hospital.

In this era of publicity, anonymity is tyag (abnegation), a certain Gandhian ideal. Wearing a Gandhi cap and a khadi dhoti-kurta alone doesn’t make one a Gandhian. In what he wore, Mahendra Singh Tikait, the Kisan leader from Muzzafarnagar in Uttar Pradesh was as much a Gandhian as Anna Hazare of Ahmednagar in Maharashtra. In fact, Gandhi decided to wear the cap in the early part of his career to identify with the Indian peasantry, who he rightly realised was integral to the success of the people’s movement. Sidharth Mishra 9 Hazare was un-Gandhian as far as his leadership of India Against Corruption movement went. The Civil Society, which played the role of catalyst during the movement, has largely come to connote the creamy layer of our social system with little connect to our social and cultural dynamics.

Gandhi led his movement through the Indian National Congress. Soon after the success of Champaran agitation Gandhi undertook the task of converting the Congress into a national organisation with its members coming from every village and mohallah. This he did not for any immediate political harvest as in the case of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Unlike Anna, Gandhi’s movement was not captive to certain self-acclaimed representatives of the people. The representation was based on a detail electoral process ensuring a true representation of the people in the decision-making process. The AAP grounded the internal democracy in the party a few years after its founding establishing Arvind Kejriwal as its dictator.

Anna Hazare too was no different in his world view. Dictatorial trends were visible right from the time of the commencement of the movement. Anna Hazare’s confession that one needs the methods of Shivaji along with those of Gandhi best expressed the nature of movement—that it did not believe in healthy democracy. People raised questions as to why was Anna Hazare quiet when the migrants in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra were bamboozled by the activists of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena? Anna probably then preferred to let Shivaji take toll over Gandhi.

References:

Books

1. My Experiments With Truth – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – Jaico Publishing House (2009) 2. Hind Swaraj -- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – Rajpal Publishing House (2009) 3. Gandhi Before India - Ramachandra Guha - Random House Canada/ Penguin- Random House India (October 2, 2013) 4. India After Gandhi - Ramachandra Guha - Harper Collins (August 2007) 5. Makers of Modern India - Ramachandra Guha - BelKnap Press (March 31, 2011)/ 10 Abuse of Gandhian Images : A Study of The Anna Hazare Movement Penguin India (2012) 6. Patriots and Partisans - Ramachandra Guha - Penguin India (November 10, 2012)/ Allen Lane (November 15, 2012) 7. Modern India : 1885-1947 - Sumit Sarkar - St. Martin’s Press (January 1, 1989)/ Laxmi Publications (May 4, 2001) 8. From Plassey To Partition and After: A History of Modern India - Sekhar Bandyopadhyay - Orient Longman (June 26, 2004)/Orient Blackswan Private Limited (2014) 9. The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years - Pranab Mukherjee - Rupa Publications India (December 11, 2014) 10. The Turbulent Years: 1980 - 1996 - Pranab Mukherjee - Rupa Publications India (February 1, 2016) 11. The Coalition Years - Pranab Mukherjee - Rupa Publications India (October 10, 2017) 12. Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicines in Non- Western Cultures (1997) 13. Gandhi Khadi: History of Contention and Conciliation -- Rahul Ramagundam -- Orient Blackswan (2008) 14. Swaraj – Arvind Kejriwal – HarperCollins (2012)

Newspapers

1. The Pioneer, New Delhi – Sidharth Mishra’s weekly column Reporter’s Notebook from April 2011 – May 2012 2. The Millennium Post, New Delhi -- Sidharth Mishra’s weekly column Reporter’s Notebook from June 2012 – March 2017 3. The Times of India, New Delhi edition 4. The Indian Express, New Delhi edition 5. The Hindustan Times, New Delhi edition 6. The Mail Today, New Delhi edition 7. Nav Bharat Times, New Delhi edition Sidharth Mishra 11 Films

1. Gandhi – Richard Attenborough (1982) 2. Main Azaad Hoon – Tinnu Anand (1989) 3. Meet John Doe – Frank Capra (1941) Coverage of Dalits in Indian Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 12-27 Media: A Critical Analysis of ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Influences on Content © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Mili Singh

Abstract

This is a conceptual paper to study the influences of external and internal factors on media content and coverage about Dalit in India. The study is done by reviewing literature on the content and coverage by media (newspaper) about Dalit of India. The paper goes onto analyze five factors that play role in influencing media contents about Dalit. These factors are non-consumption of media by Dalit, Indian Social Structure (Caste System), Organizational Structure of Media, Advertiser’s influences and Journalistic work-style. Media scholars criticize media for under representation, lack of coverage and empathy about Dalit issues. Many researches prove that causes of Dalit are not covered; their voices are not given space and time by Indian media. The intent of this investigation is to find out the possible causes and reasons of lack of media coverage of the large section of society in a democratic country. The research works, articles and interviews of journalist were critically examined in the study to find out the major influences that guides the media contents about Dalit. The work done by Shoemaker and Reese in their book -Mediating the Message: Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content is discussed throughout the paper in the context of factors that influenced the media content.

Keyword: Dalit, Media content, Diversity, Caste- system, Scheduled caste

Introduction

Dalits are invisible. No voice for majority population of India. Coverage of Dalit * Professor, Department of Mass Communication, Mizoram University, Aizawl E-mail : [email protected] Mili Singh 13 in mainstream media is often a hot topic of discussion. Lack of understanding about the problems associated with them is discussed in various forum, seminars, research papers and academic writings. Neglecting the problems and events associated with marginalized people in form of news, articles and editorial writing are not new phenomena in all nations and in all ages. Many discussions and researches have been done to prove that Dalit are not given proper coverage by mainstream media. The coverage done by the media are not only insufficient and also they lack the balance of views in the content. Dalits are stereotyped in a particular image and misrepresented.

Dalit are not minorities in India as their population is 201,378,372 (2011 census) which is around 16.6 percent of Indian population. But they are marginalized in Indian society; economically and socially. Reservation policy of government of India meant to improve their social and economic status is not efficient enough to give the due social status deserved by dalit in human civil society.

“Dalit seek equality, dignity and self-respect, which is denied to them in the circumscribed modernity embraced by the middle class”. (Thapar, 2001) Dalits are not only denied of their social and economic status but also no one cares to listen to their voices reflecting their longing to a society that doesn’t care for them. Similar pattern is shown in media content also as media platforms have failed to listen to their voices.

Scheduled caste population which constitutes large section of population of democratic country which is well matured of more than sixty years is neglected and unheard. Pre-independent Indian history can be divided into three main régimes- 200 years of British India, Muslim Rulers and Hindu Rulers. This kind of categorization is vague as there were overlapping and various Rulers followed different religions. Rulers came and gone, what didn’t change were in the conditions of Dalit. The name may be different but a sect of people never enjoyed being human, as their basic rights were denied. May be they didn’t even realize the matter of the fact of their bad conditions. The structure of the society made them believe that the prevailing conditions were their fate and they came in the world to stay in inhuman conditions. Though many reformers came who tried to change all these but the best ever efforts came from Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar who not only fought for the rights of Dalit but made them aware and enlightened. He belonged to same community so he understood their plight as he faced the same hardship and humiliation throughout his childhood and during his education. He was the chief architect of Indian constitution and first law minister of independent India who ensured constitutional guarantees and protection of wide range of civil liberties for the citizens of India including Dalits and women. Though 14 Coverage of Dalits in Indian Media: A Critical Analysis of Influences on Content constitution assures social, political, economic equality and equality before the law for everyone, Dalit are way behind to enjoy the equalities provided by constitution. They have to uplift themselves as their educational, economic and social progress remained stagnant for hundreds of years, suppressed under inhuman caste system. Many questions were asked about authenticity of reservation in education and employment given to Dalit by Government of India in name of equality of citizens. But those seeking equality for all citizens ignore the fact that Dalits have undergone years of humiliation, denial, plight and unprivileged conditions that has led them to become weak and marginalized in Indian society in comparison to others, so it is not possible to uplift them without a strong support of government and society as a whole.

As they were socially deprived their voices were also unheard. This trend is visible in present day media reporting also. The trend of under representation of Dalit can be seen in many studies. In his book India’s Newspapers revolution, Robin Jeffery observed the poor coverage of Dalit in two major newspapers Times of India and The Hindu, the editorial pages of these two newspapers published only four articles about Dalit in first nine month of year 1996. (Jeffery, 1996)

Similar trends are seen in English newspaper in the thesis work “Unseen and unheard – how Dalit are represented in three Indian newspapers” done by Joanna Wåhlstedt of The University of Södertörn done in 2012 on three newspaper The Times of India, The Hindu and Indian Express in Delhi tried to find out the main subjects in which Dalits were mentioned. He found that Election was the major subject and second most Dalit name that was covered is Mayawati and BSP that also related to election and politics.

A study by Deepa Tattimani, Tahmeena Nigar Sultana and Onkargouda Kakade on Kannada newspaper suggested that two leading newspapers of Karnataka VijayaVani and Vijya Karnataka are giving 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent respectively of total space to Dalit issues ( Tattimani Sultana & Kakade, 2016)

Ratnamala in her study found that media neglected caste based violence against Dalit in the name of proximity for national coverage and confined it as local news. The violence against Dalit was trivialized as day to day crime issue and not as issue of human rights. She concluded that the neglect, trivialization and stereotyping of Dalit by media is symbolic annihilation of Dalit in media. (Ratnamala, 2012)

A study of Hindi newspaper in eastern Uttar Pradesh about the coverage of scheduled caste people show meager representation of news related to them (3 percent space). They Mili Singh 15 were covered as victim of crime, situation, bureaucracy and accidents or beneficiary of government schemes in education and employment. (Singh, Ratnmala, 2016)

Understanding about Dalit

Dalit is a vast term including all the marginalized people. But my study is concerned with the people under scheduled caste list of government of India. The population of scheduled caste people is 201,378,372 and literacy is 66.07 percent at national level according to 2011 census. They constitute 16.63 percent of total population of India according to 2011 census data. The 154 million of Scheduled caste resides in rural areas and 47 million live in urban areas of India. So in absolute terms they form a big community especially in rural areas. 76.4 percent of total population of Scheduled castes is rural in nature. In urban areas also their numbers are quite significant and cannot be ignored. If we compare literacy of urban and rural Schedule caste the literacy rate is 67.5 percent and 59.8 percent respectively. (Census 2011)

The origin of Dalit can be traced with the origin of Shudras who were part of Hindu caste system and originated with coming of Aryans in Indian sub-continent. Aryans conquered the land and settled in Indian subcontinent. They were believed to bring caste system in the Indian sub-continent that was initially based on division of labor. Basically Aryans were agriculturists but later they divided themselves into the Kshatriyas who were the rulers and warriors, Brahmins were priests, scholars and thinkers. They were the guiding force for making of polices and preservation and maintenance of the laws for the nation. Vaishyas were in the profession of agriculturists, artisans, and merchants; Shudras were kept below the other castes and were laborers and unskilled workers, other than the agriculturists. The indigenous tribes of India those were living here for years were assimilated within Hinduism and given a place with the Shudras. (Nehru, 1946)

According to Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar Shudras emerged from a special tribe of Kshatriyas who came in conflict with Brahmins and later were denied of Upnayan Sanskara and deprived of sacred thread which led their status to fall below Vaishyas. (Ambedkar, 1946)

According to Joti Rao Govindrao Fule the Sudras and Ati-Shudras were regarded with hatred and contempt. Even common human rights were denied to them. Their touch and shadows were considered as pollutant. Their lives were not better than reptilian in the eyes of Brahmins. If a Brahmin kills Shudra his punishment was mere fasting penance for few hours but if a Shudra kills a Brahmin, life forfeiture of Shudra was the only punishment. 16 Coverage of Dalits in Indian Media: A Critical Analysis of Influences on Content (Fule, 1873) So there were discriminatory laws for the same crime based on caste system

Shudras as mentioned by Fule and Ambedkar were the people which later came under an umbrella term ‘Dalit’ which included many other marginalized people of India. The term Scheduled caste is included in Constitution of India and it enlists most unprivileged and socially discriminated group of people.

RESEARCH QUESTION AND PROPOSITION

The conceptual paper is intended to identify and understand the factors that influence the content and coverage of news about Dalit in India. Therefore the enquiry questions for this paper are-

1. Why print media marginalized the voice of Dalit after independence?

2. What are the external and internal influences on media content and coverage about the news related to Dalit?

Through this paper I tried to understand and trace out all the possible reasons behind the marginalization of Dalit in media coverage/ content. Most of the content analyses study done on media content about coverage of Dalit interpreted that people belonging to Dalit community are underrepresented in media content.

The following factors are the possible reasons for the under representation of Dalit in media. These factors are Indian Social Structure (Caste System), Organizational Structure of Media, Advertiser’s influences and Journalistic work style.

There are certain internal and external factors that influence the content regarding the Dalit. Internal factors means the influences on content that arises within the newsroom of a media organization and external factors means influences caused outside the media organization. Internal factors include the organizational structure of media and Journalistic work style while external factors include Indian social structure and Advertisers influence. Based on the these studies following propositions can be derived

Proposition 1: Dalits are non-consumers of media

Proposition2: Advertisers influence the news contents related to marginalized section of people

Proposition3: Lack of diversity in newsroom leads to lack of pluralistic publication of news Mili Singh 17 Proposition4: Western news values and journalistic practices eliminate the chances of news publications related to Dalit.

Proposition 5: Caste problem in Indian society subdues the Dalit voices.

METHODOLOGY

This is a review study based on work done by scholars and researchers. For the study I collected research journals, articles and books from internet, library and from my colleagues. The research work by various scholars and media person which I collected is based on topic of ‘influences on media content’ typically related to Dalit. The study is done by analyzing articles and research published on the subject, discussions on the subject, results and conclusions drawn in different media studies. Main study was focused on the researches on influences on the media content

The effects and influences of media messages have been studied and numerous researches have been done considering content as independent variables keeping effects influences and impact audience as dependent variables. (Shoemaker & Reese, 1996) Media content effects are read and debated but what shapes the media content is often neglected. Large amount of media contents are quantified to measure the coverage given to a particular event be its election, riot, war or rally in inches, columns and percentage coverage. Similarly media contents are studied qualitatively also to understand the view, the way of representation and slant of coverage, fairness and unfairness about an event or trail or stereotyping of images. Media content researches failed to give several answers related to Dalit coverage in India. What are the possible reasons that Indian media professionals neglect the issues and problems of Dalit?

The purpose of this study is to examine the forces and conditions that the media are most likely to be influenced while covering or neglecting Dalit Issue. Specifically, this study asks how often, and what are the external and internal forces attempt to influence the content of newspaper and their coverage. To answer this question, this study examined and analyzed various research papers and interviews of journalist to examine how extra and intra media and administrative forces of the media organizations influence news content and coverage decisions.

The study is based on theories given by Pamela J. Shoemaker and Stephen D. Reese in their book ‘Mediating The Message: Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content’ to understand how the content of Indian newspaper and its coverage about the Dalit is 18 Coverage of Dalits in Indian Media: A Critical Analysis of Influences on Content governed by organizational structure of media house and social structure.

Analysis and Discussion of the Literature

Dalits are non-consumers of media

Dalits are considered as non-consumers of media specially print media based on two reasons literacy and rural back ground. Literacy rate of Scheduled caste (66.07 percent) in India is still less in comparisons to national literacy which is 74.04 percent (census 2011). So they are not given the importance as prime consumers of newspaper. More over the population of Schedule caste people are mostly rural in nature where reach/penetration of media is lesser in comparison to urban population. As there are fewer readers from this community they are not given priority in coverage. Owners of newspapers, top-level management executives suggest coverage of particular story or emphasize a particular agenda. Moreover Newsroom management influences a reporter’s decision of how to cover any event, incident or story. Scheduled Caste people lack the status of prime consumer so the stories relevant to them or concerning their needs and demands are not focused or kept on the top of Media’s agenda list.

A major of Dalit population in India lives in villages. About76.4 percent of total Scheduled Caste population lives in rural areas and only 23.6 percent lives in urban areas (census 2011). Accessibility of newspapers in rural areas is still meager. Even with increase in literacy and reach of newspaper is improved in rural areas if we compare it with urban areas it still less.

As comprehended by Sevanti Ninan literacy is not only requirement for creating a newspaper readers but also education and political empowerment which creates a hunger for news. Rural readers must develop desire to read what the newspaper is offering, capability to buy a daily newspaper by paying more price than their urban counterparts. It is not only the rural people responsibility to increase the readership at village level but it is also publisher’s responsibility to reach to rural clients on time. (Ninan, 2007)

In his speech Mr. Justice G.N. Ray (2009), Chairman, Press Council of India reflected the same idea “The whole reach of print media in rural areas is rather limited due to low literacy which is further compounded by low purchasing power and poor means of transportation for timely delivery of newspapers. There is direct link between backwardness or underprivileged condition and deprivation of communication resources.” Mili Singh 19 In the same speech Justice Ray then mentioned an analysis done by CMS to understand the rural readers done in year 2002. It found that only one third of country’s rural populations, above age of 14 years were reading newspapers daily. He further said that the reach and the readership of the print media will improve with the improvement of literacy, economy and rural infrastructure that also leads to the better coverage of rural news. (Ray, 2009))

As per reports of census report 2011 only 14 % Schedule Caste households in rural areas own radio set in comparison to 18.9% household of general category. Similarly TV Set is owned by 29.1 % SC households and Computer/laptop by 4.8 % of SC households in rural areas. Condition of Scheduled caste household owning media in urban areas is better as Radio is owned by 19.7%, TV is owned by 68.5% and laptop is owned by 11.1% Schedule Caste households. But Scheduled caste population is mostly rural (76.4 %) and this leads to the lack of media reach to the whole population. (Census 2011) All these conditions lead media industry to consider Dalit as non-consumer of media.

Advertisers influences the news contents related to marginalized section of people

Advertisers are keenly watching the circulation of newspapers and the possible buyers of their products. ABC and advertising agencies are watching not only the readers of newspaper but the demography of the reader, their purchasing power, needs and demand of the product. Dalits are economically weaker section and they are not target consumers of product advertised by many advertisers. They give advertisement to those newspapers whose readers are capable of buying their products. Thus advertising money becomes guiding factor for decision of editorial policies. Who should be given priority in publishing of news? Advertisers are well versed with market segmentation and they plan their media selection according to the audience research done. To avoid any circulation waste they give advertisement in those newspapers and broadcast media which can support their sales objective. Dalits being economically weaker cannot afford many goods and services so their priority and voices are neglected. So advertisers’ money is the guiding external force that influences editorial to give priority to particular subject and that could exclude Dalit voice.

There are many internal and external forces involved in the news-decision process. It is very common that advertisers exert pressure on the management of newspaper or media houses to avoid covering a story because that could harm their company’s image and subsequently their profits. Regarding the news coverage all these important questions 20 Coverage of Dalits in Indian Media: A Critical Analysis of Influences on Content that should not be ignored and asked again and again. In today’s media world, the news workers, be the journalist or part of management are continuously facing with competing loyalties from both within and outside their organizations. To increase bottom-line pressure on media houses the advertisers’ potential influences on news content decisions are even more evident. (Shoemaker, Reese)

The same kind of result is observed in the study done by (Rita F. Colistra, 2008) which indicates that advertisers do influence the media specially the small newspapers and reporters from small market, though the other extra media and intra media influence play more dominant role.

According to Pringle and Starr (2005, p. 102) the advertisers principal interest is in using broadcast media to bring about attention of the audience to the product they advertise. The program that attracts potential customers stands the best chance to attract advertising revenue.

Western news values and journalistic practices eliminates the chances of news publications related to Dalit

Western news values which are based on prominence and oddity in news publications leads to negligence of common problems of Dalit. News about prominent Dalit leaders, their life style, election campaigns and speeches are covered with zeal but common Dalit problems have no voice. Similar trend of under representation of Dalit was observed by Dr. Ratnamala Vanamamalai in her study on Tamil newspapers. She studied the coverage of everyday reporting of Dalits in two newspapers Dina Thanthi and Dinamalar in years 1999 to 2004. The study shows Dina Thanthi published twenty news articles about Dalit in six composite weeks. During the same period Dinamalar published twenty four news items. The major news that was published in Dina Thanthi was about Dalit political parties, news about social and economic development, human rights violation educational and cultural development and welfare interest of Dalit was totally ignored. (Ratnamala, 2015) Their problems are published when some oddity is involved. When crime accident or certain violence is involved then only the news related to common Dalit is published.

Lack of diversity in newsroom leads to lack of pluralistic publication of news

Ownership and pattern of employment can affect democratic thinking. Variations of thoughts are the spirit of democracy. Democratic society accepts diverse opinion and thinking and allows their coexistence in comparison to socialistic or authoritarian society Mili Singh 21 where one type of view point is accepted. Diversity of thought, coexistence and acceptance of views in negation is the soul of democratic values.

As Glasser (1984, 137) said, “Divergent points of view are desirable because they sustain public debate, public debate is desirable because it nurtures an informed citizenry, and an informed citizenry is desirable because it brings about a more perfect polity.” Diverse viewpoint is the requirement for a democratic society and concentration of same views destroy the fabric of democratic values. (Glasser, 1984)

Robin Jeffery (2010) in his essay [Not] Being There: Dalits and India’s Newspapers observed that there is nearly total lack of Dalit journalists in Indian newsrooms. Those who are there are not at decision making level. According to statistic given by Robin Jeffery Dalit constitutes more than 15 percent of total population of India or 150 million people in year 2000; and Indian daily newspapers sell 50 million copies per day. This shows both big numbers not touching each other anyhow. Owners of the media houses are also non Dalit. Organizational influences which include owners and top-level executives in decision making position of the news contents, affect coverage of news related to Dalit both indirectly and directly.

The organizational pressures like economic, owners’ and executives’ pressure and staff size pressures could directly affect reporters’ thinking and way of gathering news. Organizational Influences could directly influence reporters’ perceptions on content of news. So the news workers do not wait every time for their news directors to tell them to do so but they may feel the pressure themselves and act according to indirect orders. Simply put, in an organization as they are not only trained for the news style but also socialized to accept that responsibility and self-edit. (Rita, 2008)

The lack of diversity at lop level leads the newspaper to publish news that goes in accordance to the belief system of people at executive or owner level and same type of news worthiness concepts percolates to the news workers at lower level in hierarchy.

Caste problem in Indian society subdues the Dalit voices

Media being the part of society and the influence of the heritages are deeply rooted in people working with it. It’s hard for a common man to change or divert from the firm belief system under which he or she has been born and brought up. Journalists are not better than others. As far as Indian society is concerned being part of caste system is very natural that may be seen with surprise by western scholars. Class and power differentiation and 22 Coverage of Dalits in Indian Media: A Critical Analysis of Influences on Content discriminations related to it is prevail in all part of world in one way or other.

This observation is categorically given emphasis by Shoemaker and Reese as they write–“Content is a function of ideological positions and maintains the status quo. Hegemony is a broad theoretical approach suggesting that media content is influenced by the ideology of those in power in society.” (Shoemaker & Reese, 1996)

Shoemaker & Reese further emphasized that media is key of the economic system that is controlled by the people with economic power, so mass media maintains an ideology consistent with the economic power and further ensure that society will continue in its present form.’(Shoemaker & Reese, 1996)

Shoemaker & Reese also inferred from the contents that are frequently published or broadcast, that the media tell us what is normal and what is deviant. By portraying some people and groups frequently and in powerful positions, media gives importance to them and marginalizing others or presenting them less privileged. The treatment of deviance is therefore an important feature of media content that categorizes people or group as important or less, or mainstream or marginalized. (Shoemaker & Reese, 1996, p 44)

If we see the social structure of India, caste system is prominently playing role in all aspects of polity, business, bureaucracy, teaching and in other fields. If we keep date of Indian independence as starting point of judging the socio-economic growth of people of India we find the upper caste has got the advantage of education and sound economic background to hold the important places in every field. On the other hand Dalit were deprived of education and had poor financial background for centuries and could not compete with their counterparts of upper castes. To eliminate this economic, social and financial differences reservation policy was introduced by Constitution of India. Because of this policy many Dalit were able to get government jobs and their economic and educational conditions improved. If there would be no reservation policy the gap between the socio- economic conditions of dalits and upper caste would surely increase. But in private sectors the organizational composition and employment pattern is not as liberal as in government sector. As there is no stringent law to monitor reservation in private organization, the private holdings are not bound to imply the reservation system in their organization. If we see the media in India is mostly owned by private ventures and so no reservation policy is bound on them also.

“The caste composition of the media was perpetuated because the media had no fixed norms for appointments, and people were free to hire whom they pleased, so it was Mili Singh 23 difficult for other castes to break in. A Brahmin is likely to hire more Brahmins, and this was demonstrated by the employment pattern in Indian Nation.”Nalin Varma.*(Ninan, 2007)

Absences of Dalits and people of backward classes at top level in media houses are the reality of not only in Hindi belt but also in other regional media. This gap of diversity in the newsroom is the reason of lack of concern about the issues relating to oppression of lower cast people. National media is more likely to publish atrocities against Dalits, than regional or Hindi media.’ (Ninan,2007, p 220-222).

Finding From The Literature Review And Discussion

Literature was useful for understanding the topic for this conceptual paper. The literature enabled me to answer the two inquiry questions.

1. Why print media marginalized the voice of Dalit after independence?

The discussion on literature related to media content on Dalit concludes that social status or caste system still matters in Indian society and media gives prominent coverage to the prominent group of the society. This way of coverage also fulfills the requirement of western practice of newsgathering guidelines given to media persons in India. Lack of diversity in newsroom and the employment system that neglects the government reservation policy also subdue the dalit voice. Advertisers consider Dalit as non-consumer of media as well as their products indirectly influence the coverage of news related to Dalit.

2. What are the external and internal influences on media content and coverage about the news related to Dalit?

Based on the above discussions and findings we reach on the following model which explains the influence of media content about Dalit in India. There are two broader factors for under representation and distorted presentation of Dalit issues in Indian media. External factors are those related to society and culture within which media work that includes caste system and non-consumer of media. Dalit or scheduled caste population is rural in nature and their literacy is less in comparison to other communities that reduce their media consumption especially to those media that require special training to consume print media like newspapers and magazines. Buying capacity is low because of their poverty so they cannot afford media and its product.

Internal factors include the influences related to media organization. Advertisers 24 Coverage of Dalits in Indian Media: A Critical Analysis of Influences on Content view Dalit as non-consumers of their products. So they will divert their ad money to the media that leads to least circulation wastes. As Dalit are not able to buy the advertised products they are last in the priority of manufacturers and business men who feed media with advertisement money. So Dalits are also last preferable subjects to be published or broadcasted by media.

Lack of diversity in employment leads to lack of diversity in understanding of events in diverse prospects. Same kind of people produce monotonous news or same aspects of an event. As we know news is an account of event as perceived by media men and then it is delivered to the audience. In case of diverse views about the problems and issues of Dalit is prepared by any journalist and , the scanners of gatekeepers (Editors and Management) kill the diversity of the story. Lack of Dalit journalist at decision level or owner level is a major concern in media organization that ultimately cannot understand the problems faced by Dalit people in society so the media content related to Dalit become unbalanced and biased. Western practices of newsgathering do not find unusual or prominence in stories related to Dalit so they leave them unattended. All these factors are mingled to form a situation that leads to underrepresentation or misrepresentation of Dalit in mainstream media.

Caste problem

ternal actors

Internal actors

er� ﬂ

Western news values and journalistic practices

Lack of diversity in newsroom

Figure 1 Media content of Dalit Mili Singh 25 CONCLUSIONS

The content published in newspaper or broadcast on television channels or radio is governed by many internal and external influences. It is difficult to judge the most influential factor as all of them are interlinked with each other. As statistical correlation of the influences on media content are not studied it is not possible to point out which one is the major or minor cause effecting media content in context of Dalit. The possible reason or factors for under representation of Dalit issues are qualitatively studied taking the work of Shoe maker P J and Reese S D. published in Mediating the Message: Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content in Indian context. Various published work of Indian and foreign authors and researches concluded that the reasons for under representation of Dalit in media content are their rural background and low economic status. Advertisers keep Dalit at lowest priority as the consumers of their products. The second major reason is the caste system in society that made these peoples voice unheard. Lack of diversity in newsroom at all organizational levels in media room create an imbalance in the type of stories published about Dalit and negligence of the issues concerning them. This research is not complete unless a correlation positive or negative, weak or strong is established between various factors affecting the news content related to Dalit using empirical data. The research work is open for more quantitative work.

REFERENCES

1. Ambedkar B R,(1946), Who were the Shudras (How they came to be the fourth Varna in Indian Aryan Society) Thacker & Co. Ltd, pp 212-218

2. Fule J,(1873),Slavery ( In the civilized British Government under the Cloak of Brahmanism) pine City Press, Pune, Pp. 130Retrieved fromhttps://archive.org/ details/Slavery-Gulamgiri on 03/05/2018.

3. Glasser, T. I. (1984).Competition and diversity among radio formats: Legal and structural issues. Journal of Broadcasting, 28, 127-142.

4. Nehru J (1946), Discovery of India1946, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXFORD NEW YORK pp 84 retrieved on https://ia800603.us.archive.org/5/ items/DiscoveryOfIndia/TheDiscoveryOfIndia-jawaharlalNehru.pdf on 19. 05. 2018)

5. Ninan S, (2007), Headlines from the Heartland: Reinventing the Hindi public 26 Coverage of Dalits in Indian Media: A Critical Analysis of Influences on Content sphere, Sage Publications India, N Delhi, p 71

6. Pringle, K. P., Starr, M.F(2005). Electronic Media Management, Fifth edition, Focal press . P15

7. Ratnamala V, (2012), Media on Violence against Dalits, Voice of Dalit, MD Publications Pvt Ltd., Vol 5 No. 2, July- Dec, Pp183-191

8. Ratnamala V, (2015), Media and Minorities: Media representation of Dalits in Tamil Nadu, Lap lambert academic Publishing, Deutschland Germany, pp. 138- 145.

9. Ray G.N., (2009) Chairman, keynote speech at Workshop on “Print Communication in Rural India” keynote address on 20th February, 2009 at Centre for Journalism & Mass Communication, Santiniketan, Kolkata, retrieved from http://presscouncil. nic.in/OldWebsite/speechpdf/Print%20communication%20in%20Rural%20 India20.2.pdf accessed on 21/11/2017)

10. Rita F. Colistra, (2008) Report perceptions of influences on media content: A structural equation model of the agenda and frame-building and agenda-cutting processes in the Television Industry (Doctoral Thesis) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill retrieved from https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/indexablecontent/ uuid:21619fbd-45ba-45fd-b4d6-7474738fa98b on 30/04/2018

11. Robin Jeffery (2016), [Not] Being There: Dalits and India’s Newspapers, Media and Modernity, Permanent Black Ranikhet, pp. 200,

12. Shoemaker P J, Reese S D., (1996) Mediating the Message: Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content, Longman Publishers USA,pp. 9

13. Singh M, RatnamalaV (2016), Media Coverage of Schedule Caste of Eastern Uttar Pradesh- Content Analysis of Hindi Newspaper of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, SJAHSSVol 4 issue 5Bpp. 602-607

14. Tattimani D, Sultana T N, & Kakade O, (2016), coverage of Dalit issues in Kannada newspaper- a content analysis, International Journal of Recent Advances in Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 03, Issue 08, pp.1765-1768.

15. Thaper R, (2001) India: Another Millennium? Penguin India, New Delhi, Pp. 26.

16. https://www.census2011.co.in/scheduled-castes.php accessed on 21/11/2017. Mili Singh 27 17. http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/UPtables.html accessed on 21/11/2017

18. https://www.tribal.nic.in/writereaddata/AnnualReport/ScheduledTribesinIndiaas RevealedinCensus2011.pdf accessed on 27/07/2018

19. *NalinVarma Statesman, personal interviewed by SevatiNinan, Patna, 2 June 2003. Geographic Trends in Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 28-44 International News Coverage ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) of Indian English Dailies © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Happy Jeji Vijayta Taneja

Abstract

International Communication acts like a window to the outer world for domestic audiences. The images they create for the international political leaders, media personalities or towards specific nations and events etc. in their minds are shaped by their media portrayal among the masses. Thus, the international communication by means of media reflects the inner and outer mechanisms which define the international relations between the countries. Different studies indicate the proximity of the audiences towards some nations or events, but other than that, the audiences tend to pay more attention towards some specific regions of the world. This study is an attempt to find out the geographic preferences of Indian English dailies in their international news coverage in accordance with the same. The study focuses on the international news coverage for six months period i.e. from July 1, 2014 to Dec 31, 2014 in four Indian English dailies i.e. The Tribune, Hindustan Times, The Times of India and The Indian Express to analyze the coverage of specific continents and nations. Using the method of content analysis, it has been found that the Indian English dailies which are often blamed to prioritize the Western nations in their news coverage focus more on the Asian nations and specifically on the neighboring countries.

Keywords: International news, Indian English Dailies, Geographic Trends, International News Coverage

* Professor, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, Punjabi University, Patiala. E-mail : [email protected] ** Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar. E-mail : [email protected] Happy Jeji and Vijayta Taneja 29 Introduction

International communication, a major research area under communication and media studies, when viewed under fast changing information and communication and technological scenario, throws light on how far the world gets reported and represented in present and future contexts. Media as we know today did not exist like this in the past and what exists today may not exist tomorrow.

By the time, we get accustomed to one kind of technological advancement in media, we are introduced to another kind of advancement that we again find ourselves thrown before all the new kind of nuances of technology. Any enlargement in scope or operation of information technology has been paving the way for further extensions of the mankind. “The medium is the message: This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium, that is of any extension of ourselves results from new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology”, said Marshall McLuhan (1964) at the time when world had not experienced what we are experiencing today with great relish,(p.7) He gave us knowledgeable discourse on electronic media of his times which was bringing an array of change in the lives of the people. He wrote, “ In this electronic age, we see ourselves being translated more and more into the form of information, moving toward the technological extension of consciousness.” (Mc Luhan, . 57)

We are in that electronic era which introduces us to new media i.e. which is without limits or seems to be without limits. It has broadened our horizons like never before. Technological advancements of media has helped opening up of new horizons for the mankind. The plethora of social media apps have led to metamorphosis of media and journalism.

Today, what the world talks about is mainly the Global Village, a village which has come alive with advanced technologies. But when Marshall McLuhan published ‘Understanding Media’ in 1964, he was talking much ahead of his times. The notion of the ‘Global Village’ has been interpreted in various contexts by the various mass communication scholars. Devereux (2003) explained the impact of globalized society of the global world linked by sharing of information with inequality in different locations across the world. He wrote, “Media coverage of Third World issues sustains the unequal relations of power that exist between the West and the Third World. Global issues such as famine or poverty, already experienced through the mass media, are nonetheless appropriated through a local prism. Media audiences are exposed to stories about faraway places and events, but these 30 Geographic Trends in International News Coverage of Indian English Dailies stories have a heavy emphasis on local involvement.” (p. 78)

Czemplel & Rosenau (1989) relate globalization to two mutually exhaustive phenomenon where in one notion relates to the notion of comprehensiveness and universality. Global communication as reflected through these notions is associated with the distribution of communication networks and information that flows on a worldwide and equally accessible basis. The term ‘Globalization’ directly relates to the availability and access made possible by the technological advance and deployment. The other notion relates globalization to territorial boundaries through which, globalization occurs when social interactions and transactions cross the international boundaries avoiding any kind of interference by elites as well as decision makers,(. 254)

In this globalized world, the international news coverage of various nations is of utmost importance for the readers as it creates the perspective of the audiences on the international issues. The literature reviewed on the topic comprises the various studies conducted on the international news coverage of various nations.

Review of Literature

In “How Three decades of News Coverage has Shaped Our View of the World, Friedman (2013) emphasizes on the relation of political as well as geographical importance of the countries, which got maximum global news coverage. To support the same, he mentions about the report of Global Database of Events, Language and Tone written by researchers Mark Graham and Stefano De Sabbata by compiling over 43 million events from 1979 to 2013 involving various state and non state actors of different nations. From in depth analysis of the report, it was found that US got the maximum news coverage mentioned by researchers as ‘Core geographical focal point’ and remained in focus even when the events are related to Russia, China, Iran, Iraq, Israel or Afghanistan. The report also found that Afghanistan and Pakistan were the most connected countries, Seoul and Pyongyang as the most connected cities and Sub-Saharan Africa as the most neglected region. North America and Asia dominateD the news coverage continent wise whereas Latin America and Sub Saharan Africa WERE ignored. As always supported by the claim of third world, conflict zones of Middle East and North Africa got more representation as regions of conflict.

A study conducted on The Structure of Foreign News: The Presentation of the Congo, Cuba and Cyprus Crises in Four Norwegian Newspapers in 1965 by Galtung & Ruge highlights the nature of international news. It establishes the fact that the foreign news Happy Jeji and Vijayta Taneja 31 concentrates on elite nations and elite people. It has been mentioned in the research paper that most of the international news coverage deals with foreign relations and political events of the different countries. Several parts around the globe with considerable population are often underrepresented in spite of the fact that they possessed more than two thirds of the world’s land mass and an abundance of mineral resources. Whenever these countries get coverage, it is in the form of coups, wars, famines and disasters. ‘Hot Spot’ has been the word which was used for the third world countries i.e., the places which were reported in media at the times of crisis. (p. 67)

Another study conducted by Larson in the essay International Affairs Coverage on U.S. Network Television (1979) emphasizes that United States news coverage on developing nations was treated with certain ideas in mind. Developing nations were only considered to be newsworthy if they were involved in some type of crisis or , if the developing nation was involved with an elite nation such as the United States and also if the information only involved one country .He described five major reasons for the lack of international coverage which include consideration of international diplomacy, national government, military policies and historical-cultural heritage in coverage, crisis oriented coverage, censorship policies and image-building activities of other countries which influence news from United States ,(p. 141)

The coverage of a particular country arouses interest among the viewers or readers of a particular media. More the coverage of Western world, more the people get interested in knowing the news updates of a particular nation. Semetko, Brzinski, Weaver, Wilnat in the essay TV News and US Public Opinion about Foreign Countries: The Impact of Exposure and Attention (1992) analyzed the content of U.S. network television news and newspaper wire service coverage of nine countries(Western Germany, Eastern Germany, Soviet Union, Hungary, Poland, Great Britain, France, Japan and Israel) for six months period in 1989 and 1990 along with conducting survey of 1117 adults of U.S. and found that people preferred television for understanding of international news events as compared to newspaper coverage and more coverage for a country accounted for more liking of that country by the people.(p. 39)

The study by Salwen (1992) on the same topic includes the analysis of content of 613 news stories of ABC, CBS and NBC, 991 news stories of national edition of New York Times and Miami Herald for period of nine weeks. In addition to this, a random survey on 629 residents of Miami was also conducted. The news stories were coded according to the country, frequency of coverage and inclusion of conflict in the news coverage. The people 32 Geographic Trends in International News Coverage of Indian English Dailies were asked to rank the nations in four ways: America’s best friend, America’s worst enemy, amount of media coverage, and the level of danger living in a nation. The preferences of the people when co-related to the actual news coverage found a significant rank order. The perceptions of the people matched with the actual news coverage, supporting the agenda setting hypothesis. (p.624)

Research objective

This study, based on content analysis of four leading regional and national English dailies in India i.e. The Tribune, Hindustan Times, Times of India and The Indian Express has been carried out with an objective of focusing on the coverage of various continents, countries, events, issues and people by the newspapers in order to understand the international perspectives of print media in India.

Research Hypothesis

It is hypothesized here that Indian English dailies have a penchant for the international events as and when these happen and that too mainly in Asia and Western Countries only.

Research Methodology

As the primary focus of this research is to examine and analyze the continent based international coverage in leading English dailies i.e. The Tribune, Hindustan Times, The Times of India and The Indian Express, the most reliable and appropriate research methodology comes out to be content analysis only. This is the widely used method for the descriptive studies, in which the main focus is to study the content quantitatively. In 1952, Berelson defined content analysis as “a research technique for the objective, systematic and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication. (14) Similarly Hansen, Cottle and Newbold (2004) defined content analysis as a method for systematic analysis of communication content, which emphasizes on recognizing and counting the occurrence of specified characteristics or dimensions of texts and being able to say something about the messages, images, representations of such texts and their wider social significance. ( 91)

Universe: The universe of this study is English language newspapers in India. As per the latest report of Press in India 2016-17(RNI), the total number of English newspapers and periodicals registered in India are 14,365. Happy Jeji and Vijayta Taneja 33 Sample: Four leading English Newspapers The Tribune, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express and The Times of India have been selected keeping in mind their socio-historical importance, regional and national prominence and circulation in India.

Sample size and units of analysis: To answer the research questions raised for this study, the units of analysis have been withdrawn from all the four select English newspapers for a period of six months beginning from July 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. During this period of study, 182 issues of each newspaper or in other words, total 728 issues of all these four newspapers have been scrutinized and analyzed for their international news coverage.

Categorization and Tabulation

The newspaper content including the News stories, News features, Features, Editorials, Articles on editorial and op-ed pages have been categorized for the purpose of study. However certain stories which have international bearing like sports page news and page-3 stories or stories having light entertainment have not been included in the study as these stories demand specific kind of analysis. The data collected from all the four newspapers has been subjected here on the basis of categorizations like total Advertisement and Editorial content ratio and total area given to the international news content. International coverage in the respective newspapers has been studied according to geographic distribution revolving around various continents. For the purpose of analysis, the word ‘news items’ or ‘news write ups’ has been used for totality of hard news stories, editorials, articles, columns or features etc whereas the word ‘news story’ has been used synonymously with ‘hard news’. This study, though is of quantitative nature, as is the case with all the studies based on content analysis, attempts to present a qualitative picture of international issues and perspectives in leading English dailies.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Since India has been strengthening and expanding the economic and political foundations of strategic partnership such as those with the US, Russia, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, European Union and its key member countries including France, UK, Germany and the extended neighborhood , the same has been getting reflected in the Indian newspapers also. 34 Geographic Trends in International News Coverage of Indian English Dailies Table 1: Continent-wise breakup of International News Coverage

Total Write ups on Australia/ Asia Europe Africa America International Oceana Issues 1505 349 116 441 59 TT 2470 (61%) (14%) (5%) (17%) (2%) 1517 502 167 586 75 HT 2845 (53%) (18%) (6%) (20%) (3%) 952 298 76 403 37 TOI 1766 (54%) (17%) (4%) (23%) (2%) 1506 435 150 747 87 IE 2926 (51%) (15%) (5%) (26%) (3%)

With 195 countries in the world, 54 countries in Africa, 48 in Asia, 45 in Europe, 33 in Latin America and Caribbean (South America), 14 in Oceania and two in North America, the world is too vast to be traversed (worldometers.info).India is an integral part of largest and most populous continent of world i.e. Asia. Located primarily in Eastern and Northern Hemispheres, the population in Asia is equivalent to 59.77% of the world’s total population. India shares its borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan in the north-west; China, Nepal and Bhutan in the north; Myanmar and Bangladesh in the far East and East respectively sharing its water borders with Sri Lanka as well as Maldives in south-east and south-west respectively. All these countries have strategic and co-operative partnerships and need to take care of national economic transformations, national security and sovereignty. Territorial integrity always remains a confrontational component between the countries who share border with each other. Regional and global concerns keep on mounting and thus demand strategic relations in co-operation.

International bodies like SAARC & ASEAN work for strengthening stronger ties with each other in the region. India is strategically important country in the South Asia. It is thus very natural that issues and events in Asia get maximum coverage in the Indian newspapers. The figures clearly indicate that Indian newspapers have been having penchant for what is happening in and around Asia. The data above (Table 1) explores news coverage of the world spread across these continents. The Indian English dailies covered more than 50 percent stories related to Asia only. The Tribune, a regional newspaper with its 61 percent share of Asian news remains ahead of others. Rest of the newspapers under the study also covered the continent with almost equal percentage ranging from 51%-54% Happy Jeji and Vijayta Taneja 35 thereby giving this continent more prominence than others.

As the Table 2 shows, among the Asian news coverage, issues related to Pakistan and China got wider coverage. As the number of international news stories in this category indicates, out of 1505, 1517, 952 and 1506 international news stories related to Asia reported in The Tribune, Hindustan Times, The Times of India and The Indian Express respectively, more percentage i.e. 32% in The Times of India, 38% in The Tribune, 39% in Hindustan Times and 41% in The Indian Express has been given to the Pakistan and China only. This type of coverage further revolved around mainly Indo-Pak and Indo- China political and cross border stand offs. The Table 8 further clears that the Asian news stories of neighboring nations other than Pakistan and China ranges between 19%-29%. Besides this, the international issues from rest of Asia, which made the rounds in Indian newspapers included threat and menace of terrorist outfit, ISIS across the world. 37%-41% news coverage of ISIS and its terrorist activities highlights how the world is reeling under constant threat of terrorism. Table 2: Asia Specific International Coverage

India’s International Asian News Neighbors News from other Rest of Asian Coverage (Pak & neighboring Nations China Only) nations of India 577 373 555 TT 1505 (38%) (25%) (37%) 588 356 573 HT 1517 (39%) (23%) (38%) 305 275 372 TOI 952 (32%) (29%) (39%) 611 285 610 IE 1506 (41%) (19%) (41%)

The central Asia also got highlighted with the deadly conflict between Israel and Palestine, which claimed more than two thousand precious lives. The Umbrella Movement, an effort by youngsters of Hong Kong to claim political sovereignty from China also found space in all of the dailies. The ceasefire violations by Pakistan, political unrest caused by movements of Imran Khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri, terrorist attacks at Wagah Border and massacre of innocent students in Army School of Peshawar in Pakistan were also covered keeping in mind each and every aspect of these incidents and their impact on India. 36 Geographic Trends in International News Coverage of Indian English Dailies Table 3: America-specific International Coverage

North America American (Canada/USA South America News Coverage particularly) TT 441 410(93%) 31(7%) HT 586 554(95%) 32(5%) TOI 403 369(92%) 34(8%) IE 747 671(90%) 76(10%)

The second preferred continent was found to be North America. All these four newspapers have been giving more than 90% coverage to North American countries only. Both USA and Canada are intrinsic parts of North America receiving sizable migration from India. The Indians, especially the Punjabi Diaspora have deep roots in these countries.

The survey conducted by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs(DESA) on international migrant trends, 2015 stated India as the country with largest Diasporic population in the world. According to this survey, India has the largest Diaspora in the world, followed by Mexico and Russia. In 2015, 16 million people from India were living abroad, a growth from 6.7 million in 1990. Of the twenty countries with the largest number of international migrants living abroad, 11 were in Asia, 6 in Europe, and one each in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Northern America, the survey mentions.

The Table 3 shows that the coverage of North America i.e. USA and Canada exceeds the coverage of South America. North America is seen getting 93%, 95%, 92% and 90% coverage in The Tribune, Hindustan Times, The Times of India and The Indian Express respectively. The strategic importance of US as superpower and Canada as main immigration spot for Indians makes both places prominent as far as the news coverage is concerned. For instance, in 2017, the estimated population of Canada was 36.62 million (worldpopulationreview.com) and in this total count of population, 3.99% population of immigrants was from India in 2016. Also, 20 Punjab MPs have been elected in House of Commons in Canada making Punjabi as the third most spoken language in Canada after English and French.

Further, Parliamentary elections in Oct 19, 2015 saw the election of twenty three MPs of South Asian origin. According to Statistics Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey, 4,30,705 native Punjabi speakers make up about 1.3% of Canada’s population. The 20 Punjabi speaking MPs represent almost six percent of the House of Commons. Happy Jeji and Vijayta Taneja 37 (Times of India, 2015)

In a similar way, statistical details of 2015 reveal that 2.4 million Indian immigrants resided in US as of 2015. India constitutes the second largest immigrant group after Mexicans in US. (Report of Migration Policy, 2017). In 2016, five Indian- Americans made a mark in congressional politics. Among the five, Kamala Harris was selected in the Senate, whereas Pramila Jayapal, Raja Krishnamoorth, Ro Khanna and Ami Bera were elected to the House of Representatives. North America thus seems to be the prerogative of Indian English dailies. This coverage however mostly remained political centric.

After North America, Europe, the second smallest of the world’s continents, happens to be covered next by these Indian English dailies. As the Table 2 shows, 14%-18% foreign news coverage was focused on Europe. India has been one of the first developing countries to establish diplomatic relations with the European Economic Community, in 1962. Ties between two, stretch back hundreds of years, not just to the colonial period, but to the trading links that flourished as long ago as the first century AD (ecfr.eu). The Indian population in Europe constitutes 6.7% of the European population. Such a large number of immigrants, their concerns, achievements and other related issues can possibly contribute to greater coverage of this continent. During the period of study, the political conflict between Russia and Ukraine as well as referendum in Scotland was also given considerable space.

Though India has been strengthening its ties with Africa through development partnership programs, Africa remained largely ignored by Indian press as these newspapers did not publish any story from Africa except the dreadful disease Ebola. The newspapers, however, didn’t report any story which could highlight the grim situation in Africa. Instead, they remained focused on Western concerns about Ebola. Besides Ebola, there were 8-10 small news stories about terrorist activities, which proves the disinterest of Indian newspapers in Africa. As per the Annual Report of Ministry of External Affairs 2014-15, India donated 1million doses of FMD (Foot and Mouth Disease), monovalent vaccine worth US $ 480,000 to Algeria in November 2014, but it was not reported by these newspapers. Similarly, the second India-Arab Cultural Festivals in Algiere from 20-27 November, 2014 didn’t get any footage in these newspapers.

This report shows that, during the study period Angola’s State Secretary for Higher Education had visited India on 27-28th October, 2014 in India, but this was also not reported in Indian English dailies. India has strong bi-lateral trade relations with Angola in Africa, but the news stories were not reported. India has been exporting tractors, transport vehicles, 38 Geographic Trends in International News Coverage of Indian English Dailies agricultural machinery, food and wheat products, pharmaceutics and cosmetics, tea, rice, spirits and beverages, finished leather, paper and wood products etc. The other important events involving the strategic partnership of India with countries like Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, CI, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Malawi, Mauritius etc were not reported.

Key Findings from the Study:

• Indian newspapers have been basically inclining towards Asian issues and concerns only. Asia remains high on priority in the international coverage being 61% in The Tribune, 54% in The Times of India, 53% in Hindustan Times and 51% in The Indian Express.

• In Asia too, seven neighboring countries , especially China and Pakistan have been reported widely. Countries like Pakistan with whom India had first standoff in 1947, two full fledged wars in 1965 and 1971 and then Kargil conflict in 1999 and China which waged war against India in 1962 remain high on media agenda in India. This is evident from combined coverage of Indo-Pak and Indo-China amounting to 41% in The Indian Express, 39% in Hindustan Times, 38% in The Tribune and 32% in The Times of India. In a similar way, the remaining five neighboring countries Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh got 19%, 29%, 23% and 25% in The Indian Express, The Times of India, Hindustan Times and The Tribune.

• Asian countries other than inter-border neighbors like Iraq, Iran, U.A.E, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Japan, South Korea and North Korea got combined coverage amounting to 39% in The Times of India, 37% in The Tribune, 38% in Hindustan Times and 41%in The Indian Express.

• After Asia it is America which remains one of the most talked about continent in Indian newspapers. It got 26%, 23%, 20% and 17% coverage in The Indian Express, The Times of India, Hindustan Times and The Tribune.

• The huge difference between the coverage of North and South America is apparent from the percentage of news coverage from both continents. North America was given 95%, 93%, 92% and 90% coverage in HT, The Tribune, The Times of India and The Indian Express respectively whereas the coverage of South America was Happy Jeji and Vijayta Taneja 39 10% in The Indian Express, 8% in The Times of India, 7% in The Tribune and 5% in Hindustan Times.

• The news stories from Europe, especially UK accounted for 18% coverage in Hindustan Times, 17% in The Times of India, 15% in The Indian Express and 14% in The Tribune.

• News from Africa could be seen in Indian Newspapers mainly due to outbreak of deadly disease Ebola only. It got 6% coverage in Hindustan Times, 5% each in The Indian Express and The Tribune and 4% coverage in The Times of India.

• As per data from ‘Ebola Data and Statistics’ report by WHO, ‘the total number of suspected cases reported from various parts of the world were 28,616 (as of May 8, 2016), which claimed 11,310 in three years from 2013 to 2016’ in countries like Liberia(4806), Sierra Leone(3955), Guinea(3804), Nigeria(20), Mali(8), US (1) and Italy(1). However, these countries remained lesser in news as the focus largely remained on countries having suspected cases only.

• Australia/Oceania has been the least preferred continent with only 3% coverage in each Hindustan Times & The Indian Express and 2% in each The Tribune and The Times of India.

Conclusion

Being the oldest mass media, the newspapers still have an edge over the other media when it comes to informing the world as the printed word commands more trust and credibility and thus help shape and reshape public opinion to a large extent. Contrary to global trends, India publishing industry will continue to grow, driven by expected significant increase in literacy levels, educational needs and aspiration to consume news in local languages, as stated in the PWC’s report based on 54 countries. The growth of online and e-newspapers has further increased the reach of print media.

The hypothetical statement for the study that Indian English dailies have a penchant for the international events as and when these happen and that too mainly in Asia and Western Countries only comes to be true. Since India has been strengthening and expanding the economic and political foundations of strategic partnership such as those with the US, Russia, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, European Union and its key member countries including France, UK and Germany and the extended neighborhood, the same has been 40 Geographic Trends in International News Coverage of Indian English Dailies getting reflected in the Indian newspapers also.

India is strategically an important country in the South Asia. It is thus very natural that issues and events in Asia get maximum coverage in the Indian newspapers. The figures clearly indicate that Indian newspapers have been having penchant for what is happening in and around Asia mainly. These four leading Indian English dailies covered more than 50 percent stories related to Asia only. The Tribune, with its 61 percent share of Asian news is found to be ahead of others, whereas the other three newspapers under the study also gave more coverage to the Asian continent only. This coverage ranged between 51%-54%. Data further shows that, Asian news coverage revolved mainly around the issues related to the neighboring nations (Pak and China) only i.e. The Tribune, Hindustan Times, The Times of India and The Indian Express, covered such stories with 38%, 39%, 32% and 41% international coverage respectively. The remaining neighboring nations were covered in the range of 19%-29%. The Asia-specific coverage further revolved around mainly Indo-Pak and Indo-China political and cross border stand offs. Besides this, the other issues which made the rounds in Indian newspapers included threat and menace of terrorist outfit, ISIS across the world. 37%-41% news coverage of ISIS and its terrorist activities highlights how the world is reeling under constant threat of terrorism.

The central Asia also got highlighted with the deadly conflict between Israel and Palestine, which claimed more than two thousand lives. The Umbrella Movement, an effort by youngsters of Hong Kong to claim political sovereignty from China was also given space in all of the dailies. The ceasefire violations by Pakistan, political unrest caused by movements of Imran Khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri, terrorist attacks at Wagah Border and massacre of innocent students in Army School of Peshawar in Pakistan were also covered elaborately.

The second continent to remain in the news was North America. All these four newspapers have been giving more than 90% coverage to North American countries only. Both USA and Canada fall in North America. Both the countries are the receiver countries as the people from sender countries like India have been settling here to earn dollars. The Indian, especially the Punjabi Diaspora have deep roots in these countries.

Apart from 54% accumulated share of Asian coverage in all the four newspapers, it has been America which has been hitting (22%) the headlines in Indian newspapers followed by Europe(16%), Africa(5%) and Oceania(3%).This has been an interesting feature of all the four newspapers that when seen separately, more or less, follow the same trend. America includes two very important North American countries- USA and Canada. Happy Jeji and Vijayta Taneja 41 These two countries are especially important for India which has its largest Diasporie population settled in the world including these two countries.

The findings of the study here show that the coverage of North America i.e. USA and Canada exceeds the coverage of South America. In the total 22% of American coverage, North America alone got 93%, 95%, 92% and 90% coverage in The Tribune, Hindustan Times, The Times of India and The Indian Express respectively. Because of their importance as main immigration spots for Indians, both US and Canada keep on appearing in news updates in Indian media. Statistical details of 2015 reveal that 2.4 million Indian immigrants resided in US as of 2015. India constitutes the second largest immigrant group after Mexicans in US. (Report of Migration Policy, 2017). Indo-Canada and Indo- US bilateral relations in North American context hold a key to transformation in recent years. The shared values of democracy and pluralism, high level interactions and strategic partnerships in political, security, trade and economic spheres, high level visits from and to US & Canada, strong presence of Indians especially the Punjabis in the power corridors make strong reasons for wide Indian media coverage.

After North America, it is Europe which easily finds space (total 16%) in the newspaper pages of all these Indian English dailies. Newspaper wise segregation show that European coverage ranged between 14% to18% i.e. TT(14%), HT(18%), TOI(17%) and IE(15%). India has been one of the first developing countries to establish diplomatic relations with the European Economic Community, in 1962. Ties between the two stretch back many hundreds of years, not just to the colonial period, but to the trading links that flourished as long ago as the first century AD (ecfr.eu). The Indian population in Europe constitutes 6.7% of the European population. Thus Europe surely demands a plentiful space in Indian newspapers. But again, it is not the whole of Europe which is getting covered by Indian dailies. During the period of study, it was referendum in Scotland which created more ripples. Scots decided to stay in UK. The Tribune, in an editorial even rebuked India to learn the way of democratic resolution of existing conflicts in India. The editorial emphasized on federal power structure so that the states having conflict with nation could resolve their issues in a better way. Hindustan Times too appreciated the way the referendum was carried out in Scotland and the strategies adopted by Yes and No campaigners to woo the voters on their sides.

The Times of India also hailed the decision of Scots to stay back as UK might have lost the 32% area with 8% populations and revenue from and oil, if Scotland could have chosen independence for itself. Besides this, there could have been uprisings in Wales and 42 Geographic Trends in International News Coverage of Indian English Dailies Northern Ireland for independence. The editorial in the Indian Express advised England to focus on the demands of 45% those people also who voted ‘Yes’ to leave UK , so that later on, it should not give birth to demand of another referendum. These editorials underline that Indian media had kept an eye on Scotland and never wanted it to leave UK.

Moving further on the pages of Indian dailies brings to the fore that the least counted continent remained Africa. Though India has been strengthening its ties with Africa through development partnership programs, yet these newspapers did not publish any story from Africa except the dreadful disease Ebola. There were total 106 stories in all the four newspapers i.e. 33 in The Tribune( four editorials, 28 news stories & one article), 26 in Hindustan Times (one editorial, 24 news stories & one article), The Times of India (one editorial, 30 news stories & one article) and 35 in The Indian Express (two editorials & 33 news stories). The Indian newspapers though covered Ebola, but primarily and emphatically focused on how to play safe in India instead of talking largely about the grim situation or worsening conditions in Africa. They wrote about Western and Eastern concerns about Ebola as everyone was genuinely worried to keep Ebola out.

The Tribune focused on the death rate of the deadly disease and appreciated the steps taken by WHO to aware the masses about the disease. It stressed on the need to ensure effective coordination between officials of the ministries of health, civil aviation and immigration, so as to save the people from the dreadful disease. Hindustan Times criticized the health systems in advanced countries for delay in the research to cure the disease when it existed since 1976. The Times of India in editorial suggested India to enhance monitoring, testing and treatment facilities to ward off the disease. The Indian Express mentioned about the number of causalities as per the report of WHO and termed the outbreak of this disease a reminder of the need to upgrade health infrastructure in Africa- and India. It noted, “In an interconnected world, no disease is local.” Further, the stance of Indian newspapers on Ebola can well be differentiated as thinking majorly in terms of Indian concerns only.

Contrary to this, the western newspapers for example The New York Times (29 July, 2014), an American daily used the word ‘Out of control’ for the disease and highlighted the problems faced by the residents of affected nations. It termed this outbreak more than a sum of national emergencies and focused on the need of action by West Africa instead of whole world terming it a regional crisis. The Guardian, a British daily applauded the efforts of UK in helping the West Africa but it rebuked the rest of the world from missing from the scene as it criticized EU for just keeping this outbreak a hot topic by raising the voices but not supporting the affected nations financially. It also emphasized on the need Happy Jeji and Vijayta Taneja 43 of united efforts against the disease. Barring Ebola, there had been very little talk about other things or issues in Africa. There were some 8-10 small news stories each in all the four newspapers about stepping down of Burkina Faso’s president for 27 years, Blaise Compaore, kidnapping of Chibok girls by terrorist group Boko Haram, bus hijack and killing of 28 people in Kenya by Somali Islamist militant group etc.

As per the Annual Report of Ministry of External Affairs 2014-15, India donated one million doses of FMD (Foot and Mouth Disease), monovalent vaccine worth US $ 480,000 to Algeria in November 2014, but it was not reported by these Indian newspapers. Similarly, the second India-Arab Cultural Festivals in Algeria from 20-27 November, 2014 couldn’t be found in these newspapers.

This Annual Report also shows that, during the period of study Angola’s State Secretary for Higher Education had visited India on 27-28th October, 2014 in India, but this was also not reported in Indian English dailies. India has strong bi-lateral trade relations with Angola in Africa, but the news stories were not reported. India has been exporting tractors, transport vehicles, agricultural machinery, food and wheat products, pharmaceutics and cosmetics, tea, rice, spirits and beverages, finished leather, paper and wood products etc. The other important events involving the strategic partnership of India with countries like Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, CI, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Malawi, Mauritius etc. were not reported.

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Prerna Kumar Sumit Maheshwari Abstract

Internet and the growth in social media have minimized the barriers to the flow of information. People in different parts of the globe are able to easily connect and interact with each other through the social media. Online forums are such emerging internet websites where its members can share and collaborate with each other. The users are able to read and discuss with each other on any product or service or topic. This study deciphers the six motives influencing the usage of online forums as Good suggestions, Product comparison, Purchase Facilitator, Informative details, Risk factor, Perception & Attitude. On line survey method has been used to collect data from 200 respondents. Anova analysis is further applied to determine the social media behavior with respect to the demographic variables, to find that social media behavior is affected by age, qualification, occupation and income groups.

Keywords: Online forums, Social media, e-Word of Mouth, Online communities, anova analysis.

Introduction

Communication is basic and integral to human life. For centuries human beings have engaged in personal / informal and formal communication sharing ideas, thoughts, emotions, experiences with brands and formal within the environs of organization. In the past decade, internet has emerged as a tool not only for searching and accessing information of all kinds; but it is also being extensively used as an interaction medium for individuals to

* Assistant Professor, International Institute of Professional Studies, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidhalaya, Indore. E-mail : [email protected] ** Research Scholar, International Institute of Professional Studies, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidhalaya, Indore. 46 Online Forums: Motives For Consumer Activity and The Social Media Behaviour of it’s Participants share ideas, opinions and exchange information. Its high global reach enables all information to be transmitted within seconds. It is through the internet technologies that marketers are able to communicate directly with the consumers and dynamically keep adapting the Public Relations and marketing strategy. It is this development of Web 2.0(or social media) sites such as Facebook, Blogger, various forums and communities that eWOM has emerged as a new means of communication. Social media websites and forums are considered more reliable and trustworthy in today’s technological era, as readers tend to trust the feedback, or comments posted by the existing/ past users of the product. There are advantages of social media in connecting businesses directly to end-consumers, in a timely manner and at a low cost (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010), and thus it has been seen that social media has great influence on customer perceptions and behaviors (Williams and Cothrell, 2000)

Cheung and Thadani (2012) categorized the various e-WOM platforms as: (i)Social Networking sites like Facebook.com (ii) Online brand/shopping sites like myntra.com (iii) Online consumer review sites like voxya.com, grahsuraksha.com (iv) Online discussion forums like Indusladies forum, india broadband forum (v)Blogs like Indianbloggers.org. Online forums facilitate e-Word of Mouth, that are based on the Web2.0 : a term that describes a new approach to using the World Wide Web by offering the possibility to users to continuously alter content in a sharing and collaborative way (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Henning-Thurau et al (2004) see e-Word of Mouth as any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via Internet. Online Word- of Mouth(e-WOM) takes place through internet chatting, messengers, feedback forums and customer reviews. An Internet forum is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. Forums act as centralized locations for topical discussion. These are websites dedicated to feedback. They are websites that allow users to post, read, review, discuss, and share experiences and opinions on a diverse range of topics (Sarma and Choudhury, 2015) ranging from products and services to movies, experiences, politics etc. They allow consumers to gather and obtain information from variety of groups of people, not only from people they know (Ratchford et al, 2001; Lee et al, 2006).

LITERATURE REVIEW

A few researches have been reported on online forums in the last decade. e-Word- of-Mouth impacts receiver’s perceived value of a company’s products and their loyalty intentions as well (Gruen et al, 2005). Online communities such as discussion forums and Prerna Kumar Sumit Maheshwari 47 message board, are increasingly gaining popularity and acceptance (PengPeng et al, 2015).

It can have a strong influence on the decision-making processes of potential buyers who search for product information. Research has also concluded the importance of online communities in consumer decision making process thereby reducing the effect of tradition marketing in companies (Mohammed et al, 2011). The online forums also give the reader an opportunity to interact, read views and opinions of worldwide users without having the need to know them personally. These forums involve written communication with virtual interaction, as compared with face-to-face in offline Word-of-Mouth. It is a non-linear communication as it can rapidly spread in multi-directions. In this, relationship between sender and receiver is anonymous and is easy to transmit or forward (Huang et al, 2011).

The social networking sites facilitate consumers to interact with others, and join virtual communities based on common interest and opinions (Heinrichs et al, 2011). Marketing practices in advertising and promotion have been revolutionized due to the unique aspects of social media and its increasing popularity (Hanna et al, 2011). Extensive usage and trust on social media has also influenced consumer behavior from information acquisition to post-purchase behavior reflected through dissatisfaction statements or behaviors about a product or a company (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). This is because consumers have a tendency to relate much more with a company after they read its reviews and the comments of the other users.

Research conducted by Shu-Chuan (2009) concluded that there are five relationship variables that are most used on social networking sites: (i) interpersonal influence (ii) homophily- similarity in individuals such as education, social status, beliefs and age (iii) tie strength (iv) trust (v) social capital- ability to pool, construct and broadcast information. It was concluded that interpersonal influence, social capital, homophily and trust were of high importance to users who engaged in eWOM; while tie strength was found with no effect. It has also been researched that online social networks have tremendous opportunity as the reach of groups of consumers who share common interests is no longer limited geographically; thus enabling the messages to be spread quickly by consumers who truly share common interests and preferences across geographical boundaries (Brown et al., 2007).

A few researches have also been done to indicate the following benefits of eWOM: (a) influence on purchase decision (b) product evaluation (c) building consumer loyalty intention and (d) empowerment of consumers (Dellarocas,2003; Gruen et al,2005; Bae and Lee,2011). Online word-of-mouth communication is cheaper, faster, and more effective 48 Online Forums: Motives For Consumer Activity and The Social Media Behaviour of it’s Participants than the other marketing tools (Dellarocas, 2003).

Research by Hennig-Thurau and Walsh (2003) showed that, there are five factors that motivate consumers towards reading online opinions/ and interaction with other consumers:

• Obtaining buying-related information (to reduce risks)

• Social orientation through information (consumers can evaluate and compare between different products)

• Community membership (consumers belong and admire different online social networks)

• Remuneration (consumers like prize and award for sharing opinions)

• Learning about new products’ consumption experience.

The rapid growth of social media may be attributed to social interaction; peer communication resulted in e-WOM marketing, product advocacy for consumer and brand (Abalaesei, 2014). Firms routinely monitor online forums to identify influential community members. They then target them directly and try to persuade them to write favorable reviews by sending them free samples, inviting them to special events, etc.(Dellarocas,2004).

Thus with the growing and increasing trust and usage of online forums, it is important to know what factors motivate the usage of online forums and the study of social media behavior of its participants. There is a need to study the variation in the usage of online forums, w.r.t the demographic variables. This study has been done with the purpose to fill this research gap in literature.

OBJECTIVES

Based on the review of related research, it was found that very few studies investigate the factors affecting usage of online forums. It is also important to determine the reasons behind online forums’ influence on consumers’ purchasing decision process. The following objectives have been framed for this study:

1. To determine the various factors influencing the usage of online forums.

2. To analyse the variation in perceptions of consumers of different demographic variables towards online forums. Prerna Kumar Sumit Maheshwari 49 HYPOTHESIS FORMULATION:

The following null hypothesis is framed to study the differences in perceptions of the participants in online forums on the basis of gender, age groups, educational qualification, occupation and income:

Ho1: there is no significant difference in perceptions of online participants of the two genders towards use of online forums.

Ho2: there is no significant difference in perceptions of online participants of different age groups of online users towards use of online forums.

Ho3: there is no significant difference in perceptions of online participants of different educational qualifications towards use of online forums.

Ho4: there is no significant difference in perceptions of online participants of different occupations towards use of online forums.

Ho5: there is no significant difference in perceptions of online participants of different income groups towards use of online forums.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN

An exploratory research was conducted for the purpose of the study, as this is a preliminary study done on online forums. This is a form of marketing research conducted to gather preliminary information that better defines problems and suggests hypothesis (Kotler, 2015). It is conducted to ascertain the nature of a certain phenomenon (Saxena, 2015).

DATA COLLECTION

Data was collected from the online users, who actively participated in online forums, and Facebook, Linkedin on social media. 50 Online Forums: Motives For Consumer Activity and The Social Media Behaviour of it’s Participants QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT

A well-structured questionnaire was developed after review of literature, and discussions with active participants in online forums. The questionnaire has two parts. Part I consists of general information and demographic profile of respondents. Part II consists of questions that assess the buying behavior of participants in online communities. The respondents were requested to place their responses on a Likert point scale used for each statement.

Data Collection

For the purpose of this study, primary data was collected from active members of online groups. Data was collected, coded and entered into SPSS 16.0 before processing the same for analysis. Table1: Sample Distribution

Demographic variable Frequency Percentage (%) GENDER Male 107 53.5% Female 93 46.5% Total 200 100% AGE GROUP Below 18 yrs 30 15% 19 - 25 yrs 132 66% 26 - 40 yrs 13 6.5% 41 – 60 yrs 25 12.5% Total 200 100% Demographic variable Frequency Percentage (%) QUALIFICATION High school 20 10% undergraduate 103 56.5% Graduate 43 21.5% Post graduate 32 16% Doctorate 02 1% Prerna Kumar Sumit Maheshwari 51

OCCUPATION Private sector employee 11 5.5% Government employee 11 5.5% Business 21 10.5% Student 150 75% Homemaker 7 3.5% Total 200 100% MONTHLY INCOME Below Rs.25k 146 73% 25k – 40k 23 11.5% 40k – 60k 18 9% Above 60k 13 6.5% Total 200 100%

Data Analysis and Interpretation

(A) Reliability tests: After collection of data, it was analysed by using factor analysis. For this purpose, Cronbach’s test of Reliability was first performed in order to assess the reliability of the instrument (refer table2). Table 2:- Reliability Test Results Reliability Statistics Cronbach’s Alpha N of Items .717 20

The reliability value is greater than 0.6, a good value which indicates that the questionnaire developed gives consistent results. Thus the data obtained from this research can be utilized for performing factor analysis tools. Factor analysis tool, which is a multi- variate data analysis technique for data reduction that helps in reducing the data on the basis of commonness among them. ANOVA analysis is used as a tool to test the hypothesis that the means of two or more populations are equal. ANOVA tool assesses the importance of one or more factors by comparing the response variable means at the different factor levels. 52 Online Forums: Motives For Consumer Activity and The Social Media Behaviour of it’s Participants (B) Factor analysis Results Table3 : KMO and Bartlett’s Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. .742 Approx. Chi-Square 671.448 Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity df 190 Sig. .000

The observed significance level is .0000. It is small enough to reject the hypothesis. From above table, it is concluded that the strength of the relationship among variables is strong, because the value of KMO Statistics is .742 and our null hypothesis for Bartlett’s test has been rejected since p Value is .000. Hence we can apply the factor analysis.

Table 4: Factor Analysis - On Line Forums Rotated Component Matrixa

Factor Eigen Factor Name Items Variance Reliability loadings values Overall scale

always prefer products 0.739 3.815 which are suggested on online forums always satisfied with 0.672 suggestion provided by Good online forums 11.89% Suggestions buying preference depend 0.654 discussion on online forums online forums always 0.632 suggest quality products Prerna Kumar Sumit Maheshwari 53

Factor Eigen Factor Name Items Variance Reliability loadings values it is easy to compare 0.643 1.800 10.95% α = 0.649 products through online forums gives information on 0.549 products available online and offline online forums impact 0.539 Product customer buying Comparison perception Information provided 0.537 online forums better than family or friends Online forums play role in 0.479 customer before making deals believe checking more 0.721 1.483 10.06% than one forum before buying decision Online forums are easy 0.604 to use Purchase Online forums provide 0.566 Facilitator information and offer about products Online forums affect 0.478 public opinion online forums helps make .430 easy and quick choice Information on online 0.782 1.339 7.49% α = 0.522 Informative forums provides me value Detail for money I regularly check online 0.591 forums 54 Online Forums: Motives For Consumer Activity and The Social Media Behaviour of it’s Participants

Factor Eigen Factor Name Items Variance Reliability loadings values I feel risk in purchasing 0.824 1.197 6.83% α = 0.302 products referred by online forums Risk Factor I don’t prefer online 0.690 forums due to the reason as they not physically present I form negative brand 0.797 1.168 6.80% image of products that are rated low on online Perception forums and Attitude Online forums change .491 attitude towards purchasing products Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.a a. Rotation converged in 6 iterations.

Thus we find that the following six factors have emerged that affect the usage of online forums.

• Good suggestion is the first factor that has emerged, which contributes 11.89% of the variance. This factor emphasizes the suggestions that emerge from participation in online forums, satisfaction with the same and the buying preference that is developed as a result. For this factor, 67.2% contribution is made by satisfaction of respondents with suggestions from online forums. We can also draw inferences from the literature that relate to this advantage that users are able to express their personal preferences and share their product/ brand experience (PengPeng et al, 2015). • Product Comparison is the second factor that has emerged, which contributes 10.95% of the variance, constituting product information available online, impact on customer buying perception. Hennig-Thurau and Walsh (2003) have also emphasized that consumers read online opinions to evaluate and compare between different products. Prerna Kumar Sumit Maheshwari 55 • Purchase Facilitator is the third factor which influences usage of online forums; contributing 10.06% of the variance; and constitutes checking more than one forum before the buying decision, easy to use, forums provide information and offer about products. 60.4% component is through the easy usage facility of the online forums.This factor is reiterated from literature through findings of Bronstein et al (2016) that participation in online social platforms is driven by interest towards a specific topic. • Informative Details is the fourth factor that has emerged contributing 7.49% of the variance; comprising information that gives value for money by regularly checking online forums. • Risk Factor is the fifth factor that has emerged and contributes 6.83% of variance; it comprises risk in purchasing products referred through online forums and non preference of online forums as they are not physically present. • Perception and Attitude is the sixth factor influencing usage of online forums and that has contributed 6.80% of the variance. A negative brand image of products is formed of products that are rated low on online forums, and they can also change attitude towards purchasing products contributing 79.7% to perception and attitude. We find supportive literature that online groups influence on the behavior and influence consumer buying intention and strongly affect on the purchase decision (Kozinets et al, 2010). C) Anova Tests Results: Influence of age, gender, educational qualification, occupation and income on the usage of online forums: Table 5 - ANOVA analysis for Age Factor Age

F Sig. Ho Result Good suggestion There is a significant H is (F1) 5.813 0.001 o difference in perception of rejected. age groups towards F1 Product There is no significant H is not Comparison 1.236 .298 o difference in perception of rejected. (F2) age groups towards F2 Purchase There is a significant H is facilitator(F3) 3.649 .014 o difference in perception of rejected. age groups towards F3 56 Online Forums: Motives For Consumer Activity and The Social Media Behaviour of it’s Participants

Informative There is a significant H is details 2.664 .049 o difference in perception of age rejected. (F4) groups towards F4 Risk factor There is no significant H is not (F5) 1.497 .217 o difference in perception of age rejected. groups towards F5 Perception and There is no significant H is not attitude .652 .582 o difference in perception of age rejected. (F6) groups towards F6

From the above table it can be seen that there is a significant difference in the perception of age groups towards Good suggestion, Purchase facilitator and Informative details factor of the online forums. However, no significant differences have been found in the perception of age groups towards product comparison, risk factor, perception and attitude dimensions of online forums. Purchase requirements differ with the age groups. Product/ service required by a youth will be different from the product requirement of a consumer in mid 30s and similarly from consumers in 40s age group. Likewise, respondents also seek information on products that they are most likely to purchase. Just as products sought vary from one age group to another, likewise information sought would also vary for the products that are seeked. This factor of the usage of online forums also varies from one age group to another. Table 6: Anova analysis for Gender

Factor F Sig. Ho Result Good suggestion H is not There is no significant difference in .590 .444 o (F1) rejected. perception of genders towards F1 Product Comparison H is not There is no significant difference in 1.759 .186 o (F2) rejected. perception of genders towards F2 Purchase facilitator H is not There is no significant difference in .190 .664 o (F3) rejected. perception of genders towards F3 Informative details H is not There is no significant difference in .040 .843 o (F4) rejected. perception of genders towards F4 Risk factor H is not There is no significant difference in .003 .954 o (F5) rejected. perception of genders towards F5 Prerna Kumar Sumit Maheshwari 57

Perception and There is no significant difference in H is not attitude 2.026 .156 o perception of genders towards F6 rejected. (F6)

From the above table it is seen that there is no significant difference in the two genders towards usage of online forums, with respect to the good suggestions, product comparison, purchase facilitator, informative details, risk factor, perception and attitude dimensions. Both the genders similarly perceive the attributes of usage of online forums. Table 7: Anova analysis for Educational Qualification

Factor Result F Sig. Ho Good suggestion There is significant difference in H is (F1) 5.21 .001 o perception of users of different rejected. qualification towards F1 Product Comparison There is no significant difference H is not (F2) 1.664 .160 o in perception of users of different rejected. qualification towards F2 Purchase facilitator There is no significant difference H is not (F3) 2.311 .059 o in perception of users of different rejected. qualification towards F3. Informative details There is no significant difference H is not (F4) .157 .960 o in perception of users of different rejected. qualification towards F4 Risk factor There is a significant difference H is (F5) 3.457 .009 o in perception of users of different rejected. qualification towards F5 Perception and There is significant difference in H is attitude 3.281 .012 o perception of users of different rejected. (F6) qualification towards F6

From the above table shows that there is a significant difference in the perception of users of different educational qualification towards good suggestions, risk factor and perception features of the usage of online forums. 39% of respondents agreed that they form a negative image of products that are rated low on online forums. Higher qualified respondents give more importance to good suggestions which are beneficial to them and aid in taking decisions. The risk taking ability with regard to new products also increases with 58 Online Forums: Motives For Consumer Activity and The Social Media Behaviour of it’s Participants higher qualifications. Consumers with higher qualifications have a tendency to take higher risks with respect to acceptance of a new technology, new products or new decisions. Through above table, it is also inferred that there are no significant differences with respect to informative details, purchase facilitator and product comparison dimensions on the usage of online forums. Table 8: Anova analysis for Occupation

Factor F Sig. Ho Result

Good suggestion (F1) Ho is There is a significant difference 5.74 .000 rejected. in perception of users of different occupation towards F1. Product Comparison There is no significant difference H is not (F2) 1.45 .220 o in perception of users of different rejected. occupation towards F2. Purchase facilitator There is no significant difference H is not (F3) 1.56 .187 o in perception of users of different rejected. occupation towards F3. Informative details There is no significant difference H is not (F4) .81 .520 o in perception of users of different rejected. occupation towards F4 Risk factor There is no significant difference H is not (F5) 1.55 .189 o in perception of users of different rejected. occupation towards F5 Perception and attitude There is no significant difference H is not (F6) 2.27 .063 o in perception of users of different rejected. occupation towards F6

From the above table shows that there is a significant difference in the perception of users of different occupation towards good suggestions feature of the usage of online forums. Almost 67% of the respondents agreed that online forums can influence attitude towards purchase of products. Prerna Kumar Sumit Maheshwari 59 Table 9: Anova analysis for Income

Factor F Sig. Ho Result Good suggestion (F1) There is significant difference in H is 4.49 .004 o perception of users of different income rejected. towards F1. Product Comparison There is no significant difference in H is not (F2) 1.99 .116 o perception of users of different income rejected. towards F2. Purchase facilitator There is no significant difference in H is not (F3) 1.12 .343 o perception of users of different income rejected. towards F3. Informative details There is no significant difference in H is not (F4) .67 .573 o perception of users of different income rejected. towards F4 Risk factor There is no significant difference in H is not (F5) .41 .75 o perception of users of different income rejected. towards F5 Perception and There is no significant difference in H is not attitude 1.82 .15 o perception of users of different income rejected. (F6) towards F6

From the above table it is seen that there is a significant difference in the perception of users of different income groups towards good suggestions feature of the usage of online forums. However the different income groups do not perceive the product comparison, purchase facilitator, informative details, risk factor and perception dimensions of the usage of online forums differently.

Thus, the good suggestions dimension varies significantly with all the demographic variables. This can be attributed to the fact that the two genders, respondents of different age groups, qualifications and income levels have different requirements for the useof online forums. Respondents with higher qualifications will connect easily with other respondents of similar education profile and value their suggestions more for any technical, durable products. Similarly respondents of similar income groups, give more credence and value the suggestions of others with their similar income profiles, due to the needs being almost similar. Respondents of similar occupation profile, share and connect with each other with respect to their perceptions and attitudes towards products or services. Through 60 Online Forums: Motives For Consumer Activity and The Social Media Behaviour of it’s Participants different online community groups, these respondents are connected to each other and seek professional advice and support; it’s possible that they influence each other through the appropriate suggestions.

Conclusion and Managerial Implication:

The study provides helpful insights for marketers in order to recognize how online forums influence consumer’s buying behavior. Consumers seek information, share opinions and give referrals in online forums. There is an element of trust factor in the opinions and knowledge shared through online forums. This is also corroborated statistically; in this research we find 75% respondents check more than one forum before making a purchase decision. More than 60% of the respondents find online forums to be beneficial in making easy and quick choices. Information shared and exchanged through online forums gives value for money as they find it convenient and easy to compare products.

A. The following factors have emerged as influential in the usage of online forums:

a. Good Suggestions

b. Product Comparison

c. Purchase Facilitator

d. Informative Details

e. Risk Factor

f. Perception and Attitude

B. The variation in consumer perceptions of online forums with respect to the demographic analysis was studied. Influence of age, gender, educational qualification, occupation and income on the usage of online forums was studied, and the following results were concluded:

GENDER - There is no significant difference in perception of genders towards all the factors dimension of online forums.

AGE - There is a significant difference in perception of different age groups towards good suggestion, purchase facilitator and informative details dimension of online forums

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION - There is a significant difference in perception of Prerna Kumar Sumit Maheshwari 61 respondents of different Qualification towards good suggestion, risk factor, perception and attitude dimension of online forums

OCCUPATION - There is a significant difference in perception of different Occupation groups towards good suggestion dimension of online forums

INCOME - There is a significant difference in perception of respondents of different Income groups towards good suggestion dimension of online forums.

C. The study brings forth some important managerial implications. Companies must target opinion leaders in online groups; customers who are expressive on their views to position a positive image of their brands. The referrals created by online groups can create a significant impact if informative details of the product/ service are shared. Companies must strategise so that opinion leaders receive such relevant information and they are encouraged to exchange the same on their community groups. Managers should increase the online presence of their brands, and improve the same to include detailed classification of entire product category with all information for easy comparison of products. Companies must also reward customers for positive feedback to other’s suggestions. This would greatly reinforce the trust of the customers in products and the online forums as a reliable medium.

Limitations:

The method of dissemination of questionnaire was a major drawback; as the data was collected voluntarily from people present only in online medium. An increase in the sample size should be able to better explain the generalization of the results. A majority of the online respondents belonged to Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. A similar study could be replicated on a larger scale to cover online participants from other parts of the country.

References

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14. Williams, R.L. & Cothrell, J.(2000). Four smart ways to run online communities. Sloan Management Review, 41, 81-91. Promote Handloom Fabrics Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 64-70 to Reduce Pollution and to ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Encourage Degradable : © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php A Study of Handloom and Textile Sector

Anumala Kalyani

Abstract

Clothing is the basic need of human being after food. Textile Industry is the biggest employment creator after agriculture. Textile Industry significantly pays to the Indian economy. In earlier days the textile production (was taking place using handlooms) used to be a cottage industry but it has moved from a cottage industry to factory production with the Industrial Revolution. After Industrial Revolution power looms and textile mills (which produce huge quantities) gradually came in to picture. Due to the presence of these mills the people have started facing various problems like air, water and sound pollution. Due to the pollution in last two years so many processing units were closed down in Tirupur and the units had to be shifted to the out skirts of the village. Textile mills and Power looms need electricity to produce the fabrics but it causes a lot of noise as well as air pollution, where as if we consider handlooms it does not consume electricity and experiencs a rhythmic sound which soothes our ears. It will not cause any air pollution as well . By keeping this in view this paper aims to compare and contrast both the textile and handloom sectors in contributing to the air, water and sound pollution. The study is theoretical, based on the secondary literature. The study results would confer that the increase in production of handlooms will reduce the pollution and will provide employment to the needy people. To implement this government (at Central as well as State level) should strictly follow the rigid rules.

* Assistant Professor, Siva Sivani Institute of Management, Kompally, Secunderabad. E-mail : [email protected] Anumala Kalyani 65 Keywords: Handlooms, Textile Industry, Power looms, Pollution, Environment.

Introduction

In olden days before industrial revolution, the atmosphere was so clean and used to have clean air without pollution. After industrial revolution the problems like air pollution, sound pollution and water pollution started affecting the people. According to S.Riffat, 2016 “Environmental pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that causes adverse change. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light”.

Textile industries pollute air, water and soil & thus are one of the main polluting industries in the world. Textile industries cause water pollution, air pollution, and solid- waste pollution. The fashion industry produces waste as more significance is given to the types of fabric, color combination & patterns. It is noticed that vaporous discharges from the textile industries are the second greatest reason for contamination in the world. The two principal dangerous emanations are acetic acid and formaldehyde in textile operations. These toxic gases cause damage to both human and animals.

Literature Review

Overview of textile and handloom sectors

Textile Sector

Clothing is the basic need of human being after food. The Indian textile industry is the biggest and most established segment in the country and among the most essential in the economy in terms of yield, investment and employment. The area utilizes about 45 million individuals and after agriculture, is the second-most elevated business in the nation. Its significance is underlined by the way that it represents around 2% of Gross Domestic Product, 14% of industrial production, 9% of excise collections, 18% of employment in the industrial sector, and 15% of the nation’s total exports earnings (IBEF, 2018).

At the same time, the level of pollution is similar . Pollution is the release of undesirable material, buildup and vitality into the earth. A portion of these are unconverted crude material, some are unconverted items and some are by the products of manufacturing or handling. 66 Promote Handloom Fabrics to Reduce Pollution and to Encourage Degradable :A Study of Handloom and Textile Sector Handloom Sector

Handlooms produce fabrics without consuming the power/electricity, at the same time they produce eco-friendly products and customized production is possible only by using handlooms.

The hand loomed goods serve double purpose of having both aesthetic and utilitarian values. And, for this reason, it could withstand the arm slots of machine age and still its products are being sort after by the domestic and overseas clientele because the products bare the signature of the artisan who painstakingly gave shape to the finished products, they being not mass produced.

Notable amongst salient features of the industry happen to be that it is the second largest foreign-exchange earner for India besides catering to the clothing requirements of the elite down to the main in the street with an array of color ways, design interventions, patterns, weaves and what is more pregnant with ethnic to world-class mod/chic fashions.

According to Ministry of Textiles, Annual Report (April – Dec.,2012), manufacturing in the handloom segment recorded a figure of 6900 million square meters in the year 2011-12, which is about 25% over the manufacturing figure of 5493 million square meters recorded in the year 2003-04. Amid 2012-13 manufacturing in the handloom segment is accounted to be 5178 million square meters.

According to the Ministry of Textiles, Annual Report (2017-18) “handloom weaving is one of the largest economic activities after agriculture providing direct and indirect employment to more than 43 lakh weavers and allied workers. This sector contributes nearby 15% of the cloth production in the country and also contributes to the export earning of the country. 95% of the world’s hand woven fabric comes from India”.

If we take a look at the production of handloom fabrics since 2010-11 to 2016-17, the production is increasing every year. Table I Production of cloth from 2010-11 to 2017-18

Cloth production by Share of handloom Total cloth production* Year handloom sector (in in the total cloth (in million square meters) million square meters) production 2010-11 61761 6907 11.18 2011-12 59605 6901 11.57 Anumala Kalyani 67

2012-13 61949 6952 11.22 2013-14 62624 7104 11.34 2014-15 64332 7203 11.19 2015-16 64584 7638 11.82 2016-17 63480 8007 12.61 2017-18 (up 43520 (P) 5134 (P) 11.8 to Nov. ’17) Source: Ministry of Handlooms & Textiles, Annual Report 2017-18 *The total cloth production includes handloom, power loom and mill sector excluding hosiery, khadi, wool and silk.

Objective

• To study both the textile and handloom sectors in contributing to the air, water and solid waste pollution.

Methodology

The study is theoretical and based on self observation, conversation with the weavers & other workers and secondary information which is accessed from the websites.

Statistics Of Textile And Handloom Units In India

According to Indian Statistics, the number of textile units in 2003-04 was 1787, whereas the number increased to 1957 in 2011-12 (Provisional), if we consider the number of handloom units in 2003-04 there were 38.91 lakhs where as the number reduced to 23.77 lakhs in 2011-12(Provisional). This shows that there is increase in the number of textile units which in turn will increase the pollution.

It is assessed that today there are about 4.60 million handlooms in the world out of which about 3.9 million are in India. Entire family members will be involved in manufacturing the handloom products.

According to R.B.Chavan (2001), emissions from textile processes, including boiler emissions, fall into four general categories, such as oil and acid mists, solvent vapours, odour, and dust & lint. 68 Promote Handloom Fabrics to Reduce Pollution and to Encourage Degradable :A Study of Handloom and Textile Sector The fabric production process is described by the high utilization of assets like water, fuel and a variability of chemicals. According to C. Parvathi et al., (2009), most procedures performed in fabric plants yield climatic outflows. Gaseous discharges have been recognized as the second most contamination issue (after effluent quality) for the fabric manufacturing.

According to S.C. Bhatia (2017), the fabric mills utilize high volumes of water all through its activities, by and large; roughly 200 liters of water are required to yield one kg. of fabrics. The principal left over wastes produced from the fabric mills are harmless.

This is with respect to the self experience the powerlooms produce fine dust pollution due to which the workers are facing severe health problems like infections in throat & lungs, also there will be a heavy noise due to the production and will not be able to stand there even for five minutes. The workers working in textile industry also face the problems like chronic diseases (shown in the figure I).

Figure 1 Chronic diseases faced by the textile workers

This is with respect to the self experience that even the weavers are facing the above problems but the intensity is not so high. There will not be sound pollution and one will experience a rhythmic sound which soothes their ears. At the same time, it will not cause any air pollution. The problem faced will be water pollution, because the dyeing will be done by using colors mixed in water. But it is not as effective as compared to the power loom and mill sectors. Anumala Kalyani 69 Conclusion

The primary survey conducted by Majestic MRSS in 2016, reveals that handloom products are well appreciated by the young Indians because of its excellent fabric quality and a different overall look. According to S.Kavitha and S.Geetha Margret Soundri (2015), fabrics could be standout amongst the most un-maintainable items in the world. In their whole lifecycle from becoming the raw material or making it from oil to producing and retailing and final disposal they can make a serious issue. By going through the literature and self experience in the field, it is concluded that mills and powerlooms will produce heavy pollution which is dangerous to the health. Handloom weavers are also facing problems but they are not so intensive. Hence it is recommended to the government to increase the marketing facilities, provide the necessary infrastructure, working capital and create interest in new generations (by providing training and skill development programs) who are diverting into other fields leaving this creative & traditional work due to low wages and low dignity of labor. By encouraging this traditional and creative work, we can reduce the pollution and at the same time increase the production and livelihoods of the weavers.

References

1. Challa L, “Impact of textiles and clothing industry on environment: approach towards eco- friendly textiles”. Retrieved from fibre2fashion.com.

2. C.Parvathi, T.Maruthavanan & C.Prakash (2009). Environmental impacts of textile industries. Indian Textile Journal.

3. India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), 2018.

4. Majestic MRSS (2016). Report on market research for promotion of India handloom brand.

5. Ministry of Textiles, Annual Report (2012-13). Retrieved from http://www.texmin.nic.in/annualrep/ar_12_13_english.pdf.

6. R.B.Chavan (2001). Indian textile industry – Environmental issues. International Journal of Fibre & Textile Research.

7. S.C. Bhatia (2017). Pollution Control in Textile Industry. Woodhead Publishing India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. 70 Promote Handloom Fabrics to Reduce Pollution and to Encourage Degradable :A Study of Handloom and Textile Sector 8. S.Kavitha and S.Geetha Margret Soundri (2015). Eco friendly textiles and clothing. International Journal of Science Technology and Management. Vol. 4(1).

9. S.Riffat (2016). Environmental Pollution and Control.

10. Textiles Committee, Govt. of India, Min. of Textiles. Diagnostic Study Report and implementing strategy for development of Dist. Bijnore Handloom cluster.

11. “Textiles at a glance”. Retrieved from www.indiastat.com/table/industries/18/ textilemills/30327/458716/data.aspx Comparative Analysis of Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 71-83 Consumer Preference Towards ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Kanishk Gupta Ruchika

Abstract

Automobiles which were considered a luxury commodity in earlier times has now become a necessity. Because of this, both demand and competition for automobiles has increased. This study focuses on doing a comparative analysis of consumer preference between two top selling Automobile brands in India i.e. Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. Cronbach’s Alpha was exercised to ascertain the reliability of Likert scales containing the Features on the basis of which comparison would be done. Anova and T-test were also used to find out any statistical difference among means of various Independent Groups. This study focuses on broad features for comparison of products of the above- mentioned Brands. The research study reveals that the most imperative feature according to consumers was “Safety Features” and the least important feature was “Boot Space”. Also, as per the findings Maruti Suzuki still has a competitive Edge over Hyundai by a fair Margin.

Keywords: Consumer Preference, Comparative Analysis, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Automobile.

Introduction

The automotive industry in India is world’s third largest, with the country currently being the world’s seventh largest commercial vehicle manufacturer. The Automobile Industry has been dominated by Two-wheelers boasting a 79 per cent share in the automobile

* Corresponding Author, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, GGSIP University, Delhi, India. E-mail : [email protected] ** Assistant Professor, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, GGSIP University, Delhi, India. E-mail : [email protected] 72 Comparative Analysis of Consumer Preference Towards Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai production in FY17. Sales of Two-wheeler vehicles are foreseeable to escalate by 8-10 per cent in FY18. Indian automotive industry has been a beneficiary of foreign direct investments (FDI) worth US$ 17.91 billion between April 2000 and September 2017. The passenger vehicle sales in India crossed almost three million units milestone during FY 2017-18, which is further envisaged to proliferate to 10 million units by FY20. Within this huge industry Automobile Brands are assorted including both

Domestic such as Tata, Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki etc. and International Brands such as Hyundai, Honda, Toyota etc. They Provide similar kinds of products within various price Brackets so that different consumers can buy these products matching their Income Level. Whenever we talk about Indian Automotive industry, names Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai come at the top 2 positions. According to economictimes.com Maruti Suzuki is the Market Leader in India at 54% and Hyundai has the Second Highest Market Share with 16.4%. Both these brands offer products in same category with similar Pricing which makes them Highly Competitive. But when purchasing the cars of these two Brands consumers don’t only look for Brand name but also look for various features which can be categorised in Broad categories such as Safety Features, Comfort features, Price, After Sales Service, Vehicle Handling , Power, Transmission, Mileage, Engine , Power etc. These Features can also be diversified such as safety Features can include ABS , Airbags etc., Comfort Features such as Softer Suspension, adjustable seats etc., Transmission Manual , Automatic and Semi-Automatic(AMT) and many more. The quality of these features provided can be useful in ascertaining consumer preference for these brands. This research paper tells us about the consumer preference between Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki through a comparative Analysis of features provided by these two Brands.

Glimpse from Literature

(Yee & San, 2011) in his study has explained that majority of the customers considered quality important while purchasing a car. (Axsen, Orlebar, & Skippon, 2013) also noted that neglect of social influence processes will underestimate the potential for shifts in consumer preferences regarding emerging pro-environmental technologies. (Helveston, et al., 2015) concluded that Chinese respondents are more receptive to BEVs than American respondents regardless of subsidies. (a, b, b, & Friedman, 2014) noted that US consumers are, on average, more sensitive to fuel cost reductions and to alternative fuel station availability, while the US and Japanese consumers are equally sensitive to the Kanishk Gupta and Ruchika 73 driving range on a full battery and to emission reduction. (Lee, Wang, & Lee, 2014) His study revealed that in the process of determining their purchasing preferences for EVs, consumers focused primarily on the basic attributes of EVs. This study also found that the top three purchasing preferences for consumers are still related to new product attributes such as battery recharging time, range, and horsepower. As per the findings of (Huang & Qian, 2018) price played an important role in determining purchase of electric vehicles in China. Similarly competitive pricing played an important role in enhancing demand for hybrid vehicles in Indonesia (Irawan, et al., 2017). Performance attributes and financial services played a significant role in determining acceptance of electric vehicles in Malaysia (Sang & Bekhet, 2015). Also as per the findings of (Higgins, Mohamed, & Ferguson, 2017), body type of an automobile played a major role in determining consumer preference towards electric vehicles. Appearance , power and price played an important role in determining consumer preference towards subcompact cars (Wu, Liao, & Chatwuthikrai, 2014).

Objective of Study

• To analyze importance of various features, present in the cars of two famous brands, Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki. • To analyze and Compare the two brands in terms of Quality.

Methodology

Research Design

In this research, Descriptive Research design has been selected which is the most suitable design for this study. It clearly highlighted the preference of consumers out of the two above mentioned car brands. A Structured Questionnaire with five-point Likert scale was designed to collect the data from various customers. 10 features were taken to check their importance in a car for consumers and same 10 features were taken for both the brands on the basis of which their Quality was measured and compared to ascertain the consumer preference. The 10 Features used in the Likert scale are shown in table 1. 74 Comparative Analysis of Consumer Preference Towards Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Table 1: List of Features

Safety Transmission Mileage Boot Space Engine Comfort Vehicle Handling Power Price After Sales Service

Sampling and Data Collection

The Questionnaire was distributed to 100 people and 69 responses were received. The Sample Distribution is as follows: Table 2: The Sample Distribution of Study Based on Responses of Faculty

Gender Male 48 Female 21 Age 18-24 57 25-30 0 31-35 2 36-40 3 Above 40 7 Occupation Student 55 Business 8 Employee 2 Homemaker 4 Source: Google forms Kanishk Gupta and Ruchika 75 Statistical Tools Used

SPSS version 23 was employed to apply Cronbach’s alpha, T-test and Anova. T-test was employed to compare means of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai among Male and Female Population in terms of Quality of Features provided by both these Brands. The one- way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to compare Means of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai among diverse Occupation Groups in terms of quality of Features provided by both these Brands. Cronbach’s alpha was applied to assess the internal reliability of Likert scale questions.

Data Analysis

Value of Cronbach’s Alpha was .926 which indicated high level of internal consistency.

Hypothesis Testing

T-TEST

Ha0 = There is no difference in level of importance of features across males and females. Table 3: T-Test for Importance of Features across Gender

LEVENE’S TEST FOR EQUALITY OF VARIANCES F Sig. Equal variances assumed 15.942 .000

Since p value < 0.05 , null Hypothesis is rejected that means there exist the difference in level of importance of features across males and females.

As per mean analysis also, male population considers the above-mentioned Features more important with mean value of 4.4021 as compared to Female Population whose mean value is 3.9714. 76 Comparative Analysis of Consumer Preference Towards Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Table 4: T-Test for Quality of features of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai across Gender

LEVENE’S TEST FOR EQUALITY OF VARIANCES GENDER F Sig. MALE MARUTI Equal variances 1.651 .203 FEMALE SUZUKI assumed MALE HYUNDAI Equal variances 8.014 .006 FEMALE assumed

MARUTI SUZUKI

Hb0 = Level of satisfaction for quality of Maruti Suzuki is different across males and females.

Since p value > 0.05 null Hypothesis is accepted, Level of satisfaction for quality of Maruti Suzuki is different across males and females.

HYUNDAI

Hc0 = Level of satisfaction for quality of Hyundai is different across males and females.

Since p value >0.05 null Hypothesis is rejected, Level of satisfaction for quality of Hyundai is same across males and females.

If Mean Analysis is also observed,

Both Male and Female Population are more satisfied with the Quality of features provided by Maruti Suzuki as compared to Hyundai. The Mean values of Male and Female Population in case of Maruti Suzuki are 2.5875 and 2.7571 respectively. The Mean value of Male and Female Population in case of Hyundai is 2.4771 and 2.4333 respectively. Kanishk Gupta and Ruchika 77 ANOVA

Table 5: ANOVA for Quality of features of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai across various Occupation Groups

F Sig. HYUNDAI .189 .904 MARUTI SUZUKI .754 .524

HYUNDAI

Hd0 = Level of satisfaction for quality of Hyundai is different across all occupation groups.

Since p value > 0.05, null Hypothesis is accepted. This shows that quality of Hyundai is different across all occupation groups.

MARUTI SUZUKI

He0 = Level of satisfaction for quality of Maruti Suzuki is different across all occupation groups.

Since p value > 0.05 hence null Hypothesis is accepted, Quality of Maruti Suzuki is different across all occupation groups.

If Mean Analysis is also observed, the occupation groups are Satisfied with Quality of Features provided by Hyundai. In case of Maruti Suzuki Employee and Homemaker Occupation Groups have a neutral response towards quality provided by Maruti Suzuki. The mean value of various occupation groups in Hyundai are,

Student = 2.4545, Business = 2.5875, Employee = 2.0000, Homemaker = 2.5750.

The mean value of various occupation groups in Maruti Suzuki are,

Student = 2.5145, Business = 2.6250, Employee = 3.1500, Homemaker = 3.0750. 78 Comparative Analysis of Consumer Preference Towards Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Findings and Conclusion

The most preferred and the least preferred car segment in Maruti Suzuki is Hatchback and Least Preferred Segment is SUV. In Hyundai the most preferred car Segment is Sedan and Least Preferred Segment is Hatchback. The most desired Maruti Suzuki car as per consumers is “Swift Dzire” and the most desired car Hyundai car as per Consumers is “Creta”. The most imperative feature according to consumers was “Safety Features” and the least important feature was “Boot Space”. Consumers were highly satisfied with the “Pricing” of Maruti Suzuki products and they were highly satisfied with the “Safety” and “Transmission” of Hyundai. If overall responses are contemplated then population is satisfying with almost all the features of Maruti Suzuki except for “Boot Space” and “After Sales Service”. For Hyundai the population have less satisfaction as compared to Maruti Suzuki for almost all the features except for “Safety Features”, “Transmission” and “Power”. Consumers were also asked about any feature which they wanted in the Cars of these two Brands and various feature Suggestions were given by Consumers such as GPS System, Tyre Pressuring Monitoring System, hydraulic Start and many also suggested to tweak and diversify prevailing Features such as improved Mileage, power, comfort, vehicle handling and they also suggested to improve exterior design, interior design and material quality, add more features such as DRL’s, electronic doors etc. T-test was applied and used for 3 different cases which gave a result that consumers were “satisfied” with the “quality of features” provided by both Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai and also that population considered the mentioned features important. Anova test was applied and used for 2 different cases in which gave a result that population were “satisfied” with the “quality of features” provided by “Hyundai” but they were “not satisfied” with the “quality of features” provided by “Maruti Suzuki”. These results were concluded on the basis of p-value. In T-test on the basis of mean analysis it was seen that population was more satisfied with the quality of features of Maruti Suzuki than Hyundai. In Anova on the basis of mean analysis population was more satisfied with the quality of Hyundai as compared to quality of Maruti Suzuki.

When Automobiles are being talked about in India two Brands always have a special Mention which are Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. These are two best-selling Automobile Brands in India. In Delhi too both these Brands have a high level of competence amongst them in diverse stipulations such as in terms of Car Segments (Hatchback, Sedan and SUV) or in terms of Price , After Sales Service or in terms of Technical Features such as Transmission , Engine , Power, Comfort or in terms of Essential Features such as Safety Kanishk Gupta and Ruchika 79 mechanisms, Boot Space , Mileage, Vehicle Handling etc. The Consumers also responded that SUV Segment was the Least Preferred Segment in Maruti Suzuki. This can be because as per consumer response Maruti Suzuki is not performing well in providing quality in Features like Boot Space and After Sales Service which could be the reason as SUV’s need Big Boot Space for Long Journey’s and also SUV requires more Servicing as compared to Other Car Segments. The Consumers responded that Hatchback was the least preferred Segment in Hyundai. This can be because Consumers were mainly Satisfied with Safety Features, Transmission and Power of Hyundai. Hatchback Cars can be popular only if they can provide some features with Good Quality such as Price, Mileage, Comfort, Vehicle Handling etc. Since Hatchback cars bought by each Income group including low income Group hence they want these Cars to be appropriately Priced and with Good Mileage. They must tweak these Features in their Car Segments and also take Various steps to Promote these Segment Cars such as Aggressive Advertising, Sales promotion etc. Also, after various Tests and analysis through tools it can be concluded that Maruti Suzuki has a Higher Mean Value in Quality of Features than Hyundai which Concludes that Although there is Tough Competition between Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki, Maruti Suzuki stills has a competitive Edge over Hyundai by a fair Margin. Both the Brands can increase their level of consumer preference if:

Maruti Suzuki

• Maruti Suzuki must improve their Boot Space and After Sales service. • Maruti Suzuki must improve the quality of their SUV Cars as they are the least preferred Segment by Consumers. • Maruti Suzuki must ensure that they check upon quality of Boot Space and After Sales Service which are very important Components/Features while deciding to Buy a SUV. • Maruti Should promote their SUV Cars more as they are the least preferred Segment by the Consumers. • Maruti Suzuki must launch more models in SUV segment to attract more Competition. • Hyundai • Hyundai must improve their most of the features as they are satisfactory but not up 80 Comparative Analysis of Consumer Preference Towards Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai to the level of Maruti Suzuki. • Hyundai must improve the quality of their Hatchback Cars as they are the least preferred Segment by Consumers. • Hyundai Must Ensure that they Check upon the Quality of most of their Features specially Mileage, Price, Comfort, Vehicle Handling etc. which are very Important components/Features while deciding to buy a Hatchback. • Hyundai should promote their Hatchback Cars more as they are the least preferred Segment by the Consumers. • Hyundai must launch more Hatchback models in Hatchback Segment to attract more Customers. Table 6: List of Hypotheses

TEST H0/ STATEMENTS P-VALUE ACCEPTED/ Mean Value

USED H1 REJECTED

T-TEST Ha0 There is no .000 REJECTED Male difference in level (4.4021) of importance of Female features across (3.9714) males and females.

T-TEST Hb0 Level of satisfaction .203 ACCEPTED Male for quality of Maruti (2.5875) Suzuki is different Female across males and (2.7571) females

T-TEST Hc0 Level of satisfaction .006 REJECTED Male for quality of (2.4771) Hyundai is different Female across males and (2.4333) females. Kanishk Gupta and Ruchika 81

ANOVA Hd0 Level of satisfaction .904 ACCEPTED Student for quality of (2.4545) Hyundai is different Business across all occupation (2.5875) groups. Employee (2.0000) Homemaker (2.5750)

ANOVA He0 Level of satisfaction .524 ACCEPTED Student for quality of Maruti (2.5145) Suzuki is different Business across all occupation (2.6250) groups. Employee (3.1500) Homemaker (3.0750)

Limitations of the Study

The prevailing Study concentrated on only two Automobile Brands i.e. Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai but there are voluminous Automobile brands present in the Market. Also, only 3 broad car segments were considered for comparison but in the Automobile market new segments have been introduced and also the current segments have been diversified. The research was conducted within Delhi so perspective of the entire population may not be represented. The no. of features which cogitated were only 10 broad categories of features. Their detailed components were not selected for comparison.

Directions for Future Research

Consumer Preference is gaining a lot of importance for Automobile Companies due to increase in competition which provides more choice to consumers for selecting a product. The Automobile Brands have to keep a check on various current aspects and various emerging aspects for measuring Consumer Preference. These aspects can be increasing competition as a result of which more and more car segments are being introduced such as MPV’s, Notchback’s, Semi Notchback’s and many more. Also, the current Segments 82 Comparative Analysis of Consumer Preference Towards Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai are being diversified and the brands like Hatchback’s have been categorised into Compact and Premium Hatchback’s. Various newer features are being introduced in cars which can be safety features such as Anti Braking System, Adaptive Braking etc., Design Features such as DRL’s, new designs etc., Convenience Features such as Rain Sensing Wipers, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System etc., because of which comparison between cars is also getting much complex. Due to rising competition , companies are aiming at providing high quality features at an affordable price. Further Studies may be conducted covering more comparable aspects for preference of a Particular Brand.

References

1. Yee, C. J., & San, N. C. (2011). Consumers’ perceived quality, perceived value and perceived risk towards purchase decision on automobile. American Journal of Economics and Business Administration, 3(1), 47.

2. Axsen, J., Orlebar, C., & Skippon, S. (2013). Social influence and consumer preference formation for pro-environmental technology: The case of a UK workplace electric-vehicle study. Ecological Economics, 95, 96-107.

3. Helveston, J. P., Liu, Y., Feit, E. M., Fuchs, E., Klampfl, E., & Michalek, J. J. (2015). Will subsidies drive electric vehicle adoption? Measuring consumer preferences in the US and China. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 73, 96-112.

4. Tanaka, M., Ida, T., Murakami, K., & Friedman, L. (2014). Consumers’ willingness to pay for alternative fuel vehicles: A comparative discrete choice analysis between the US and Japan. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 70, 194-209.

5. Huang, Y., & Qian, L. (2018). Consumer preferences for electric vehicles in lower tier cities of China: Evidences from south Jiangsu region. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 63, 482-497.

6. Irawan, M. Z., Belgiawan, P. F., Widyaparaga, A., Budiman, A., Muthohar, I., & Sopha, B. M. (2018). A market share analysis for hybrid cars in Indonesia. Case studies on transport policy, 6(3), 336-341.

7. Wu, W. Y., Liao, Y. K., & Chatwuthikrai, A. (2014). Applying conjoint analysis to evaluate consumer preferences toward subcompact cars. Expert Systems with Kanishk Gupta and Ruchika 83 Applications, 41(6), 2782-2792.

8. Higgins, C. D., Mohamed, M., & Ferguson, M. R. (2017). Size matters: How vehicle body type affects consumer preferences for electric vehicles. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 100, 182-201.

9. Sang, Y. N., & Bekhet, H. A. (2015). Modelling electric vehicle usage intentions: an empirical study in Malaysia. Journal of Cleaner Production, 92, 75-83.

10. Yueh-Hua, L., Chin-Mei, W., & Wen-Ting, L. (2014). Choice-Based Conjoint Model for Evaluating Consumers’ Purchasing Preferences for Battery Electric Vehicle Attributes. International Journal of Applied Mathematics and Statistics. A Study of Mental Health Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 84-91 Among College Students with ISSN 2319-8702(Print) Reference to their Gender, ISSN 2456-7574(Online) © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies Locality and Category in http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Jammu Division

Mohd Haneef Kumar

Abstract

Mental health is considered as one of the most important factors of human development. It is a global term which refers to state of a person, resulting from the normal organization and proper functioning of his mind. It is a combined product of physical, emotional, moral, spiritual and social health, and the most important component of the over-all health and psychological well-being of a person. The main objective of the present study was to find the significant differences in mental and somatic health among college students with respect to their gender, locality and category. The investigator has used descriptive cum survey method of research. Multi stage random sampling was used to collect a sample of 1000 students (500 males and 500 females). The results of the present study showed significant differences in mental health while as no significant differences were found in somatic health among male and female college students. Further, no significant differences were found in mental and somatic health among rural and urban college students. Moreover, significant differences were found in mental health while & no significant differences were found in somatic health among reserved and general category college students.

Keywords: Mental Health, Somatic Health, Locality, Category, gender

Introduction

Mental health is considered as one of the most important factors in the promotion of human development. It is like a philosophy of life which is not acquired by taking a course

* Assistant Professor, Department of Education, South Campus University of Kashmir. E-mail : [email protected] Mohd Haneef Kumar 85 in philosophy. Its scope cannot be compressed within the confines of a series of lesson plans or formal school projects.

Mental health is a global term which refers to state of a person, resulting from the normal organization and proper functioning of his mind. It is a combined product of physical, emotional, moral, spiritual and social health and the most important component of the overall health and psychological well-being of a person. It is an integral and essential component of overall health. Right thoughts, right attitudes and right actions are very useful and necessary for maintaining good mental health. Mental health is also called the process of human self-satisfaction, self-realization and fully successful existence. It is a condition of psychological maturity.

The White House Conference (1930) defined mental health as the adjustment of individual to themselves and the world at large with the maximum of effectiveness, satisfaction, cheerfulness and socially considerate behavior, and the ability of facing and accepting the realities of life. The constitution of World Health Organization (1948) stated mental health as a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of diseases.

Sortorives (1983) views mental health as a state of balance between the individual and the surrounding world, a state of harmony between oneself and others, a coexistence between the realities of the self and those of other people as also of the environment.” Chauhan (1987) defined “mental health is a condition which permits the maximum development of physical, intellectual and emotional status of the individual so that he can contribute maximum to the welfare, his ideas and aims in life. It is a normal state of wellbeing. The Health Education Authority (1997) described mental health as the emotional and spiritual resilience, which enables to survive pain, disappointment and sadness. The World Health Organization (2010) defined mental health as a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

After evaluating the above mentioned definitions we can conclude that mental health does not mean the absence of mental illness, but it involves an individual’s ability to adjust to one self and the world, being resilient to strains of life and a peaceful, harmonious and balanced integration of all aspects of the personality viz social, emotional, psychological, physical and moral etc. It is an integral part of overall the health of a person. It permits 86 A Study of Mental Health Among College Students with Reference to their Gender, Locality and Category in Jammu Division overall status of a person like physical, social and emotional etc. It includes the ability of a person to accept failure and success equally. A mentally healthy individual also thinks clearly and logically, has good relationships with family and friends, make plans for future and also Who knows his shortcomings as well as strengths, and is productive for the whole human society. For maintaining good mental health various psychologists believed that right thoughts, right attitudes and right actions are very useful and necessary for maintaining good mental health.

Objectives of the study

1. To find the significant differences among male and college students with respect to: Mental health Somatic health

2. To find the significant differences among rural and urban college students with respect to: Mental health Somatic health

3. To find the significant differences among reserved and general category college students with respect to: Mental health Somatic health

Hypotheses of the study

Hypothesis 1 There will be no significant differences among male and female college students with respect to their:

H1.1 Mental health

H1.2 Somatic health

Hypothesis 2 There will be no significant differences among rural and urban college students with respect to their: Mohd Haneef Kumar 87 H2.1 Mental health

H2.2 Somatic health

Hypothesis 3 There will be no significant differences among reserved and general category college students with respect to their:

H3.1 Mental health

H3.1 Somatic health

Research Methodology

The investigator has used a descriptive cum survey method of research. The population of the Present study includes all B.Sc. /B.A. Part III students studying in 45 arts/science govt. degree colleges of Jammu division (India), Udhampur, Samba, Kathua, Reasi, Doda, Kishtiwar, Ramban, Rajouri and Poonch districts in Jammu division which is a part of J and K state. Multi stage random sampling technique was used to draw the sample. Sample of 16 colleges were selected according to the share of each district in total number of colleges and were selected randomly. After the random selection of sample colleges the investigator decided to select a sample size of 1000 students comprising of 500 male and 500 female students studying in part third of the three year degree course in the sample government degree colleges. The sample of 1000 students was divided among sample colleges of each district using a standard formula. Finally the sample respondents were selected randomly from the sample colleges. For collecting the data the researcher has used mental health checklist developed by Dr. Pramod Kumar. It measures pre-illness mental conditions of the person. It consist of 11 items six mental and five somatic.

Analysis and Interpretation of Data

For analysis and interpretation of data the investigator has used‘t’ test to see the significant differences between two mean samples. Statistical differences between male and female students with respect to mental and somatic health is shown in table1, Statistical differences between rural and urban students with respect to mental and somatic health is shown in table2. Furthermore, Statistical differences between reserved and general category students with respect to mental and somatic health is shown in table3. 88 A Study of Mental Health Among College Students with Reference to their Gender, Locality and Category in Jammu Division

Table 1. Values of Mean, S.D., SEDM and ‘t’ for male and female college students in mental and somatic health

Group N Mean S.D SEDM t Significance Mental Male 500 13.084 3.53 0.21 2.04* Significant health Female 500 12.652 3.28 at 0.05 level Somatic Male 500 9.636 3.20 0.19 0.47 Not Significant health Female 500 9.724 3.00

Perusal of Table 1 indicated that the computed value of ‘t’ for male and female college students in mental health is 2.04 which is greater than 1.96 the table value of ‘t’ at 0.05 level of significance. The calculated value of ‘t’ is therefore, significant. It can therefore, said that there were significant differences in mental health among male and female college students. Hence, the hypothesis which states that there will be no significant differences among male and female college students with respect to mental health is not accepted.

Review of Table 1 further revealed that the computed value of ‘t’ for male and female college students in somatic health is 0.47 which is less than 1.96 the table value of ‘t’ at 0.05 level of significance. The calculated value of ‘t’ is therefore, not significant. It can therefore, concluded that there were no significant differences in somatic health among male and female college students. Hence, the hypothesis which states that there will be no significant differences among male and female college students with respect to somatic health is accepted.

Table 2. Values of Mean, S.D., SEDM and ‘t’ for rural and urban college students in mental and somatic health

Group N Mean S.D SEDM t Significance Mental health Rural 546 12.89 3.43 0.21 0.28 Not Significant Urban 454 12.83 3.39 Somatic health Rural 546 9.63 3.08 0.19 0.47 Not Significant Urban 454 9.72 3.13

Review of Table 2 revealed that the computed value of ‘t’ for rural and urban college students in mental health is 0.28 which is less than 1.96 the table value of ‘t’ at 0.05 level of significance. The calculated value of t is not significant. It can therefore, concluded that there were no significant differences in mental health among rural and urban college Mohd Haneef Kumar 89 students. Hence, the hypothesis which states that there will be no significant differences among rural and urban college students with respect to mental health stands accepted.

Review of Table 2 revealed that the computed value of ‘t’ for rural and urban college students in somatic health is 0.47 which is well below 1.96 the table value of ‘t’ at 0.05 level of significance. The calculated value of ‘t’ is therefore, not significant. It can therefore, said that there were no significant differences in somatic health among rural and urban college students. Thus the hypothesis which states that there will be no significant differences among rural and urban college students with respect to somatic health stands accepted.

Table 3. Values of Mean, S.D., SEDM and ‘t’ for reserved and general category college students in mental and somatic health

Group N Mean S.D SEDM t Significance Mental health Reserved 434 12.50 3.40 Significant at 0.21 2.97** General 566 13.14 3.45 0.01 level Reserved 434 9.52 3.00 Somatic health 0.18 1.55 Not Significant General 566 9.80 3.07

Review of Table 3 revealed that the computed value of ‘t’ for reserved and general category college students in mental health is 2.97 which is more than 2.58 the table value of ‘t’ at 0.01 level of significance. The calculated value of ‘t’ is therefore, significant. Thus it can be concluded that there were significant differences in mental health among reserved and general category college students. Hence, the hypothesis which states that there will be no significant differences among reserved and general category college students with respect to mental health is not accepted.

Review of Table 3 revealed that the computed value of ‘t’ for reserved and general category college students in somatic health is 1.55 which is well below 1.96 the table value of ‘t’ at 0.05 level of significance. The calculated value of ‘t’ is therefore, not significant. Thus it can be said that there were no significant differences in somatic health among reserved and general category college students. Therefore the hypothesis which states that there will be no significant differences among reserved and general category college students with respect to somatic health is accepted. 90 A Study of Mental Health Among College Students with Reference to their Gender, Locality and Category in Jammu Division Conclusion

The Above mentioned results revealed significant differences in mental health while as no significant differences were found in somatic health among male and female college students. Further no significant differences were found in mental and somatic health among rural and urban college students. Moreover, significant differences were found in mental health while as no significant differences were found in somatic health among reserved and general category college students.

Educational implications

Implications of findings suggest that gender (male and female) and category (reserved and general) were key factors in mental health among high school students according to this study; moreover locality (rural and urban) was not a significant factor affecting overall mental health. Sound mental health exists in a sound body, so students should try to keep our body healthy and fit. Educational authorities should not pressurize students with too many academic activities at the risk of their life. It is well known saying which states when money is lost nothing is lost and when health is lost everything is lost.

Acknowledgment

The investigator is thankful to Indian national psychological laboratory Agra who provided him the required tools for data collection. I am also thankful to all the students who cooperated with me in field survey. I am also highly grateful to my supervisor who helped me in writing this research paper.

References

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5. Crow, L.D. Crow, A. (1951). Human development and Learning, New York. American book Co.

6. Cutts, N. E and Moseley, N. (1941). Practical school discipline and mental hygiene. Boston Honghton Milffin.

7. Hadfield, J. A. (1952). Mental Health and Psychoneurosis, London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1-2.

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9. Hinkle, L.E. (1973). The concept of stress in the biological and social sciences. Sci Med Man, 1,31-48.

10. Lewkan, P. V. (2006). Mental hygiene in public health, retrieved November 10, 2019, from http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/16dhmh/html/dhmh.html.

11. Lulla (1981) Mental health of teacher promotes effective learning, The Progress of Education, 4 (2).

12. Sortorives, N. (1983) WHO Bulletin; 61

13. White House Conference. (1930). Preliminary Reports. New York Century Company:

14. World Health Organization (2010). Mental health and development: Targeting people with mental health conditions as a vulnerable group. Geneva. Writing Knowledge/Writing Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 92-105 Power: Disciplining Gender ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Studies © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Shubhra Nagalia Rachna Chaudhary

Abstract

The paper looks critically at the project of higher education and traces its link with capital and the state which is crucial in determining the ‘standards’ of quality higher education. The emphasis on acquisition of skills in certain kind of writing and knowledge production also comes under scanner. Who is able to compete and reach these standards and who falls through the cracks is part of this critical exploration into writing cultures established, nurtured and reproduced by university spaces. Against this background, this paper focuses upon the ongoing struggle to rewrite the programme structure and course-outlines for Masters and research programmes in Gender Studies at Ambedkar University, Delhi. Pedagogy and curricular review is a continuous project and the endeavour has had its limitations for several reasons, foremost being the complex histories of the emergence of such specialised disciplines as Gender Studies. The paper will tease out these links in which the preparation and production of ‘academic writing cultures’ are embedded in the struggles and complicity of students and faculty in consolidating an academic/disciplinary status and stability.

Keywords: Interdisciplinarity, Critical Pedagogy, Academic Writing, Curriculum Design, Gender Studies

The project of higher education and its link with capital and the state is crucial in determining the ‘standards’ that need to be met and define the necessity of acquiring skills in certain kind of writing and knowledge production. Who is able to compete and

* Assistant Professor, Gender Studies, School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi. E-mail : [email protected] ** Associate Professor, Gender Studies, School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi. E-mail : [email protected] Shubhra Nagalia and Rachna Chaudhary 93 reach these standards and who falls through the cracks is also a revealing exploration into writing cultures established, nurtured and reproduced by university spaces. This paper tracks some of the local/national/global contexts which shape these specific writing and learning cultures in university spaces.

Some of the crucial issues at stake are pointed out by Jones, Turner, & Street (2000) as they argue for a rethinking of higher education and associated writing practices by not merely focusing on skills and effectiveness but also and more importantly on and around epistemology. It would thus help in understanding as well as questioning claims regarding the content of knowledge, the authority over it along with the ways in which the self and agency get constituted in forms and practices of writing, and the workings of power and its modalities in various transactions falling under the rubric of academic activity.

Thus outlined, writing cultures, especially in academic institutional spaces, have undergone a remarkable standardization, a significant factor and marker of which is the continuing dominance of English as the language of scholarship worldwide. It is the language in which the students and faculty must make sense of their disciplines and transact them and put them into international circulation, making possible careers and a future in the available opportunities in the global job market. This immediately brings to the fore epistemological, theoretical and cultural issues that underpin writing cultures in the knowledge industry of which university is an important part.

Institutional Writing Cultures

The institutional space of the university itself, at some level, ‘chooses’ its academic and writing practices as a part of its ‘signature’ and fulfils the mandate with which it is set up. Such choices are translated in assessments, visions and goals that the university sets for itself. Not least of this process are institutional histories and such requirements the university is compelled to fulfill. Every university will have experienced the work that comes with the coming of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), the accreditation body of the government which has a mandate set by the government governed by entirely different political needs. Speaking from our experience we can say that some of these criterias include how much is the university “contributing to national development; fostering global competencies among students; inculcating a sound value system among students; promoting use of technology; quest for excellence and focus on internationalism and foster linkages between social justice and industry.”

The other side of the relationship between academia and the state is the critical role 94 Writing Knowledge/Writing Power: Disciplining Gender Studies that academia has come to play in placing its training in the service of the state and capital in rehearsing new modalities of power, especially since the 1990s (with the coming of Mandal Commission report this was also a moment which signaled the entry of backward and low caste students who asserted their right to speak their histories and be included in the production of knowledge), by suggesting “...the means by which minority difference is brought into regimes of representation and fundamentally reconstitute them” (Ferguson, 2012, p. 12).

Writing to International Standards

The universities set up in the 90s, public and private, held forth a vision of excellence in higher education. The mandate as much as the aspiration was to compete with international standards. Nagalia (2018) has explored the paradox that arises as a result of the demand of quality higher education along with a commitment to social justice and ‘non-professional’ critical education. She draws attention to the role of the state since Universities were set up as a part of Indian government’s policy of expanding the sector of higher education, both public and private, with a mandate to implement several neo-liberal policy imperatives to create what is called ‘quality cutting edge’ education so that the higher education sector can compete internationally and attract foreign students from all over the world (Nagalia, 2018, p. 81). For example, Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) set up in 2008 took such a commitment literally and the founding members envisioned a university which would be non-hierarchical, diverse and interdisciplinary. Structurally campus spaces, even such things as where the faculty would sit; concurrent appointment with every faculty member teaching in both undergraduate courses and in post-graduate/research programmes and so on sought to break the vertical hierarchies within the field of education (Nagalia, 2018, p. 81). Similarly, pedagogically attempts were made to push the boundaries of core and often congealed core social science subjects by conceptually imagining new schools such as SLS (School of Liberal Studies), SDS (School of Development Studies) SHS (School of Human Studies); foundation courses across disciplines; programmes and not departments carried in its heart a commitment to rigorous interdisciplinarity and ideals of social justice. The aim was to produce quality education and impart it to students from all backgrounds, especially to those who come from deprived backgrounds. This can also be read as a legitimizing tool for a public institution that has social justice at the core of its vision. However, this was always perceived as a paradox, not the ideal itself but the practice of higher education. This paradox came to be reflected in several ways including the following:

1. The fee structure, despite numerous financial assistance policies, perhaps Shubhra Nagalia and Rachna Chaudhary 95 nevertheless has contributed, amongst several other factors, to a far lesser number of students from marginalized backgrounds to apply. So, many reserved seats often go vacant.

2. ‘Quality education’ is though continuously sought to be made accessible to ‘weak students’ as wide gaps in terms of learning and performance, drop outs, heavy silences and thin attendance remain consistent trends in almost all programmes. So, curriculam is sought to be made of ‘an accessible level’ for the ease of students. That makes the business of producing ‘cutting edge’ knowledge a more difficult task. Equality versus quality has always been a constant dilemma. Late SharmilaRege (2010), sociologist and a feminist scholar, has rigorously unpacked the daily practices, shaped by this paradox which address the complex relations between culture, knowledge and power and possibilities of democratizing the very processes of teaching and learning. She has recounted the disciplinary history of sociology and the perceived crisis it is facing today including a discussion of language issues many of which Ambedkar University Delhi also reflects and faces. The alarm that is generally felt and perceived as a struggle when ‘unqualified’ ‘low caste’ ‘non-English’ speaking students make an entry into the hallowed domains of academia is reflected in innumerable strategies that are discussed regarding ‘merit’ and ‘quality’ of education. Higher education can either be made accessible to all or it can be exclusive and be ‘quality’ education (Nagalia, 2018, p. 82).

To which international and to which standard is writing taught and learned in university spaces can also become a question of training to become legible and acquiring an exchange value to enter the circuit of international circulation. What happens to writing when it is institutionalised into the ways of excellence that is synonymously also called ‘good academic writing?’ Can the margins keep the ‘marginality along with its profound critique’ in writing cultures that seek to domesticate and standardize all narratives?

Disciplining Gender

Against this background, there is an ongoing struggle to rewrite the programme structure and course-outlines for Masters and research programmes in Gender Studies at AmbedkarUniversity, Delhi. Pedagogy and curricular review is an ongoing project and the endeavour has had its limitations for several reasons, foremost being the complex histories of the emergence of such specialised disciplines. Attendant to this are thehistorical legacies of ambivalence regarding an area like Gender Studies. These disciplinary histories 96 Writing Knowledge/Writing Power: Disciplining Gender Studies and the attendant ambivalence has resulted into Gender Studies’ somewhat marginal status in terms of faculty strength, junior faculty members, lack of funds and so on. Economic efficiency has always been at the core of institutional logics as far as marginal disciplines as concerned. But the marginality makes us hugely conscious of the effects of power- not just institutional but our own power as teachers, administrators, researchers.

Such conditions of existence have consistently framed our endeavour inducing uncertainty and an anxiety to chart out a legitimate ‘terrain of Gender Studies’. How does one then design a rigorous course to strengthen the disciplinary component while inhabiting a contested and shifting academic space? How does one address these concerns and yet avoid succumbing to what Janaki Nair (2008, p.59) calls formulaic writing?

Designing curricula is at heart always an arbitrary exercise with canonizing propensities. The task itself is riddled with ambiguities and entails an exclusive selective focus that enables a disciplinary demarcation. Linked with the question of writing it holds a destabilizing potential that can push the conservative boundaries of institutional practices and normative demands. At one level, questioning the disciplinary exclusions and universals, curricula designing can become an epistemic challenge forcing a greater porosity of knowledge, rendering it more fluid, expanding the conceptual grounds of critique and making knowledge amenable to more defiant narratives. At the other, critical creative writing can exceed the domains of individualized knowledges, over turn and bring chaos from the interstices, into the ordered formats of formulating a problematic. Some of the courses that are taught in Gender Studies reveal the potential of both and warn against the complacency that can come at having occupied an oppositional role. The need would be to stay alert to the agendas of inclusion and tolerance to difference that can absorb and make such subversions palatable and conservative. Like, inclusive at times has translated into positivist knowledge sharing about different categories of women.

The faculty recruited for teaching Gender Studies comes from various conventional disciplinary terrains which along with the contested nature of the disciplinary domain and the expectations of inter, trans-disciplinarity etc. has pedagogical and scholarly issues as the faculty is expected to teach a range of concepts, ideas and approaches to knowledge from the vast pool of feminist work, some of which they might not themselves be comfortable with (Blee, 2002, pp. 178-79). This exercise requires covering the related developments across disciplines but the heterogeneous class composition where students are coming from different disciplines requires that it is done in an accessible way. The quality versus quantity parameter then pans out in a different way. In that sense the experience is humbling also Shubhra Nagalia and Rachna Chaudhary 97 as one can identify with the position and experiences of students as one is continuously ‘becoming’ a student inspite of the institutional requirement of ‘being’ the all-knowing teacher.

There have been occasions when we have felt acute inadequacy in negotiating perspectives like psychoanalysis and the students have had problems in comprehending readings like someone coming from an economics background finds it difficult to understand and negotiate a purely sociological reading. No doubt these are artificial and contested boundaries but the education system thrives on stabilizing these boundaries rather than questioning them. For Gender Studies, the challenge has been more pronounced as feminist theory thrives on skepticism toward disciplinary knowledges yet draws upon the intellectual traditions of these very disciplines (Blee, 179). In fact, a colleague enrolled for doctoral studies found it difficult to write within the frames of her parent discipline once the critical perspectives of feminist theory became a part of her academic endeavour.

‘Aesthetic objectification’ of knowledge in terms of curriculum design that is ‘appealing’ to the Board of Studies and the Academic Council, the students and caters to the market also gives shape to the writing of the course (Spivak, 2012, p. 81). Our attempts at defining ourselves have implications for the choice of pedagogy as well. This is another challenge by itself as we are Gender Studies and not Women Studies. The distinction though as yet untheorized, has contributed to an imagination of Gender Studies as the latest and probably the trendiest version of Women Studies (Friedman, 2002, p. 434). When students come to this programme with the imagination that it is more ‘inclusive’ in comparison to a Women Studies course, since there are courses like Masculinity, Sexuality, the programme structure gets dictated by these expectations. Multi-axial analysis hence has to be an essential pedagogical strategy. How can we then write otherwise? The number of enrollments per year is not dazzling by any standards, then there are drop-outs at various stages – pushing us to give an exit option with a diploma after completion of one year and internship. The objectification then is written in the structure of the programme.

Transacting of academic writing is another challenge, as the texts included in the curricula have been of a varied nature including - written, oral, visual. Meaning making in terms of form as well as content, has then been quite strenuous at times as the jargon is simply impenetrable but quite enjoyable at other times. Another area of pedagogical struggle has negotiating interdisciplinarity.

While interdisciplinarity is part of the institutional logic, the epistemological concerns around transaction of interdisciplinarity remain unresolved. Interdisciplinary 98 Writing Knowledge/Writing Power: Disciplining Gender Studies practices, are also rooted in specific spatio-temporal moments and are not neutral practices (Kaplan & Grewal, 2002, p. 68). The struggle then has been between faculty expertise and the teaching of compulsory components of the courses. We have tried to use in-house faculty from across programmes to manage periods of faculty shortage. Institutional practices around interdisciplinarity do not work in a desirable manner at times due to various contextual constraints.

The ‘everydayness of Gender’ has led to imagination of the M.A. Gender Studies being an easy programme. Valorisation of the experiential has at times attracted criticism of the terrain not measuring up to academic standards of excellence. Gender Studies is then seen more as identity producing rather than knowledge producing site. While the experiential component has given student the opportunity to assimilate better courses like Family, more theoretical courses have been often received as incomprehendible. The gap in understanding then filters into their writing and resultant lower grades. Students coming to the university system with the experience and training of rote-learning rather than critical thinking, turn to plagiarism to write well for the assessment system. It then leads to the market once again coming to the ‘rescue’ of the academic institutions by selling anti- plagiarism softwares. Another standardization process that the faculty needs to master and the students need to find ways of escaping being caught in the act of plagiarizing.

Writing becoming Knowledge/ ‘Producing’ Knowledge/Power

Writing in academia is increasingly meant for assessment. The format, ability to argue your point, use of critical theoretical tools imaginatively is all components of assessment while evaluating any piece of writing submitted by the student or faculty. These are also necessary skill sets that the student should be equipped with to be able to navigate chosen professions, especially those that follow an education in social sciences and humanities. The high degree of standardization in writing styles as demanded by reputed journals, conferences and its indispensible link with promotions now has more or less set the norms of what is regarded as successful, even meaningful writing. The academic world, with esoteric and constantly updated and mobile theorizations may remind you and is perhaps not very different from the market full of products such as computers which become obsolete as soon as you have bought it and learned to navigate its basic features when new models with higher prices and fancy packaging appear on the scene and you are left once again in the possession of something obsolete or useless. You also feel somewhat obsolete, out of sync with the world, an anachronism more fit to be displayed in a museum which displays and preserves the purposeful march of progress. The analogy is not that Shubhra Nagalia and Rachna Chaudhary 99 unlinked with writing.

The first experience perhaps reflected upon only much later, when we enter the academia is that of obsoleteness. As whatever we know and the words we have used up till then to express ourselves need a re-fashioning; a sculpting into the appropriate. Writing must not just be. It must be knowledge that speaks confidently to names and citations that have come before and can listen and welcome another entrant into its esoteric, familiar and specialized world.

In such a situation, what does critical writing mean? Does it allow us to inhabit this standardizing space while destabilizing it simultaneously? This is also a pedagogical question.

In a university, where the margins are being continuously centred, the responsibility of writing the culture (of resistance) and the culture of writing might seem inseparable but are driven by oppositional logic. While the ‘privileged and authoritarian apparatus’ is to be questioned in the first instance, it is to be sustained and perpetuated in the other (Spivak, 2012, p. 65). There have been moments of anxiety like in November, some of Women Studies Centres in Delhi received letters from the Ministry of Women and Child and the MHRD. The letters sought details about the work being done on “women and child”, and interventions in the past have been to push the agenda of research and outreach in the direction of home science, maternality and so on. Which is indicative of close monitoring by the state by the defining of productivity of knowledge in specific ways especially in case of disciplines like Gender Studies since they trace their lineage to socio-political movements. Other than seeing these agenda setting moves as ‘strategies of management’, one can also see them as seemingly ‘insular and heteromorphous’ arguments that contribute to the production of a neocolonial discourse and can barely be separated from ‘the great narratives of the techniques of global financial control’ (Spivak, 2012, p. 63).

As university employees, we have also made our contributions to the standardization process by being ‘innovative’ in not just curriculum design, pedagogy and designing assessment situations but also by taking our students onboard in our institutional writing exercises. We have involved them in rethinking the course-outlines, in giving feedback and suggestions to the AUD Draft Policy on Prevention, Prohibition And Redressal Of Sexual Harassment And Discrimination Based On Gender Identity And Sexual Orientation, in finalizing assessment situations among others. All these experiences on the one hand can be read as contributing to ‘the corporate growth of the university’, and on the other hand, exercises in writing resistance. 100 Writing Knowledge/Writing Power: Disciplining Gender Studies Inhabiting the structure and yet positing a critique is not merely an exercise in rhetoric, this criticality will push the structure towards reckoning that knowledge is produced, disseminated, validated and deployed simultaneously. The university teachers as ‘specific intellectuals’ in Foucault’s terminology, are politicized despite and in spite of being in the service of state or capital but are not free subjects according to the distinction made by Foucault, like the ‘universal intellectual’, that the writer used to be (Foucault, 1980). But by such ‘simple’ acts of writing a course outline which destabilizes the very object of inquiry that has been canonized in and through disciplinary history, we try to be the bearers of a universal consciousness (Foucault, 1980). In that sense, systemic appropriations are not unidirectional/unilateral in effect.

Internship – Writing the Market/Writing for the Market

As far as the internship experience is concerned, the experience has been varied. It is in a sense an intervention into the social and the political and fits into the larger institutional vision of outreach through socially productive knowledge. It fits into the need to translate knowledge into jobs by providing access to potential future employers and also helps the students in getting hands-on training in their desirable area of expertise. Internship in one way is a pedagogical strategy of teaching feminist praxis through an experiential approach (Naples, 2002, p. 387). It also is an exercise in writing ‘legibly’ for non-academic purposes like report writing for Non-Governmental Organisations or research organizations, being part of projects and learning the application of research methods like transcribing, translating, archiving, experience in publishing etc. The dangers of becoming ‘complicitous’ are multiple (Spivak, 2012, p. 62). There have been disappointments as some witnessed ‘professionalization and bureaucratisation’ interfere with and at times subvert feminist practices in these organizations (Naples, 2002, p. 388). At times the work was merely clerical and non-academic in nature.

The proximity to corridors of power then dictates the writings in these contexts than local struggles and concerns. Some of the students who worked with agencies like the National/State Commissions for Women and some funding driven research organizations have had disillusioning experiences as research was no longer seen as provocative/ resistance but seeped into compliance mode. But the criticality which they brought back to the classroom has added new dimensions to their understanding as well as their writing.

These experiences then cannot be escaped as the imagined prospects of employment after an esoteric programme like Gender Studies are considered to be few. This economic Shubhra Nagalia and Rachna Chaudhary 101 rationalism/utility test is equally pressurizing for other social sciences and humanities disciplines but becomes acute in case of a seemingly feminized constituency (Dever, Cuthbert & Pollak, 2002, p. 313).

Writing the Panopticon

Another important aspect that undergrids writing cultures, nurtured and reproduced in university spaces is the student body, its composition and what it brings in terms of aspirations and backgrounds in classrooms and outside. Disciplinary knowledge is translated and transacted at both social and individual levels in which students engage with ideas that may or may not relate to their cultural, economic contexts; their struggles and hopes of imagined futures expected of them by their communities/families and themselves.

Since knowledge production and writing cultures are imbricated in location, circulation and saleability of both, ideas and capital, the struggle is also about producing quality education and imparting it to students from diverse and often deprived backgrounds. The paradox is evident as this experience is more pronounced in terms of drop outs, absence and ‘weak students’ who fail to meet the standards of ‘cutting edge’ internationally competitive higher education industry.

While attempts are made to bring such students ‘up to the standards’ required by various measures such as remedial English classes and so on the bulk of curricular material continues to be in English and continues to transact problematics framed by western theoretical concerns. The content of what constitutes this ‘quality’ is not subject to as rigorous a scrutiny as the rigour with which the self descriptions enlist the inclusion of minority difference as an adequate ground for establishing its legitimacy, inclusiveness and even ‘critique’. It is only a few regional universities which while looking towards the international/west have in pockets chosen to attend themselves to the regional and embedded social concerns.

How does a product of this industry qualify as a ‘successful’ product? Is any idea, any thought, any word admissible in this hall of fame? Firstly, the only language of international circulation being English requires a translation of all idioms from diverse cultural contexts and linguistic histories into another learnt language. As we all know language is not just a medium but organizes speech and thought as well. When we mourn or we love we search for our own language. How does creativity transact this gate keeping of the hall of fame? Further, what are the terms in which the excluded and marginalised stories included? Significantly, how does the alliance between social justice and the celebration of 102 Writing Knowledge/Writing Power: Disciplining Gender Studies local cultures and difference work? Or, is the question of personal stories and life separate from academic narratives and theoretical learning? In his last letter, RohithVemula, the Dalit student from Hyderabad Central University (HCU) whose suicide led to nationwide protests, tells us that he had always yearned to be a writer (My birth is my fatal accident, 2016). Is the way to become a writer possible only by exiting the system/world, especially for those who are not a part of the competing mainstream of academic futures?

If the terms of translation are not meaningful and guided by what the writer knows then the learned can overwhelm and can erase us in ways that leaves us as only an identity, an exclusion, a difference or as RohithVemula, put it a number (My birth is my fatal accident, 2016). To be celebrated and included as a legitimation of unity in diversity is also a narrative of the state, of nation building. This is also a normalisation of perhaps a new modality of power in which academia becomes a critical link between the state and capital. Academia becomes that crucial place which teaches the ways of absorbing and managing difference to both state and capital in the age of assertions and challenges put to universalities and hegemonies. Drawing attention to the limits of institutionalization and the need to be cautious not inspite of inclusion but because of it Ferguson (2012) argues in the context of American universities and pedagogies of minority difference that the academy becomes the site of management of difference through representation, regulation and absorption. In a move that he calls ‘archival tactics of power’ he shows the “rise of a mode of power organized around the absorption of heterogeneity” (Ferguson, 2012, p. 23). The assessment system is a panopticon in itself, a technology of power which helps in surveillance of ideas. The grading scale then becomes the inspecting gaze, which the student interiorises to become a part of the system of surveillance.

The fear and shame of failing and having to exit the system can make the attempt to ‘learn’ the language and practices of success towards a more conformist writing culture making institutions an inherently conservative space.

Emergence and institutionalisation of disciplines are also crucial in specifically sculpting the ‘signature’ of the university and teaching and demanding the standards of excellence from students. These histories and self-descriptions/imaginations thus significantly impact curricula and revisions to reorder modernist knowledge production in late capitalism. These are in tune with the changes within the discipline(s) and also the international standards that maintain and consolidate the relevance and competitive edge of the discipline(s). It places requirements of constant adjustment with changing theories, terminologies and concepts that may be taking place in contexts far removed from the local Shubhra Nagalia and Rachna Chaudhary 103 and experiential backgrounds of not only students but also faculty. Re-reading their own critical knowledge through the frames of quickly learnt conceptual tools can lead to immense confusion and instead of being able to frame problematics that renders such translations meaningful, it can after all result in ‘formulaic writing’ that is not only successful but is also an erasure. The paradoxes of pedagogy expose the gaps in knowledge production as we struggle to incorporate ‘marginal’ voices – like students from the North East pointing out that the course readings are mainly ‘majoritarian’. The dilemma is huge as both textual and non-textual representations of the North East have focused on homogenized hegemonic discourses of diversity. Writing the experiential then seems difficult if not impossible.

Such demands bring us back conceptually to writing cultures – how to create spaces within the curricula, the classroom and assessment exercises so that we are able to reach to every student. The need to re-write the disciplinary contents by incorporating insights from their experience and to avoid imposition of hegemonic /dominant norms of thinking is something one has to be alert about. In fact the experiential has the potential of being used as the conceptual ground of developing a possible critique of standardization.

This is not a question of academic writing being divorced from the experiential. Far from it, it is a re-fashioning of the experiential and an incursion into the dreams to bring some order and legibility from the chaos that it is. We all learn ‘how to think.’ We all learn ‘how to write.’ While both are necessary and have been the corner stone of demands of inclusion of the margins into the hallowed domains of knowledge it masks the modalities of power and erasures that are put into effect through such training that teaches us to banish the chaos, the unintelligible, the inadmissible. The intimacy between the thought world and the experiential is a difficult pedagogical question andis often violently shaped in sensitive classrooms.

Conclusion

Any writing that is put forward in the world is already operating within some logics of institutions, sanctioned or not. The attempt can be to stay alert to the terms of that engagement and which frames are made available to whom. Operations of power and hierarchies are constitutive of writing and any writing that assumes a position free of such operations is already complicit in creating/reinforcing universalities. No knowledge is pure freedom just as no writing is. It is always already in a charged field of modalities of dominations and subversions. It is not a coincidence that high fees for higher education as a strategy have consistently refused the pressures from those who are kept out. The market 104 Writing Knowledge/Writing Power: Disciplining Gender Studies has stepped in with student loans, off course with returns guaranteed that are expected in any reasonable business transaction. A huge fund is spent through various donors, government grants and philanthropies to encourage local and minority cultures that are immediately put in international circuits of capital through conferences, seminars and anthologies. An archive that collects, classifies and orders all in their proper place. To register that you exist in this world you learn to speak the language and order your world around the terms made available in this market to conclude a successful transaction.

Academic writing cultures and practices are not just plugged into these circuits, rather they may be put into the service of state and capital as they teach how to manage, absorb and order difference. Global political economy that has given a clarion call to globalise the world into a single global village has learnt a crucial lesson from the academia i.e. how to re-instate ‘the one’ amongst many. Writing can be a powerful way to challenge or consolidate the institutional logics provided it is nuanced to gestures of its own power and those modalities that it seeks to challenge. The paper has focused on teasing out these links in which the preparation and production of ‘academic writing cultures’ are embedded in the struggles and complicity of students and faculty in consolidating an academic/disciplinary status and stability.

References

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14. Wiegman, R. (2002). Introduction. In R. Wiegman (Ed.), Women’s studies on its own (pp. 1-44). Durham: Duke University Press. Macro: Cost-Oriented Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 106-115 Autonomic Resource ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Management for © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies Cloud Computing http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Bhupesh Kumar Dewangan Amit Agarwal Venkatadri M Ashutosh Pasricha

Abstract

Cloud computing is a platform where users can access the resources either free or on rent basis according to the need. In this direction, the users demands are increasing in day-to-day life. Because of this, the service provider needs a model through which they can manage their services. Proper management of resources directly and indirectly affect the operating cost to the service provider and end user as well. In this paper, the state-of-art survey has carried out on cost-based resource management techniques in the cloud, based on cost and execution time. According to our literature survey, execution time, and energy consumption by resources affects the operating cost of the service, to overcome this, current resource management models can be upgraded for better efficiency. To resolve this issue, we proposed MACRO, which minimizes the energy consumption rate through a novel Antlion optimization algorithm and evaluates the execution time and cost of each resource. The MACRO simulates in cloudsim toolkit and compares with the existing cost-based frameworks. The results obtain by MACRO gives the utmost performance in terms of execution time and cost.

Keywords: Resource Cost, Energy-optimization, Resource Scheduling, Autonomic Computing, Cloud Computing.

* Assistant Professor, Department of Informatics, School of Computer Science, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India, E-mail : [email protected] ** Assistant Professor, Department of Virtualization, School of Computer Science, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India *** Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, Amity University, Madhya Pradesh, India **** Schlumberger: Oil Field Services Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, India Bhupesh Kumar Dewangan, Amit Agarwal, Venkatadri M and Ashutosh Pasricha 107 Introduction

Managing the resources over the cloud is pricing the services from submission of workloads by cloud user to allocation of the resources by the service provider (Dewangan, 2018). The resources can be allocated to workloads in two ways, first is provisioning of resources and second is scheduling of resources. The operating cost of resources can be judged by calculating the energy consumption rate, execution time, service level agreement (SLA) violation rate, and resource cost. When service request (workloads dataset) submitted to the service provider, it moves to the task manager to check the availability of requested services.

Due to billions of requests submitted by the end-user for resource allocation, the datacentre is processing increase in jobs , which results in high computation job by the server. The high computing process takes as high as power consumption as compared to a normal routine, and it increases the energy consumption, which directly affects the cost.

The execution time of the process is one of the major key points, which affect the cost of the service. The more execution time will take more processing, which results in high computation. Therefore, the execution time also needed to be optimized.

The resource management technique is widely used in public/private cloud services. This technique belongs to infrastructure as service (IaaS). In Figure.1, we have shown how IaaS can manage the services.

Figure 1: Service management under IaaS. 108 Macro: Cost-Oriented Autonomic Resource Management for Cloud Computing SLA is one of the key, which is evaluating for the users trust towards the service. The more SLA violation rate means less user trust towards the service provider and, which may the cause of unsatisfactory. Where the resource cost directly affects the service cost. If resource cost, which has to be allocated to the end-user, is high, then the operating cost of the resource will be also high to both parties.

In this work, we are optimizing the energy consumption by using the Antlion optimization algorithm (Dewangan B.K., 2019), which is implemented to solve the optimization problem in the network. We simulate the proposed method MACRO in cloudsim toolkit and optimizes the energy consumption, SLA violation rate, cost and execution time.

The first section of this paper focuses on the introduction of current issues, and the state-of-art survey has been presenting in the second section. In the third section, problems definition is presenting and MACRO framework is discussing in section four. Section five is about to result and discussion with comparative analysis with existing frameworks, wherein section six, concluded the paper.

Literature Review

We have surveyed different resource management techniques in terms of cost and execution time as (Teng, 2010)proposed equilibrium based resource planning procedure to conjecture the prospect cost of assets without knowing contenders’ offering data and furthermore Nash balance assignment extent is gotten by clients and satisfy due date and spending limitations by simulating on CloudSim.

(Bittencourt, 2011)presentedcost optimization technique based on hybrid resource planning system to take care of the issue of asset necessity which executes work processes inside spending plan and performance utilizing deployment of virtual machine dynamically to enhance asset inquire about (by finding sufficient asset in light of QoS prerequisites). This system lessened the execution costs in people ,in general cloud,however , finishing time of work process is expanding.

(Liu K. J., 2010)Recommended bargained cost time-based asset booking and taking execution time and cost are QoS parameters. This methodology meets client planned due date and accomplishes bring down expense all the while however not considering heterogeneous work process examples. Resource planning in light of expense has been finishing by creators. Bhupesh Kumar Dewangan, Amit Agarwal, Venkatadri M and Ashutosh Pasricha 109 (Singh, 2016)Design energy-aware cloud management, which optimized energy by using the self-optimization technique. Resources are scheduled based on the energy threshold value and fulfill the SLA and QoS. They have opted four steps to schedule the resource: 1) monitoring, 2) analyzing, 3) planning, and 4) execution. The model is implemented and tested in a real cloud environment of Thapar University.

(Liu Z. W., 2013) Proposes SLA mindful hereditary calculation based asset booking component is satisfied by virtual machine producing by outsider foundation on rent.

(Iyer, 2011)Proposed evaluating based asset booking calculations, two undeniable dealing techniques free work processes. Bargaining technique can deal with ongoing occupation affirmations and employment elements though Nash-bargaining guarantees corresponding reasonableness. Due date and spending plan are two compelled consider in this exploration and it augments the benefit without debasement of execution.

(Oprescu, 2010) Proposes spending imperative asset booking calculation for a sack of assignments in which undertaking chosen in light of first-come-first-serve technique. This instrument limits cost, fulfillment time and enhances CPU execution,however; because of the issue of starvation, this system is not compelling.

(Gill, 2017)Enhanced the continuation with the soccer model for energy optimization. In this paper, the authors applied self-characteristics to solve the resource scheduling problems. This model aims to autonomic techniques through self_healing, self_ optimization, self_configuration, andself_protection. The autonomic characteristics are implements in the real cloud by using fuzzy and machine learning concepts. The workloads are categorized in different clusters according to its type.

(Van den Bossche, 2010)considered the enhancement issue forcing condition like the execution of employment isn’t pre-emptive and due date obliged in a multi-supplier cross breed cloud condition in light of the necessities of information transfer, memory, and CPU migratable remaining burdens is finished.(Su, 2013)The presented heuristic procedure, which is low in cost and makespanoriented. This method is focusing onmoney- related expenses of non-basic undertaking in genuine applications.

(Moschakis, 2011)Displayed VM based resource-planning strategy to assess the aggregate cost of Gang booking with starvation taking care of and relocations and execution of elite undertaking applications. To manage starvation in booking system, the organized line is utilized to discover the need for each application in light of their coveted due date and so forth. 110 Macro: Cost-Oriented Autonomic Resource Management for Cloud Computing Problem Definition

The challenges and issues are outcomes of the above literature review, which included the issues of pricing of the cloud services based on SLA’s. There is still the scope of reducing the pricing of cloud services. Although, most of the existing works are not autonomic and to schedule the resources, human intervention is needed. To reduce the human effort will also decrease the scheduling cost of the resources. The following multi- objective functions are baselined of the challenges of the survey: Violation rate of SLA can be minimized, Operating cost is high, Energy consumption rate is also go high, In addition, execution time can be optimize.

MACRO Framework

Figure 2 is explaining the architecture of MACRO, which includes a task manager, task scheduler, resource pool, execution, and optimization modules.

Figure 2: MACRO architecture Bhupesh Kumar Dewangan, Amit Agarwal, Venkatadri M and Ashutosh Pasricha 111 Modified Antlion Optimization Method

How does an Ant Lion chase for food?

Antlion initially makes a little round pit by delving in reverse in the sand. During the time spent making their pits, they make winding molded trails in the sand. These trails are the reason they get the moniker “doodlebug” since it would appear that somebody has been doodling in the sand! When a subterranean insect or other little bug falls into it, they snatch it, force it under the sand, and infuse their extraordinary liquefying specialist into their dinner.

Based on this strategy, the Antlion method proposed for resource management, however, this strategy earlier used in network optimization. The modified algorithm is presenting in Algorithm-01.

Algorithm-01: MACRO

Initialize BestVmSelection() { for(int i=0;iWorkload.size()){ input.add(value); else{input.add(0.0);} }

The MACRO comprises mainly four components namely optimization, resource pool, resource scheduler.

Resource Scheduling

Scheduling of the resources consists of two things, workloads, and virtual machine. The workloads submitted through cloud user to access the virtual machine. The workloads arranged in order according to based on their priority for scheduling. On other hands, virtual machines arranged based on the best value, which obtained through a modifiedantlion optimization algorithm.

We have simulated Antlion optimization method to optimize the energy consumption 112 Macro: Cost-Oriented Autonomic Resource Management for Cloud Computing for which 10 to 1000 workloads submitted to MACRO and 20 VM’s initializes for scheduling. Based on workload priority and best VM value, resource scheduler schedule the VM through Round Robin (RR) algorithm. The test for cost and execution time has been conducted as follows:

1. Execution Time

(1)

Where RCi is workload completion time and RSi is the workload submission time. Execution time for every employment/resources are computed and brought a median of every iteration. Similar workloads are computing in existing frameworks, SOCCER and CHOPPER are presenting in Table 1. Once the workloads are increasing, the execution time is also increasing. Table 1: Execution time (seconds) based on workloads submissions

Number of workloads 200 400 600 800 1000 MACRO 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 CHOPPER 0.89 0.84 0.81 0.78 0.7 SOCCER 0.84 0.76 0.63 0.57 0.54

2. Resource Cost n (2) SLA _ Cost = SVR ∗ ∑ Executiontime i=1 Where SLA_Cost is SLA based cost, SVR is SLA violation rate.

Where is computing by equation (3) n (3) SVR failure rate w = ∗ ∑ i i=1 Resource cost for every employment/resources are computed and brought a median of every iteration. Similar workloads are computing in existing frameworks, SOCCER and CHOPPER are presenting in Table 2. Once the workloads are increasing, the resource cost is also increasing. Bhupesh Kumar Dewangan, Amit Agarwal, Venkatadri M and Ashutosh Pasricha 113 Table 2: Cost ($) based on workload submissions

Number of workloads 10 20 30 40 50 60 MACRO 19 21 26 39 41 54 CHOPPER 31 34 49 59 64 74 SOCCER 26 31 41 51 61 71

Conclusion

We have simulated MACRO in cloudsim toolkit to optimize the execution time and cost, which depends on workload submission by the end-user. MACRO implemented by using an Antlion optimization algorithm to find the best resource from the resource pool to allocate the resource as per request by end-user. The best resource is obtained through its energy consumption rate, CPU, RAM, and Bandwidth utilization, where we have set a threshold value for the best resource as 100. As a result, the execution time is decreased by 7-8% as compared with the existing systems and cost of each resource is decrease by $5-10 as evaluated with the current frameworks. The performance of the MACRO is evaluated with multi-objective function namely time and cost and it observed that MACRO performs better.

References

1. Bittencourt, L.F., Madeira, E.R.M.(2011). HCOC: a cost optimization algorithm for workflow scheduling in hybrid clouds. J. Internet Serv. Appl. 2(3), 207–227

2. Dewangan B.K., Agarwal, A., Venkatadri, & Pasricha, A. (2019). Energy-Aware Autonomic Resource Scheduling Framework for Cloud. International Journal of Mathematical, Engineering and Management Sciences, 4(1), 41-54.

3. Dewangan B.K., Agarwal, A., Venkatadri, & Pasricha, A. (2019). A Self- Optimization Based Virtual Machine Scheduling to Workloads in Cloud Computing Environment. International Journal of Engineeringand Advanced Technology (IJEAT), 8(4), 91-96.

4. Dewangan B.K., Agarwal, A., Venkatadri, & Pasricha, A. (2019). Sla-Based Autonomic Cloud Resource Management Framework by Antlion Optimization Algorithm. International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring 114 Macro: Cost-Oriented Autonomic Resource Management for Cloud Computing Engineering (IJITEE), 8(4), 119-123.

5. Dewangan, B. K., Agarwal, A., Venkatadri, & Pasricha, A. (2018). Resource Scheduling in Cloud: A Comparative Study. International Journal of Computer Sciences and Engineering.6(8). 167-173.

6. Dewangan, B. K., Agarwal, A., & Pasricha, A. (2016, October). Credential and security issues of cloud service models. In 2016 2nd International Conference on Next Generation Computing Technologies (NGCT) (pp. 888-892). IEEE.

7. Gill, S. S., Chana, I., Singh, M., & Buyya, R. (2017). CHOPPER: an intelligent QoS-aware autonomic resource management approach for cloud computing. Cluster Computing, 1-39.

8. Iyer, G.N., Veeravalli, B. (2011). On the resource allocation and pricing strategies in Compute Clouds using bargaining approaches. In: 2011 17th IEEE International Conference on Networks (ICON), pp. 147–152.

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11. Moschakis, I.A., Karatza, H.D. (2011). Performance and cost evaluation of Gang Scheduling in a Cloud Computing system with job migrations and starvation handling. In: 2011 IEEE Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC), pp. 418–423.

12. Oprescu, A., Kielmann, T. (2010). Bag-of-tasks scheduling under budget constraints. In: 2010 IEEE Second International Conference on Cloud Computing Technology and Science (CloudCom), pp. 351–359.

13. Singh, S., Chana, I., Singh, M., & Buyya, R. (2016). SOCCER: self-optimization of energy-efficient cloud resources. Cluster Computing, 19(4), 1787-1800.

14. Su, S., Li, J., Huang, Q., Huang, X., Shuang, K., Wang, J. (2013). Cost-efficient task scheduling for executing large programs in the cloud. Parallel Computing 39 Bhupesh Kumar Dewangan, Amit Agarwal, Venkatadri M and Ashutosh Pasricha 115 (4), 177–188.

15. Seyedali, M. (2015). The ant lion optimizer. Advances in Engineering Software, 88, 80-98.

16. Teng, F., Magoules, F. (2010). Resource pricing and equilibrium allocation policy in cloud computing. In: 2010 IEEE 10th International Conference on Computer and Information Technology (CIT), pp. 195–202. Mediating Role of Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 116-134 Facebook between Brand ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Communication Strategies and © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Consumer Behaviour

Priya Handa Ruhi Lal

Abstract

This study is to examine the mediating role of Facebook between brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour. Descriptive study is used and primary data was collected from 600 Facebook users of Delhi/NCR through well designed questionnaire. The study has used regressions to measure the impacts and Confirmatory factory analysis (CFA) to evaluate the measurement model which was followed by testing the structural model framework and research hypotheses. Facebook fully mediates in the relationship between input variable brand communication strategies and the output variable consumer behaviour. This study has confirmed that there is positive significant relationship between brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour, between brand communication strategies and the role of Facebook, between role of Facebook and consumer behaviour. The brand managers should use Facebook for massive engagement, interactivity and connecting online consumers to make brand communication pioneer. This paper adds to the theoretical discussion and findings on the mediation of Facebook between brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour.

Keywords: Brand Strategies, Consumer Behaviour, Facebook, Brand Communication, Mediation, Facebook branding

* Associate Professor, Amity Institute of Psychology and Allied Sciences, Amity University, UP, Noida. E-mail : [email protected] ** Assistant Professor ,Amity School of Communication, Amity University, UP, Noida. E-mail : [email protected] Priya Handa and Ruhi Lal 117 Introduction

In the era of digitalization, branding has up surged through digital marketing, technology enabled services and e-commerce. Brand communication strategies have taken a new avatar focusing on consumer centric approach rather than only focusing on marketing their products. Every brand attempting to be abreast with best of creativity, connectivity to masses, and developing rich and reliable image in competitive scenario. Brand communication strategies these days lay more emphasis on digital marketing because of its supreme visibility, access and frequency. The brand communication has seen unparalleled development in recent years. Watching social media prospects across many sectors, brands have been aggressively investing in Facebook. This development has been focused and developed by fast acceptance of technology, refined living standards of consumers not only in their styling but their mindsets as well, an increasing Facebook usage and engagement of the consumer, besides increasing connect has strengthened the competition for brands not only in terms of content but strategies they are opting on day to day basis with innovations on Facebook to keep track and connect with their target consumers.

According to Facebook User Statistics (2012) Facebook is the most engaging social networking site. Regardless of latest news and renewed variations, Facebook found to be the greatest influential social networking dais. Facebook presently has 845 million online users. It focuses for 1 on every 5 brand pageviews on the web globally. The consumers share more than 100 billion connections jointly. 250 million images are being put on Facebook every day, 2.7 billion likes daily on Facebook. It has 425 million mobile users. The average Facebook user spends 20 minutes on the site per visit. Facebook doubled its income in 2011 by creating over $1 billion ($600 million in 2010). Facebook has become essential ingredient for any brand success. Nowadays the emphasis endures which deeply linked to sales and advancements of brands and to old channels of communication while it has been converted to create interactivity to the audience through content before converging on selling. Brands need to contemplate the style they connect with their audience as well as focus social nets and creative skills as a novel way of intensifying branding, accustoming to the new customer. Correia, Medina, Romo, Espinosa, (2014). Robert, Gosling and Graham (2012) quoted that with 800 million dynamic users, Facebook is altering the technique through which millions of users link to each other and share info. A rapid research assessed the Facebook influence on social lifestyle of the users. The Facebook utility as a fresh device was identified by the researchers to perceive behaviour in a realistic situation. The research on Facebook originates from an extensive diversity of disciplines. It was confirmed that enjoyment is a key cause of Facebook usage as tool for exhilarating the purchasing decision. 118 Mediating Role of Facebook between Brand Communication Strategies and Consumer Behaviour (Pietro and Pantano,2012.) The studies revealed that the accomplishment of Facebook communities can be controlled by using more wide-ranging subjects to keep discussions alive. (Xia, 2009). It was conveyed that respondents explicitly amalgamated Facebook as a new friend making device, as well as to relate to family and friends. Facebook acts as the ‘social glue’ which help users settle in their places by connecting more. (Madge, Meek, Wellens and Hooley (2009).

Facebook is the most crucial and vital marketing platform for any brand in this age of digitalisation. Facebook is indispensable for any brand these days because it creates brand awareness through post reach, comments, shares, likes, generate leads by turning users into prospects then to loyal customers, attracts referral traffic, generate revenues, responses and conversions for the brand through sign ups and clicks, enhances customer services online through response rate and creation of response time by the brand on its fan page, gets survey feedbacks by only one touch within a fraction of a second and conversations anywhere in the world. Mers (2015) claimed that Facebook proposes an exclusive prospect for brands who attains the skill of attractive content. It endures to initiate the prime social media referral traffic share.

Objective

This research analyses the mediating effect of facebook on the relation between input variable brand communication strategies and the output variable consumer behaviour. The present study aim to examine the mediating role of facebook between brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour. The study focused on four variables Brand Communication, role of facebook and Consumer behaviour and brand communication strategies to establish the role of facebook in brand communication.

The objective of the research study is to find out the relationship between role of Facebook in affecting Consumer behaviour. The researchers also aim to establish relationship between role of Facebook, Brand Communication, Consumer Behaviour and Brand communication strategies. The researchers emphasized on how companies are communicating their promotional messages through face book, a social networking site to analyse the behaviour of consumer.

The research questions of the study are mentioned here. a) What is the relationship between Brand Communication and Consumer Behaviour? Priya Handa and Ruhi Lal 119 b) What is the relationship between Brand Communication and role of Facebook? c) What is the relationship between Role of Facebook and consumer behaviour? d) What is the relationship between Brand Communication strategies and Consumer Behaviour.

Literature Review and conceptual framework

Brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour

Jaglois (2015) defined brand communication strategy as the communication bridge among target groups and brand. Kotler and Keller (2011) stated that consumer buying behaviour is the study of the conducts of purchasing and using of goods, services, thoughts or experiences by the people, groups and establishments to gratify their requirements and wants. Bravo, The different brand message strategies are essential for extension conditions that vary in detachment from parent brand areas (Kim, 2003). Confos and Davis (2016) stated that the usage of classy brand communication approaches in immersive social media generates the marketing potentials to shape relations among youth and brands. The customers’ Facebook communal contribution has direct significant positive effects on brand conviction and communal credentials and brand trust directly, positively and significantly impacts community identification. The brand trust and identification of the community mediates between involvement on Facebook and customer nationality behaviours (Ho, 2014). Mohan, Jiménez, Brown and Cantrell (2017) revealed that the brand skill mediates the association among functionality, linking of the brand and brand equity based on consumers and were modified by the kind of leading advantage the brand distributes. Hamilton, Kaltcheva and Rohm (2016) revealed ten types of purposes for interacting with brands, including raises and incentives, client service, time and product info, involvement, brand content, browsing, buying, personalization and entertainment. Goldsmith, Flynn and Clark (2012) demonstrated that acquisitiveness, brand engagement in self‐concept (BESC), and position usage impacts positively on brand loyalty. Kaufmann, Loureiro and Manarioti (2016) found that customers feeling love for the brand willingly to involve in a live co-creating attitude in the framework of brand communal, particularly when the brand representatives intensely communicate the morals and attributes of the brand and motivate clients to involve. Thus, based on above literature review the study hypothesize 120 Mediating Role of Facebook between Brand Communication Strategies and Consumer Behaviour H1. There is a positive significant relationship between brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour.

Brand communication strategies and the role of Facebook

Schivinski, and Dabrowski (2015) showed that brand-generated and user created social network communiqué by the brand impact brand relations; whereas client-created social media brand communication positively influences brand reliability and perceived brand eminence. Kang, Tang and Fiore (2014) revealed that followers build solid faith and promise for the brands via lively involvement on fan pages of Facebook. There are advantages from the websites usage and social networking sites like a growth in attentiveness as well as explorations, improvised relations with clienteles, a new customer rise, better aptitude to grasp clienteles on a worldwide scale, and co-branding of indigenous brands improve the brand value of small brands (Borgman&Ulusoy, 2015). Beuke boom, Kerkhof and Vries (2015) revealed a significant positive rise for upcoming supporters on brand assessments, however users who don’t follow displayed no variation. Facebook brand apprises can bring positivity in brand assessments. Relational communiqué, expressiveness, and entertaining motives all significantly foretold usage of interactivity Facebook features. (Hunt, Atkin and Krishnan (2012)). Vries, Gensler, Leeflang (2012) proved that placing the post on top of the Facebook fan page augments brand post admiration. Facebook self- expressive brands ‘Liked’ positively effect customers’ brand acceptance (Wallace, Buil, Chernatony2012). Harris and Dennis (2011) recommended that Facebook is a shopper involvement engine which adapts behaviour which specify the honest online spending behaviour. Saransomrurtai (2011) revealed a relation between brands’ utilization of brand esteemand brand main pages. Based on these researches, the study hypothesizes:

H2. There is a positive significant relationship between brand communication strategies and role of Facebook.

Role of Facebook and Consumer Behaviour

Doorn, Lemon, Mittal, Nass, Pick, Pirner and Verhoef (2010) explored that Facebook brand admiration can be considered as a light type of customer involvement. The brand page followers exposed themselves to a stream of content and increased (informal) interactivity that brands post on their pages. The consumers can put on the brand page itself, and users are visible to the conversations posted by the users as well as the brand. The information about identity on Facebook assists as a social grease, inspiring people Priya HandaRuhi Lal 121 to change latent to weak bonds (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2010). Kucukemiroglu and Kara (2015 had given the eight classes of online shopper behaviour research- reasoning issues, user-created content, online practice, cross cultural, online groups and nets web demographics and division, planned use and customer web search. Parrish (2010) revealed that the best Facebook advertisers boost their pages’ introduction, post as often as possible, and impulse fans to communicate. The vital elements for customer involvement are related to content and brand posting frequency actions and not on fan number following brand page. Jayasingh and Venkatesh (2015). Adnan, Ahmad and Khan, (2017) highlighted that young consumers are categorized by having a natural life, choosing and reprocessing goods and event participation. Facebook adoption is a stage to reinforce alliances with research members increases and stimulates dialogical communication with members. (Edirisingha, Abarashi, Ferguson and Aitken (2017)) showed that motivational magnitudes have different influences at three steps of customer interface with a Facebook brand communal. Socializing and information seeking are the primary reasons for initially joining a Facebook brand page community (Shao and Ross (2015)). These researches lead to hypothesize:

H3. There is a positive significant relationship between role of Facebook and consumer behaviour

Mediating role of Facebook

Algharabat, (2017) revealed that love towards the brand positively impacts brand faithfulness. The brand post in terms of richness positively impacts on shares by the brand post, but not on brand likes. Content by the brand post has a significant positive impact on likes of the post, nonetheless shares (Tafesse, (2015)). The inner motivating forces positively affect engagement by the brand community. Simon, Brexendorf, and Fassnacht, (2016). Loureiro, Gorgus, Kaufmann, (2017) quoted that engrossment and online brand experience (OBE) are significant motivators of OBE and the three involvement dimensions- reasoning, affect and behaviours (Dessart, Veloutsou and Thomas, (2015)). Brands which enable larger experimental Facebook brand page affordances creates higher levels of shopper immersion. The brand post shares as well as likes, the aids of experimental affordances remained positive and significant. Tafesse, (2016). The communal capital and brand trust are two significant aspects that positively impacts view-giving and view- seeking conducts, which again impacts the word-of-mouth Facebook conduct. Cummins, Peltier, Schibrowsky and Nill (2014). Gratification was found to be significantly inspiring people’s word-of-mouth doings about the brand as well as Facebook engagement. (Liu, North, and Li (2017)). Based on the above discussion leads to hypothesizes that: 122 Mediating Role of Facebook between Brand Communication Strategies and Consumer Behaviour H4.Role of Facebook is having mediating role between brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour.

Montaner and Pina, (2012) stated that the customer insights depend on brand knowledge, non-brand correspondence and to a smaller extent, on promotion. The brands work on their branding strategies for social networking sites and engage customer on the Facebook page. The consumers interact with the brand directly through Facebook and gain knowledge about the brand, their purchase decisions are affected by the feedback they receive through brand communication message. Confos and Davis (2016) revealed that the customers’ Facebook communal contribution has positively significantly and directly impact brand conviction and communal credentials and brand trust has direct positive and significant impacts on community identification. With this Facebook web traffic is mounting at a drastic rate but till now unmapped with reference to its effects on consumer conduct. Forester (2013) concluded that likes, comments, shares on Facebook are significant because 70% consumers have faith on recommendations of brands from friends and only 10% have trust on marketing. On the brand Face book page, a like comment, share by a ‘friend on Facebook’ helps in building credibility for the brand and affects purchase decision. Figure 1: conceptual Framework and Proposed Hypothesis

Research Methodology

Sample and data collection

The present study has used quantitative research method having descriptive and exploratory research approach. The primary data was obtained from 600 online Facebook users residing in Delhi/NCR using random and convenient sampling through cross-sectional questionnaire. Priya Handa and Ruhi Lal 123 Simple Random sampling was done by selecting the sample from the population to make the inferences on the basis of observations. The sample selected for the research study were accessible to the researchers conveniently and proximity to the researcher. So, random and convenient sampling was done. The sample size was 600 youth from 18 years to 44 years of age. The selection of age group from 18 years to 44 years is considered because of their accessibility on Facebook as a user. According to Statista.com the maximum Facebook users in India are between 18 to 24 years age group. The digital marketing demographic age is defined as 18 to 44 year. (Halloran T. 2015) was the reason for selecting the sample size from 18 yeas to 44 years Facebook users. The cross sectional questionnaire is designed to analyse the consumer behaviour towards brand communication strategies and Facebook as a platform for communicating promotional messages at a specific period of time.

The time bond used for the study was October 2017 to December 2017. The data attained were examined by using statistical software SPSS 23 and Amos 21.

Measures

Brand Communication strategies: In this study, the measure brand communication strategies were attained from the review of literature and then reinforced by specialists’ discoveries. The measure sample is inclusive of 14 items which focuses on what kind of brand communication strategies are prevalent on Facebook, how Facebook provides a marketing edge through unique brand communication strategies to establish their brand image and connect to the audience , how consumer behaviour is influenced through brand communication strategies on Facebook The users were requested to specify their degree of prominence the brands had given to brand communication strategies to connect to the massive audience on a five-point Likert scale . The outcomes of path analysis approve the items explaining the features of brand communication strategies as recommended in the previous studies in this regard. It proves the validity of item measurement. The Cronbach’s alpha of 14 items is 0.883 which shows high reliability of the items in the instrument as it should range between 0 to 1.

Consumer behaviour: The total of 27 items were taken for the study and respondents were asked to rate the consumer experience and trust, consumer attitude, and consumer perception towards brands on Facebook on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. In all, nine items were used to measure consumer perception towards brands on Facebook, nine items were used to measure the consumer attitude towards brands on Facebook and 124 Mediating Role of Facebook between Brand Communication Strategies and Consumer Behaviour nine items were used to measure consumer experience and trust on the brands on Facebook. Reliability test was done and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.888 which shows high reliability.

Role of Facebook: There were total of 33 items taken for the study. The respondents were asked to rate their response based on their usage of Facebook, inclination towards Facebook and interactivity on Facebook. The Cronbach’s a coefficient value was 0.886, demonstrating high reliability of the scale.

Control variables: The present study has used brand communication strategies and the role of Facebook to control for the result they might have on consumer behaviour. This study has focused that how role of Facebook through brand communication strategies might impact consumer behaviour.

Results

Table 1 reveals that the sample description of age, gender and occupation of the respondents It was found that about 523 were respondents between the age group of 18- 24,63 were respondents between the age group of 25-34 and 14 were respondents between the age group of 25-44.87.2% respondents were from the age group 18-24. There were 399 students and 201 were working professionals which means that 66.5%respondents were the students.227 respondents were males and 373 were female respondents which indicates that women responded more than men in this study.

Table 1: Sample description Sample description Age Frequency Percent 18-24 523 87.2 25-34 63 10.5 35-44 14 2.3 TOTAL 600 100 Occupation Students 399 66.5 working professionals 201 33.5 TOTAL 600 100 Gender Male 227 37.8 Priya Handa and Ruhi Lal 125

Female 373 62.2 TOTAL 600 100 (Source: Prepared by authors)

Table 2 demonstrates the descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and reliability coefficients for all variables as well as the correlation amongst the variables. The coefficients for all variables like brand communication strategies, consumer behaviour and role of Facebook are significant. The correlations between the variables in Table 2 are generally 0.8, representing the absence of multi-collinearity. The Cronbach’s alpha for each measure are demonstrated on the diagonal in Table 2 which ranges from 0.5 to 0.9. All the variables have high reliability more than 0.8.

Table 2: Descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients and reliability coefficients Correlations BCS ROFB CB MEAN S.D. BCS R 0.883 .777** .791** 2.9769 1.18169 ROFB R 0.866 .749** 2.7842 .87855 CB R 0.888 2.8825 1.13705 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). [r= Pearson Correlation and N= 600] (Source: Prepared by authors)

[Notes: * and **Correlations significant at 0.01 and 0.05 levels (two-tailed) respectively. Cronbach’s a for reliability test is shown on the diagonal line]

The regression-based path analysis was implemented for hypotheses testing. The study has used this technique to show the relationship between brand communication strategies and the role of Facebook, the relationship between consumer behaviour and the role of Facebook, and the mediating role of Facebook between brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour. The multiple regressions usage needs sure expectations about the data, particularly in relation to distributional features. The screening of data was conducted to determine that the data contented the relevant expectations for numerous regressions. Three main models were made to examine the hypotheses of the study shown in Table 3. 126 Mediating Role of Facebook between Brand Communication Strategies and Consumer Behaviour Table 3: Summary of measurement model

Variables P X2 df X2/df GFI CFI TLI RMSEA RMR Brand communication .000 376.598 145 2.697 .961 .937 .887 .079 .084 Strategies Role of Facebook .000 1048.94 344 2.762 .974 .985 .964 .081 .079 Consumer .021 19.543 9 2.271 .976 .967 .919 .068 .044 Behaviour (Source: Prepared by authors)

The measurement model is the confirmatory factor analysis used for validity. Therefore, it allows the estimation of the factor loading of the indicators on the independent construct. The way of estimating a model fit is chi-square χ( 2) value. According to (Hair, Black Babin, Anderson, & Tatham, 2006) a low and insignificant χ2 is sensibly a good pointer of model fit. An evaluation of the χ2 statistics is done as chi square is highly sensitive to the data more than 200, to assess the normed-χ2 i.e. the ratio of χ2 to the degree of freedom (df). It was suggested that value 3 or less is a sensible good predictor of model fit(Kline,1998). Goodness-of-fit index (GFI) is another predictor of good model fit. It is classified as absolute index which equates the hypothesized model by no model at all (Hu &Bentler, 1995). GFI values close to 1.00 reveals a good fit. CFI is comparative index grounded on assessment of the hypothesized model against some standard model. Value for CFI value greater than .9 is assumed as indicator of better fit (Bentler, 1990). Root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) examines the difference between the observed and projected covariance matrices per degree of freedom whose values when less than .06 shows that a fit is good, values up to .08 predicts reasonable fit and values between .08 and .10 predicts mediocre fit).According to the above guidelines, model fit for the study was examined using multiple indices such as normed-χ2 (χ2/df), GFI, CFI, and RMSEA. The estimate should be statistically significant at least at p ≤ .05 to qualify the requirement of aptness of an indicator for a latent construct. Grounded on this condition

Brand Communication Strategies: It was one-dimensional construct having 14 items. The fit indices of revised model were as follows:χ 2=376.5, χ2/df =2.697, GFI = .961, CFI = .937, TLI=.887, p < .05 and RMSEA = .079, RMR=.084. So, it reveals a good fit.

Role of Facebook: It was a construct with 33 items. The hypothesized model did not fit the data well according to the results of the CFA. The fit indices of revised model Priya Handa and Ruhi Lal 127 were as follows: χ2=1048.94, χ2/df =2.762, GFI = .974, CFI = .985, TLI=.964, p < .05 and RMSEA = .081, RMR=.079. This shows a reasonable and acceptable fit.

Consumer Behaviour: It was a construct of 27 items. The fit indices of revised model were as follows: χ2=19.543, χ2/df =2.271, GFI = .976, CFI = .967, TLI=.919, p < .05 and RMSEA = .068, RMR=.044. This shows a good fit.

Mediation effect refers to a phenomenon which includes three or more variables, so that there is a fundamental relation amongst all three variables. There is a direct effect between an independent variable and a dependent variable in this. There are also indirect effects between an independent variable and a mediator variable, and between a mediator variable and a dependent variable. The extent to which the direct effect changes by incorporating the mediating variable role of Facebook is called the mediational effect.

The regression outcomes between brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour are reported in Table 4. It is estimated to dissect the effect on Predictor (dependent variable) by one and more than one Criterion variable (independent variable). This table demonstrated the analysis of the role of Facebook as mediation variables between input variables (brand communication strategies) and outcome variable (Consumer behaviour). Table 4: Regression estimates of proposed model (without mediator)

Variable Direction Variable Estimate C.R. P

Brand Consumer communication 1.526 9.889 *** Behaviour Strategies

(Source: Prepared by authors)

The value of p and critical ratio in table 4 shows that there is significant impact of brand communication strategies on consumer behavior in direct relation. This confirms the acceptance of hypothesis H1 which states that there is positive significant relationship between brand communication strategies and consumer behavior. 128 Mediating Role of Facebook between Brand Communication Strategies and Consumer Behaviour Table 5: Regression estimates of the proposed model (With Mediator)

Variable Direction Variable Estimate C.R. P Brand communication Role of Facebook 1.435 15.256 *** Strategies

Consumer Behaviour Role of Facebook 1.391 3.654 *** Brand communication Consumer Behaviour 0.388 0.611 0.541 Strategies (Source: Prepared by authors)

The value of p and critical ratio in table 5 demonstrated that there is significant impact of input variables (brand communication strategies) on outcome variable (consumer behaviour) with mediator (role of Facebook). Altogether relationships are significant in indirect effect. In case of brand communication strategies, the value regression estimate has been lowering from 1.526 to 0.388 and the value of p has come out to be insignificant with mediator, p=0.541. It shows and approves the full mediation of role of Facebook between brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour. Therefore, the alternate hypothesis H4is accepted. In case of brand communication strategies, the value regression estimate has been 1.435(p<.01). It shows that the brand communication strategies are having positive significant (P<.01) relation with the role of Facebook. Therefore, the alternate hypothesis H2 accepted.

In case of role of Facebook, the value regression estimate has been 1.391(p<.01). It confirms the positive significant relationship of role of Facebook with consumer behaviour.

Therefore, the alternate hypothesis H3is accepted.

Result of hypotheses testing

Table 4 shows the summary of hypothesis testing for the present study which shows that all four-hypothesis taken for the study were accepted and this study has shown that role of Facebook fully mediates brand communication strategies and consumer behavior. Priya Handa and Ruhi Lal 129 Table 6: Results of hypothesis testing

Outcome Direction Explanatory Variable Mediation Inferences Variable Role of Brand communication H2: With mediation Facebook Strategies supported Consumer H3: Role of Facebook With mediation Behaviour Supported Consumer Brand communication With mediation H1: Refuted Behaviour Strategies Consumer Brand communication Without H1: Behaviour Strategies mediation supported Role of H4: Facebook as a mediator Supported (Source: Prepared by authors)

Table 7 depicts the fit indices summary of structural model which confirms that in direct relation between brand communication strategies and consumer behavior (without mediator), the value of p is significant p<.01,X 2 = 66.7, normed chi-square X2/df =1.964, GFI=0.941, CFI=0.951, TLI=0.951, RMSEA= .067 and RMR=.036, all the indices are in acceptable range that shows the acceptability of the model.

In indirect relation between brand communication strategies and consumer behavior (with mediator) role of Facebook, the value of p is significant p<.01,X 2 =149.22, normed chi-square X2/df =1.715, GFI=0.923, CFI=0.969, TLI=0.964, RMSEA= .053 and RMR=.028, all the indices are in acceptable range that shows the acceptability of the model with mediator role of Facebook. Table 7: Fit indices summary of structural model

Variables P X2 df X2/df GFI CFI TLI RMSEA RMR Model (without .001 66.76 34 1.964 0.941 0.965 0.951 .067 .036 Mediator) Model (With Mediator) .000 149.22 87 1.715 0.923 0.969 0.964 .053 0.028 GFI: Goodness of fit index, CFI: Comparative fit index, TLI: Tucker Lewis Index, RMSEA: Root Mean Square Error of Approximation, RMR: Root mean square residual Source: Prepared by authors 130 Mediating Role of Facebook between Brand Communication Strategies and Consumer Behaviour Discussion and conclusions

The relationships were significant between the three variables-brand communication strategies, consumer behaviour and the role of Facebook. This study has four major hypotheses.

Firstly, that there is positive significant relationship between brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour. This study has confirmed that there is positive significant relationship between Brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour. Martinez and Chernatony (2004) has also confirmed that the expected value of the brand and customers beliefs in the direction of the extension of the brand positively effect equally the general brand image (GBI) and the product brand image (PBI) afterwards extension. Whereas awareness with the brand items only influence the GBI, the degree supposed of fit influences the PBI. Chu and Kim (2011) also confirmed that faith, tie strength normative and informational effects are positively related with consumers’ total eWOM conducts and advises that item-focused eWOM in SNSs is an exceptional marvel with significant social inferences.

Second hypothesis is that there is positive significant relationship between brand communication strategies and the role of Facebook. This study confirms that there is positive significant relationship between brand communication strategies and the role of Facebook, Kim, Han and Park (2001) confirmed that there are positive relations amongst appeals, uniqueness, and self-expressive worth of brand character. These relations had a statistically significant influence on customers’ association with a brand. Hutter.,Hautz, Dennhardt and Füller (2013) also showed the positive influence of fan page involvement on customers’ brand consciousness, word of mouth (WOM) actions, and buying intents.

Third hypothesis was that there is positive significant relationship between role of Facebook and consumer behaviour. This study confirms that there is positive significant relationship between role of Facebook and consumer behaviour. Chen, Fay and Wang (2011) showed that the price and quality of the product have diverse effects on posting conduct. Augmented customer and site usage has transformed these relations. Pronschinske, Groza and Walker (2012) confirmed that brand page qualities signalling genuineness, validity and user involvement have the greatest effect on enticing and upholding a Facebook fan platform. The fourth hypothesis is that the role of Facebook fully mediates brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour. This study has confirmed that the role of Facebook fully mediates brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour. Gummerus, Liljander, Weman and Pihlström (2012) also stated that shopper involvement Priya Handa and Ruhi Lal 131 was divided into two types “Transactional Engagement Behaviours” (TEB) and “Community Engagement Behaviours” (CEB). Furthermore, three relationship aids were recognized: entertainment, social and economic benefits. The mediation investigation showed that the effect of CEB on gratification showed partial mediation by social welfares and entertaining welfares, whereas the result of TEB on gratification shows full mediation through the same welfares. The impact of CEB on faithfulness was mediated through entertaining welfares. The measurement and the structural model indices indicated that there is full mediation of role of Facebook between the brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour. Jahn and Kunz (2012) also showed that there is a significant effect from online service practice conduct on the brand fan page on Facebook on the buyer‐brand association.

This study has revealed that there is full mediating effect of role of Facebook between brand communication strategies and consumer behaviour which confirms the existence of Facebook as brand communication platform results in changed consumer behaviour.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the brand managers must use the power of social media website Facebook for implementing brand communication strategies as it offers the supreme reach and perceptibility with instant result. Facebook gives brand a unique digital and marketing edge in brand management by being inventive with content of the brand communication strategies which touches the emotions of the consumers directly and creates brand awareness, image and personality of the brand. The Facebook investment as a marketing tool will never be waste as it is the most imminent social media website which not only connect, share and engage but also alter buying intents of the massive consumers. The brands are recommended to be extremely lively, dynamic and influential in the image administration on Facebook.

The users/ consumers are recommended that before any final buying by the brand they can directly access to different brand pages on Facebook which shows its reviews, recommendations, comments and posts which can give the thorough virtual insight about the brands exploration which showcase their richness, image and credibility in the market.

The researchers are highly recommended to use this study as a base for further researches in Facebook as well as brand communication strategies as it is advancing in terms of technical features, reach and perceptibility everyday with new innovations. 132 Mediating Role of Facebook between Brand Communication Strategies and Consumer Behaviour Limitations and future scope

Every study has some limitations. This study has also had some limitations like it has examined just a single measurement of social media platform Face book for testing mediating role for brand communication strategies and consumer behavior due to time constrain. The present study was limited to only three variables. The Survey has been the only tool utilized to gather information. The sample size was confined to 600 only. There is a probability of many external variables which may affect the brand communication strategies and consumer behavior. This study was restricted to Delhi/NCR only.

The future scope of the study can be expanded in terms of qualitative and quantitative research. This study can be extended with bigger sample size from many areas across Delhi/NCR, which would improve the indications of the new findings. Future study can be stretched to more brands and sectors related to cosmetics, education etc. for larger scope. To study the effect on outcome variable more independent variables can be taken in the same model for study. The present research can be explored in a much better way if other digital platforms like myspace, Twitter etc. were also taken for the study.

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Abstract

Hash functions are used to protect the integrity and authentication of information. The most popular cryptography hashing techniques are MD5, SHA-1 and HMAC. Due to the recent attacks on these standard techniques, there is a huge demand of new hashing functions to secure the information. This paper discusses a novel one-way cryptographic hash algorithm which takes input of any length and produces an output of fixed length, called digest. The proposed technique satisfies the basic properties of hash function like pre-image resistance, second pre-image resistant and collision resistance.

Keywords: Hashing, SHA1, MD5, Security

Introduction

Cryptography hash functions are the fundamental building blocks for information security and have plenty of security applications to protect the data integrity and authentication like digital signature schemes, construction of MAC and random number generation. The classical properties of a hash function are: collision resistance, pre-image resistance and second pre-image resistance; and at least these are expected to be preserved. The recent study shows that MD and SHA family cryptography hash functions are vulnerable to security flaws which leads to the designing of more secure hashing function. In this paper, a novel one-way cryptography hash algorithm is proposed, which generates a fixed size hash-digest for any length of input string and it satisfies basic properties of one-way hash functions.

* Research Scholar, Department of Computer Science and Applications, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, E-mail : [email protected] * Professor, Department of Computer Science and Applications, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, E-mail : [email protected] 136 A New One-Way Cryptography Hash Function for WSN Attacks on Hash Functions

There are different types of attacks which are launched by an attacker on the hash functions. These are:

1. Brute force attack: It works on all hash functions irrespective of their structure andany other working details. The meaning of Brute force is trying all the possible combinations of keys to launch an attack. Birthday attack [Bellare and Kohno 2004] is the most common example of this attack.

2. Cryptanalytical Attacks: It focuses on the structure of hashing function. It is further divided into two categories [Gauravaram 2003]: Generic attacks and Specific attacks.

Generic Attacks works on the general hash function construction and major examples of this type of attacks are: Length extension attacks, Jouxmulti collision attacks, Herding Attacks and Meet in the Middle Attacks [Gauravaram 2003].

Specific attacks works on the compression function’s algorithm and examples of this attack are: differential cryptanalysis, linear cryptanalysis, rotational cryptanalysis and attacks on the underlying encryption algorithms [Gauravaram 2003].

The organisation of paper is as follows: Section 2 illustrates the literature survey of proposing new cryptography hash technique. Section 3 describes the proposed hashing scheme followed by the implementation and results of algorithm. We conclude our work along with the future scope in section 4.

Literature Survey

Authors of paper [Chowdhury et al.2014] developed a light-weight and one-way cryptography hash algorithm, which they named LOCHA. The algorithm was primarily designed in such a way that it is useful for energy starved wireless networks by consuming low energy in transmission. Their algorithm produced a digest of 96 bits for any length of input string and satisfied all the main properties of hashing, that is, pre-image resistance, second pre-image resistance and collision resistance.

Authors of paper [Arya et al.2013] proposed a novel hashing scheme that incorporated the usage of key so that intruder cannot break the hash code without the help of the key. Their algorithm produced digest of 128 bits for an arbitrary message length. Pooja and R.K.Chauhan 137 They have divided it in two phases: pre-processing and hash calculation.

Authors of paper [Abutaha and Hamamreh2013] designed a one way hash algorithm that used two steps, that is, they have arranged the input data in a non-invertible matrix by using conversions and generated the initial hash in the first step. Then in second step, they used the output of previous step and added a salt value to it, which they have sent to the receiver. They have compared their proposed work with MD5, SHA-1 and SHA-512.

Authors of paper [Raoufet al.2013] given a Pizer hash technique that was based on two methods, elliptic curve and expander graph. After computing the hash with the help of Pizer function, they used an Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) to sign a message. They used MATLAB to simulate their results and proved that their work was collision resistant.

Authors of paper [Mirvaziriet al.2007] presented a hybrid cryptography hash function that was the combination of SHA-1 and MD5. The compression function used in the proposed hash function was made from an encryption function composed of four rounds and each round consisted of 20 transformation steps.

Authors of paper [Moe and Win2017] developed a new honeyword generation technique that stored the users’ password as honeywords to decrease the typo safety problem, storage overhead and some other drawbacks which were existing in older honeyword generation methods. They have used special hashing technique to store the passwords and honeywords in database which reduced the time complexity of an algorithm.

Authors of paper [Rubayya and Resmi2014] designed a new technique that was based on HMAC/SHA-2. The results were compared based on diﬀerent design goals and strategies such as Balanced and Area Reduction. They proved that their proposed work utilized less area and consumed less power.

Authors of paper [Tiwari and Asawa2012] developed a dedicated cryptography hash technique called MNF-256 that was based on the concept of NewFork-256. Their design used three branch parallel structure and each branch consisted of eight operations. The results and rigorous analysis claimed that proposed work was robust against cryptanalytic attacks and faster thanNewFORK-256.

Authors of paper [Mondal and Mitra 2016] discussed theTimestamp defined hash function called TDHA for the securetransmissionamong vehicles. In this technique, sender vehicle transmitted deformed message and incomplete message digest and receiver 138 A New One-Way Cryptography Hash Function for WSN vehicle produced digest from the intermediate digest and distorted form of message. They have simulated their algorithm and compared with MD5, SHA-1 and LOCHA in terms of communication, computation and storage overhead. Their design outperform the other techniques both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Authors of paper [Chen and Wang 2008] developed an enhanced algorithm that was based on the concept of Store-Hash and Rehash for context triggered piecewise hashing technique (CTPH) also known as FKsum. They have compared it with spamsum and results proved that the performance and ability of similarity detection of the new scheme are better than that of spamsum. The new design was valuable for forensics practice.

Authors of paper [Rasjid et.al. 2017] surveyed several type of attacks on hash algorithms. They reviewed existing methods in digital forensic toolsto create a collision attacks in digital evidence. They have compared the basic characteristics of MD series and SHA series in terms of output size, number of round, collision found and performance (MiB/s).

Proposed Work

Hash function consists of two components: first one is compression function, a mapping function, used to transform a larger arbitrary-size input to a smaller fixed-size output; and second component is construction, a method by which the compression function is being repeatedly called to process a variable-length message.

Design of Proposed Hashing:

Step 1: Padding- Perform padding in such a way that the length of message after padding is congruent to 448 modulo 512. In padding first bit is 1 and rest of the bits are 0.

Step 2: Appending- After padding, append the length of original message (represented in 64 bit)to the output of the step 1. After doing this step, the length of message is now in multiples of 512.

Step 3: Message into Blocks- The message obtained from the previous step is divided into n Blocks of size 512 bits. That is:

B0, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7,...... Bn

Step 4: Blocks into Sub Blocks- Each Block which is obtained in previous block Pooja and R.K.Chauhan 139 is of bigger size. In this step, we have divided the blocks into sub blocks of size 128 bits. That is:

(B01, B02, B03, B04), (B11, B12, B13, B14), (B21, B22, B23, B24),...... (Bn1, Bn2, Bn3, Bn4)

Step 5: Apply XOR operation- Next step is to perform XOR among each part of the block and override the block’s value with its output. As the size of sub block is 128 bits, after performing XOR the overrided block’s size is 128 bits. That is:

B0 = B01 XOR B02 XOR B03 XOR B04

B1 = B11 XOR B12 XOR B13 XOR B14

B2 = B21 XOR B22 XOR B23 XOR B24

...... and so on

Step 6: Overall XOR- The size of blocks which are produced from the previous step is 128 bits. In this final step, apply XOR among all the blocks. This will result into message digest of size 128 bits.

output = B0 XOR B1 XOR B2 XOR B3

Algorithm

Following is the Algorithm of our proposed hashing technique.

Input: Message of arbitrary length.

Output: Digest of fixed size, i.e., 128 bits.

Begin

1. Apply padding of 10* bits.

2. Append length of message (64 bit representation) to the previous step output, so that length of final message is in the multiples of 512.

3. i=0, j=-1

4. while(i

6. Bj=M(i,i+511)

7. i=i+512 }

8. i=0

9. while(i ≤ j) {

10. Bi1=Bi(0,127)

11. Bi2=Bi(128,255)

12. Bi3=Bi(256, 383)

13. Bi4=Bi(384,511)

14. i= i+1 }

15. i=-1

16. while(i

17. i=i+1

18. Bi=Bi1 XOR Bi2 XOR Bi3 XOR Bi4 }

19. digest=B0 XOR B1 XOR B2 XOR ...... Bj

End

Results and Comparisons

The proposed hashing technique is compared with MD5 and SHA-1 in terms of execution time and size of digest produced, as shown in table 1. The size of message digest in MD5, SHA-1 and Proposed is 128 bits, 160 bits and 128 bits respectively. From the table 1, it is analysed that execution time of proposed hashing is less as compared to that of others. Pooja and R.K.Chauhan 141 Table 1: Comparison of proposed hashing with standard hashing

Parameters Execution Time (ms) Message Digest (Bits) MD5 310 128 SHA-1 398 160 Proposed 297 128

In figure 1,The comparison of standard hashing algorithms and proposed algorithm in terms of their execution time is shown. On x-axis, hashing techniques are displayed and on y-axis, execution time is given. Figure 1 shows that proposed hashing has less execution time as compared to others. Figure 1: Comparison of Execution time of Hashing Algorithms

�on � 500

400

300

200 �

100 0 5 1

We have also simulated proposed technique with different file sizes (1000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 40,000 and 50,000 bytes) to analyse the time if we increase the file size and it is shown in Table 2. Table 2: Comparison of Execution time of proposed technique using different file sizes

File Size Execution time (ms) 1000 297 5000 410 10,000 580 20,000 830 30,000 990 142 A New One-Way Cryptography Hash Function for WSN

40,000 1210 50,000 1480

Conclusion and Future Scope

The present algorithms for calculating message digests are susceptible to brute force attacks. In this paper, a new hashing technique has been proposed which uses blocks subgrouping and XOR operation in a unique way, so it is impossible for the intruder to break the algorithm. Therefore, proposed hashing technique is more secure than the existing ones. Secondly, it uses very simple mathematical operation which increase the speed of computation of message digest. Therefore,proposed hashing technique is simpler than the existing one.

Though the proposed algorithm satisfies the basic properties of hashing function, we are trying to modify the proposed algorithm in future so that it will be resistant to other known security attacks.

References

1. Abutaha, M., &Hamamreh, R. (2013, January). New one way hash algorithm using non-invertible matrix. Paper presented at International Conference on Computer Medical Applications (ICCMA), Sousse, Tunisia.

2. Arya, R. P., Mishra, U., & Bansal, A. (2013). Design and analysis of a new hash algorithm with key integration. International Journal of Computer Applications, 81(1), 33–38.

3. Bellare, M., & Kohno, T. (2004). Hash Function Balance and Its Impact on Birthday Attacks. Advances in Cryptology - EUROCRYPT, 3027, 401-418.

4. Chen, L., & Wang, G. (2008, January). An Efficient Piecewise Hashing Method for Computer Forensics. Paper presented at First International Workshop on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

5. Chowdhury, A. R., Chatterjee, T., &Dasbit, S. (2014, December). LOCHA: A light-weight one-way cryptographic hash algorithm for wireless sensor network. Paper presented at 5th International Conference on Ambient Systems, Networks and Technologies, Procedia Computer Science, India. Pooja and R.K.Chauhan 143 6. Gauravram, P. (2003). Cryptographic Hash Functions: Cryptanalysis, design and Applications. Ph.D. thesis, Faculty of Information Technology, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

7. Mirvaziri, H., Jumari, K., Ismail, M., &Hanapi, Z. M. (2007, December). A new hash function based on combination of existing digest algorithms. Paper presented at 5th Student Conference on Research and Development, Malaysia.

8. Moe, K. S. M., & Win, T. (2017, October). Improved hashing and honey-based stronger password prevention against brute force attack. Paper presented at International Symposium on Electronics and Smart Devices (ISESD), Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

9. Monadal, A., &Mitra, S. (2016, December). TDHA: A Timestamp Defined Hash Algorithm for Secure Data Dissemination in VANET. Paper presented at International Conference on Computational Modelling and Security, Procedia Computer Science, India.

10. Manel, D., Raouf, O., Ramzi, H., & Mtibaa, A. (2013, December). Hash function and digital signature based on elliptic curve. Paper presented at International Conference on Sciences and Techniques of Automatic Control Computer Engineering, Sousse, Tunisia.

11. Rasjid, Z. E., Soewito, B., Witjaksono, G., & Abdurachman, E. (2017, December). A review of collisions in cryptographic hash function used in digital forensic tools. 2nd International Conference on Computer Science and Computational Intelligence, Jakarta, Indonesia.

12. Rubayya, R. S., &Resmi, R. (2014, December). Memory optimization of HMAC/ SHA-2 encryption. In 2014 First International Conference on Computational Systems and Communications (ICCSC), Trivandrum, India.

13. Tiwari, H., & Asawa, K. (2012). A secure and efficient cryptographic hash function based on NewFORK-256. Egyptian Informatics Journal, 13 (3), 199–208. Conceptualizing Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 144-159 Ambiguity in Indian ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Foreign Policy © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Syed Eesar Mehdi

Abstract

This paper argues that India’s foreign policy has been ambiguous because of a mixture of two opposing strands of thought: One, idealist strand (Ashokan) that draws from traditions and cultural texts like Gita and Mahabharata and the realist strand (Kautaliyan) that draws from Kautilya’s Arthashastra. Both the mutually incompatible strands run parallel to one another in the strategic thinking of India resulting in constant ambiguity and ad hocism in foreign policy decision-making. This explains why India lacks a cohesive grand strategic doctrine.

Keywords: Ashokan, Kautaliyan, Arthashastra, Grand Strategic Doctrine

Review of Literature

There exists extensive literature on the analysis of the evolution of India’s foreign policy thinking since independence, on the contributions of various Indian leaders in the formation and evolution of the foreign policy and the changes to it due to the changes in India’s nuclear policy, the debates around it and the post-1998 scenario has been extensively covered in some literature1.

Most of the recent literature focuses on the shaping of a new realist foreign policy

* PhD Scholar, South Asian University, New Delhi. E-mail : [email protected] 1 See, Bandyopadhyaya, J. (2003). Making of India’s Foreign Policy: Determinants, Institutions, Processes and Personalities. New Delhi: Allied Publishers; Nayar, B. R. & Paul, T. V. (2004). India in the World Order: Searching for Major Power Status. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press; Mohan, C. V. (2003). Crossing the Rubicon: The Shaping of India’s New Foreign Policy. New Delhi: Penguin Viking; Subramanian, K. (2005). Shedding Shibboleths: India’s Evolving Strategic OutlooK. New Delhi: Wordsmiths. Syed Eesar Mehdi 145 in consideration with huge security challenges at the regional and international level. Rajamohan argues that India is finally shedding it ‘porcupine defensiveness’ and emerging as an ‘assertive tiger’. Some argue that the structural change in the systemic and sub- systemic factors have forced India to adopt a more realist foreign policy based on national interest and power politics (Kautaliyan) rather than based on idealism(Ashokan) and ethical ideas. The need for a more robust strategic outlook guided by pure realism, modernizing the process of policy-making, finding a modus vivendi with Pakistan, defining a credible Asian role in view of the intense balance-of-power politics pursued by regional adversaries, managing the nuclear arsenal effectively and building a cooperative relationship with the United states are seen as basic requirements for India to emerge as a great power. Many have arbitrarily divided the evolution of India’s foreign policy into the phases of idealism, less idealism and total realism and shown a correspondingly increasing change in foreign policy behaviour due to systemic constraints.

There is not enough literature on the evolution and impact of Indian foreign policy thinking on the peace and security of South Asia. There is a lot of literature on the general nature of problems in India’s neighbourhood, the role of bilateral conflicts involving India on the regional peace and stability and the impact of India’s power projection on the immediate neighbours. However, the focus on the evolution and the nature of the Indian foreign policy is somewhat understated and furthermore, the ambiguity and ad hocism in Indian foreign policy is not so clearly defined and rigorously done.

Most of the literature analyses the India’s foreign policy through a realist perspective that treats foreign policy identities and interests as exogenous and not endogenous to the state system. Although there has been commendable work on the evolution of Indian foreign policy and India’s relations with its neighbours but there has been no rigorous work done on the adhocism on the Indian foreign policy. No clear explanations have been given to the questions like why there is ambiguity in Indian foreign policy? Why a country with huge human resources has been reluctant to alliances? Though India is surrounded by powerful revisionist regional adversaries, what explains its behaviour as a status quo power? There is not sufficient literature on the in-depth analysis of these questions from different perspectives.

Some have argued that India has a ‘predominantly defensive strategic orientation’ making it a ‘reactive’ strategic planner2. The study of the internalization of the ‘non- Realpolitik behaviour’ by the Indian elites exhibiting preferences for non-assertion remains

2 Tanham, G. K. (1992). Indian Strategic Culture. The Wasington Quaterly, 15 (1), 129-142. 146 Conceptualizing Ambiguity in Indian Foreign Policy flimsy. This has also been argued in the case of Indian nuclear weaponization. Perkovich argues that India’s nuclear program arose for reasons of International prestige and national identity and not in response to the threats to its security3. He presents it as a reason for India not building a ‘survivable, retaliatory nuclear arsenal long ago’ given its huge regional and international threat environment. How has the Indian strategic thinking evolved under the effect of the international structure in the shades of its own assumptions about the nature of international system?

In this paper, I argue that Indian foreign policy thinking is the juxtaposition of diametrically opposite philosophies, idealism and realism. Both the strands run concurrently and parallel throughout the evolution of Indian foreign policy thinking. This seems to me the only reason that explains the ad hocism and ambiguity in the Indian foreign policy thinking.

Furthermore, I argue that separately both the theories are ill-equipped to explain the foreign policy behaviour of India. There is a need to combine the two theories (idealism and realism) so as to get a more nuanced explanation of Indian foreign policy. The combining of both the theories would give a comprehensive understanding of Indian foreign policy. Conceptually, this would entail the use of variables from both the theories; that is security and interests (realism) and identity and values (idealism) to analyze a particular foreign policy decision by India.

Research Methods

The study uses the inductive case-study method and is a qualitative study. It builds on the analysis of evolution of the foreign policy thinking supplemented by speeches of the architects of Indian foreign policy making.

The study uses both primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources will include literature on the India’s foreign policy thinking, the domestic, regional and international factors affecting it, the evolution of the military thinking and the nuclear policy. These will include the academic literature on the bilateral and multilateral disputes that involve the Indian state. The primary sources will range from government documents especially those of ministry of External affairs and ministry of Finance, writings and speeches of political leaders, declassified policy documents like PN Haksar papers at Nehru Memorial Museum and library and archival material on the foreign policy and international conflicts involving India mentioned in news papers. Research will be 3 Perkovich, G. C. (2003). Is India a Major Power? The Washington Quarterly, 27 (1), 129-144. Syed Eesar Mehdi 147 conducted to enable access to primary sources and conduct interviews. Interviews will be conducted with important academics, policy people and retired policy personnel like the ex-ambassadors who have worked with the Ministry of External Affairs. To gain a broader understanding, interviews will also be sought with national and local level politicians.

The Idealist Tradition of Indian Foreign Policy

India’s past consists of certain ‘idealist’ values which were either expressed in the ‘ancient books like Gita and Mahabharata or embodied in the ancient institutions and customs’4. There are three major traditional values that have played a role of vital significance on the underpinnings of Indian foreign policy: the obedience to non-violence (Ahimsa), the equation of means and ends and the idea of tolerance. All the three traditional values form the core and kernel of idealist tradition of Indian foreign policy.

The idea of tolerance constituted the fundamental part of India’s idealist tradition. In essence, it means that the views that differ from one’s own self should be respected and no one should be forced to accept the other views. In nut-shell, others views that differ from yours should be revered. This idea has roots in Indian sacred books like Gita, Vedas and Mahabharata. In fact, at the center of the India’s national flag is the Ashoka Chakra which is the depiction of the Dharma Chakra, or the ‘wheel of the Dharma’. This presence of the Ashoka Chakra is meant to show the historical continuity with ideas of Ashoka. This tradition of tolerance was a major factor that formed the basis of the policy of nonalignment that India followed since the early phases of the cold war. It is only through the idea of tolerance that India emphasized on the reconciliation of different viewpoints through peaceful negotiations. There are many speeches of Nehru which confirm this. In one of Nehru’s speech, this fact comes to the fore when he says that our approach is not to stress the differences but rather to stress the similarities. It is an approach of reconciliation.

The second tenet of India’s idealist foreign policy strand has roots in the ancient ends and means dilemma that was visibly manifested in Gandhian philosophy wherein he has argued that both ‘means’ and ‘end’ are intertwined and essential and both should be in accordance with the moral law. Gandhi insisted on purity of means to achieve noble ends. Nehru, the anointed heir of Mahatma Gandhi, pursued the same philosophy in politics. In his speech to the United Nations general assembly (UNGA) on 20 December 1956, Nehru

4 See, Malone, D. (2011). Does the Elephant Dance: Contemporary Indian Foreign Policy? New Delhi: Oxford University Press; Michael, A. (2013). India’s Foreign Policy and Regional Multilateralism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan; Dalmia, T & Malone, D. (2012). Historical Influences on Indian Foreign Policy, International Journal, 67 (4), 1029-1049. 148 Conceptualizing Ambiguity in Indian Foreign Policy said that “means are as important as ends. If the means are not right, the end is also likely to be not right, however, much we may want it to be right”5. Thus, during the formative years of the Indian state moralism got embedded in the language of its foreign policy. This had a profound effect on the evolution of a unique strategic tradition.

The third major tenet of Indian idealist foreign policy approach is the commitment to non-violence. The roots of non-violence (Ahimsa) lie in the great teachings of Upanishads. Ahimsa in the Upanishads does not mean just to stop hurting or harming somebody but it also encompasses genuine harmlessness in thought, word and deed. Gandhi added a political dimension to the idea of Ahimsa by linking it to the liberation struggle against the British Empire. While, fighting against British colonial rule, Gandhi revolutionized the idea of Ahimsa by showing its relevance in the political scenario and achieving India’s freedom through non-violence. Thus, the idea of non-violence became an essential determinant of Indian foreign policy. Rajiv Gandhi showed its regional relevance when he said,

“India’s foreign policy has been well established for over 37 years now […] In a way, our foreign policy was not very different from the course of our independent struggle. It is the development of the same movement on a worldwide basis. […] And if you really go down to the basis of our outlook on disarmament, are we not getting back to Gandhi’s Ahimsa on a wider scale? […] We have been getting certain initiatives in our region. We feel that it is important that we develop the best possible relations with all the countries in our region keeping our own basic ideologies, our basic policies intact and not deviating from them”6.

Indian idealistic foreign policy tradition is therefore the synthesis of tolerance, equation of means and ends and Ahimsa. By combining all the three traditional values, Nehru formulated a unique policy of nonalignment. Through the idea of nonalignment, he projected these values not within the South Asian region but also in the larger realm of international politics. In the same vein, Indira Gandhi asserted in her speech in Mauritius in 1976 that non-alignment is the translation in international affairs of the Gandhian concept of tolerance, for it connotes constant efforts towards peaceful coexistence and cooperation. All the leaders of Independent India have reiterated their commitments to

5 Nehru, J. (2006). Indian Foreign Policy: Selected Speeches, September 1946- 1961. New Delhi: Publications Divisions, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. 6 Cited in Michael, A. (2013). India’s Foreign Policy and Regional Multilateralism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Syed Eesar Mehdi 149 values of accommodation and cooperation and peaceful coexistence that have their roots in these traditions. The Indian policy pronouncements from Panchsheel agreement to Gujral doctrine are a reflection of the internalization of these traditional values that prioritize accommodation, cooperation and peaceful coexistence.

The realistic tradition of Indian foreign policy

The realist tradition of Indian foreign policy is inextricably linked with the 4th century statesman Kautilya who wrote a marvellous manual of realist prototypical treatise Arthashastra rendered as “science of politics”. In this magnum opus,Kautilya gave certain rules which have become the key principles of realist tradition of Indian foreign policy. It is quite clear that Arthashastrahas two fold aims: firstly, Preservation of state means internal security and general wellbeing of subjects by good governance and by the law and order; and secondly, acquisition of the territories from others by expansion through excellent code of foreign policy.

This book provides a description of how a state should be run by following certain rules. These rules are to be followed by a king or a ruler to gain or maintain power. Thus, Kautaliya paved the way for Vijigishu (the king who is desirous or aspirant to world conquest) and showed through his realistic principles how to be a Chakravartin (world conqueror). The core of Kautaliyan realism consists of Mandala theory and Shadguna theory. The Mandala theory is at the heart Kautilya’s realistic notion and ‘his reconceptualization of state affairs’. It is based on the geopolitical and geo-strategic assumption that all neighbouring states are enemy and the enemy’s enemy is the natural ally. In short, contiguous states are bound to be foes and the non-contiguous states in the same region are natural allies. This circle of kingdom includes 12 kings with explanations for their probable types of interrelations. In Kautaliyan terms, Mandala theory is the perfect sketch of the journey with the intention of world conquest because Kautilya believes in strength and power. For him, “Power is the possession of strength” and it is in three forms:

1) Mantra Shakti: power of Knowledge

2) Prabhu Shakti: Power of might

3) Utsaha Shakti: power of energy

Whereas, foreign policy is mainly encapsulated by Shadguna theory (six fold policy or six measures of foreign policy) which consists of six strategic stances those can be 150 Conceptualizing Ambiguity in Indian Foreign Policy employed as per the demands of the situation, and one who will use them properly as right stance on the right time, would become a world conqueror. Along with the Mandala and Shadguna theory Kautaliya suggested for Upayasin which he put forth the tactics to overcome the enemy. Thus, Kautilya’s foreign policy was guided by not in mere preservation but in expansion as well. He believed in gaining and retaining power, a true realistic approach to foreign policy.

As an astute empire builder, Kautilya perceives that conjoining military might and economic power alone can sustain a strong empire. He devises apparently rigorous measures to enhance revenues, behind all of which the proclaimed ideal is the welfare of the people and not the gratification of the sovereign. Moreover, unless people’s interests are inextricably mixed with those of the state, if only seemingly, exercising royal authority in all public and private dealings of the subjects lives cannot be vindicated. Written to this end, the objective of the Arthashastra can naively be seen as only to build a strong state that would serve the people better. However, on piecing together interpretations of individual dictums, it dawns that the overarching disposition of the treatise is to secure whatever should be of advantage to the ruler, than to the ruled. In truth, Kautilya’s counsels are not bound by moral constraints. Murder of innocent persons, including even one’s own agent, use of sexual allurements, despoiling of the wealth of temples, are all recommended, if they can serve the cause of the state’s ambitions and interests.

Yet, Kautilya was a not a warmonger. He laid preference to peace over war and emphasized on the role of diplomacy. Arthashastra is clearly not a work of an ancient international relations theory, but it certainly provides the foundations for a discussion of a number of inter-state issues, which are relevant to the question of how ‘regions’ ought to relate to one another.

Both the Idealist and the realist strands have been continuously informing the policy making and are still existent in the Indian strategic thinking. Sometimes, the idealist strand overpowers the realist notion leading to a strategic culture that is more accommodative and less confrontational and sometimes the realist strand dominates the strategic thinking. But both traditions of Indian foreign policy play a vital role in strategic thinking. There are scholars who consider Indian strategic culture as purely realist by mentioning various ‘shifts’ that took place in various Indian foreign policy decisions but they miss the fact that India has been relatively hesitant about internalizing a balance of power doctrine and making it a part of its thinking of international relations. Nehru himself considered “balance of power strategies as inseparable part of an imperial framework of thinking. Syed Eesar Mehdi 151 For him, it was akin to playing a game where the only equilibrium was an unstable one. India’s reluctance to balancing stems from its approach to alliances. India has always been reluctant to enter into comprehensive alliances of a kind of NATO. But, there are scholars who see India’s alliance with USSR in 1971, during Indira Gandhi’s leadership, as a move towards balance of power logic. This is not the case though; India’s alliance towards USSR was more a product of necessity than because of structural logic of balancing. India’s reluctance to be a part of global alliance system is the reflection of its idealist nature which sometimes supersedes its realist nature. Nevertheless, it is realistic too, in a sense that sometimes India chose to be a part of alliance system by maximizing its security and minimizing an imminent danger. But at the same time, it never became a part of any global alliance system because of its idealistic tradition in strategic thought that encompasses the ideas that prioritize accommodation and independence. Indian foreign policy as a whole is the juxtaposition of tenets of idealism and realism. This reality is best encapsulated by Nehru when he said:

“A policy must be in keeping with the traditional background and temper of the country. It should be idealistic, aiming at certain objectives, and, at the same time, it should be realistic. If it is not idealistic, it becomes one of the sheer opportunism; if it is not realistic, then, it is likely to be adventurist, and wholly ineffective”7.

Indian foreign policy and its strategic culture can’t be well understood if only one traditional strand of Indian foreign policy is taken into consideration. It will lead to the strategic thinking as articulated by George Tanham who argued that India has no strategic thinking to serve as a basis for systematic policy formation8. There are scholars who consider Indian strategic culture abstract and ambiguous without realizing the fact that Indian strategic cultureits has roots in the diametrically opposite philosophies (idealism and

7 Paranjpe, S. (2013). India’s Strategic Culture: The Making of National Security Policy. New Delhi: Routledge 8 Gorge Tanham argues that there is lack of systematic thinking in strategic matters in India mainly due to ‘aversion’ towards power. K. Subrahmanyam has endorsed Tanham’s views. However, both scholars are critiqued by Kanti Bajpai, who makes a distinction between military strategy and grand strategy. Bajpai sees little progress in the strategic thinking in terms of military strategy but sees opportunities in the thinking of grand strategy, especially after economic reforms of 1991, for more, See, Bajpai, K. (2014). Indian Grand Strategy Six Schools of Thought. In K. Bajpai., S. Basit., & V. Krishnappa (Eds.), India’s Grand Strategy: History, Theory, Cases (pp. 113-136). New Delhi: Routledge. And also, Paranjpe, S. (2013). India’s Strategic Culture: The Making of National Security Policy. New Delhi: Routledge. For Tanham’s views see, Tanham, G. K. (1992). Indian Strategic Culture, Washington Quarterly, 15 (1). Subrahmanyam views are best expressed in Subrahmanyam, K. (2005). Shedding Shibboleths: India’s Evolving Strategic Outlook. New Delhi: Wordsmiths. 152 Conceptualizing Ambiguity in Indian Foreign Policy realism) which are internally conflicting. This seems the only reason that explains why India has not spelt out any strategic doctrine.

Evolution of Indian foreign policy: Unison of Idealism and Realism

Indian foreign policy in a broader sense can be divided into four distinct phases. The first phase began with the independence of India in 1947 and ended with the death of Nehru in 1964, popularly recalled as ‘Nehruvian phase’, the second phase ended in 1990-91, after the end of cold war, the year in which India underwent economic reforms. The third phase between 1991 and 1998 was the year in which India crossed the nuclear Rubicon. Since then, Indian foreign policy has entered into the fourth phase emerging as a major international power by initiating an Indo- US c i v i l nucleardealof2005 that sought to accept the role of India as the only global nuclear power outside the NPT.

This dramatic shift in Indian foreign policy in accordance with the change in its interests and capabilities has been driven by India’s desire to achieve a great power status in the international system. This desire had been hampered by the weak capabilities and limited economic development since the independence of India from the British colonial empire in 1947 . With the economic reforms in the early 1990s and a sharp increase in the rate of annual economic growth, the important nuclear tests in 1998 and the Indo- US nuclear deal of 2005, India has leapt forward in the world of great powers ending her more than four decades of economic and political isolation. The changed attitude was characterized by a shift away from the state-backed ideology of ‘third worldism’, unflinching commitment to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) as an alternative to the bipolar world system and solidarity with developing states to the concrete efforts in the pursuit of major power status by putting the national interest at the heart of any international engagement, amending the nature of relationship with the United States and other major powers and a “reconceptualization of regionalism and re-imagining the extended neighborhood” . This dramatic change in the foreign policy was a direct result of the domestic political and economic imperatives, increasing major power aspirations, compounded with the major political changes internationally. Some scholars argue that this posits a fundamental change of course in the Indian foreign policy thinking—a development that one leading foreign policy observer described as “crossing the Rubicon” from idealism to pragmatism, and another as “India unbound”—and an essential reconstitution of its ‘core premises’. India was socialized into the anarchic international system by systemic and sub-systemic forces, and made to discard the ‘baggage’ of the ethical ideas of the nationalist movement and forced to shed the ‘outdated shibboleths’. Syed Eesar Mehdi 153 Thus, overall, Indian foreign policy posture has changed from idealistic framework to realistic frame. In fact, both the modes of thinking—idealism and realism—have run parallel to each other in Indian foreign policy thinking. Sometimes one strand supersedes the other strand but, all in all, both run concurrently and parallel.

First phase of Indian foreign policy: Nehruvian phase (1947-1964)

This phase of Indian foreign policy was wholly and solely dominated by the thinking of first Indian prime minster Jawaharlal Nehru. He played the most pivotal role in making of India’s foreign policy and linking the assertion of the independence of foreign policy decisions to claims to a major-power role. He was convinced that India was destined to a great power in the world. This can be deduced from his speech which he gave, when he became the head of the interim Government and said:

“Whatever the present position of India might be, she is potentially a great power. Undoubtedly, in future she will have to play a very great part in security problems of Asia and the Indian Ocean, more especially of the Middle East and South-East Asia. Indeed India is a pivot round which these problems have to be considered. I need not go further into this matter as the importance of India to any scheme of Asian security is vital. It is absurd for India to be treated like a small power”9.

Thus, the main objective of Nehru was to transform India into a major power and he tried in every way possible to slowly build the capability to achieve this objective over the period of time. Nehru’s policy of Non-alignment, maintained a “symbiotic relationship between defence and development” and a state supported industrialization and balanced socialism that helped India to sail with stability in the strategically most difficult times. In grand strategic terms, the policy of Non-alignment was his greatest contribution. It helped India to receive aid from both the Superpower blocs, gave it an international status of being capable to lead other states by developing a credible soft power image that helped the “process of state-building in India by harmonizing and stabilizing the diverse political forces” in the country along with moderate economic development. After assuming office as an interim Prime Minister, Nehru announced a broad framework of the policy of non alignment:

9 Nayar, B. R. & Paul, T. V. (2004). India in the World Order: Searching for Major Power Status. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press. 154 Conceptualizing Ambiguity in Indian Foreign Policy “we propose, as far as possible, to keep away from the power politics of groups, aligned against one another, which have led in the past to world wars and which may again led to disasters on an even vaster scale. We believe that peace and freedom are indivisible and the denial of freedom anywhere must endanger freedom elsewhere and led to conflict and war”10.

Non-alignment was an instrument or a means of foreign policy in order to safeguard newly achieved political independence and mainly to promote national interest. Nehru made it clear that India won’t join any of the two power blocs. This was in some sense amethod of attaining an equal status with other large states and hence an attainment of equal power as witnessed by the nuclear deal between India and the USA. Under Nehru’s leadership, India and china signed the declaration of five principles or Panchsheel on 29th April 1954, as the basis of their mutual relationship. The agreement was aimed at fostering trade and interaction between the Tibetan region of China and India.

Nehru’s vision of Panchsheel was basically an alternative vision to the ‘immorality of the cold war’. It had a moral as well as a cultural tinge attached to it. Nehru himself declared that the idea of mutual coexistence had its roots in ancient Indian culture by saying that:

“These principles form the basis of our relations with other nations. We are convinced that on the basis of the relationship between the countries will be healthy, peaceful and cooperative, because it rests on equality and mutual respect and peaceful co-existence and rules out aggression and internal interferences. Trouble arises when one country dominates over another or interferes in another’s internal affairs. If Panchsheel is fully and sincerely accepted by all countries, peace would be assured everywhere, and cooperation would follow”11.

Mutual coexistence and non-interference became the guiding principles and main determinants of Indian foreign policy. In fact, Indian politicians and scholars regard Panchsheel principles as part and parcel of their political culture. Nevertheless, Panchsheel as a concept became so famous that its principles were incorporated in the UNGA resolution

10 Nehru, J. (2006). Indian Foreign Policy: Selected Speeches, September 1946- 1961. New Delhi: Publications Divisions, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. 11 Nehru, J. (2006). Indian Foreign Policy: Selected Speeches, September 1946- 1961. New Delhi: Publications Divisions, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Syed Eesar Mehdi 155 on peaceful coexistence. But, both nonalignment and Panchsheel had tinges of both strands of Indian foreign policy: idealistic and realistic. Non-alignment was idealistic in a sense that:

“It was merely a cover for weakness. It is more like a weapon of the weak, a ruse that weak powers use to carve out some space in international system. India at the time of independence was a very weak country, deeply impoverished, internally divided and with little ability to project its power abroad. In such circumstances, the language of idealism, the support for norm based system was largely to protect the principle of sovereignty, a principle that was designed to protect the weak powers against the strong. Non-alignment, and an ostensible strategy of keeping great powers out, was suited for a country that was not yet in a position to resist them”12.

But, at the same time, the policy of nonalignment was considered as an Indian engagement with the world in its own form of Realpolitik. Through non-alignment India constituted the third pole during cold war days that helped India in attaining an equal status with other large states and hence an attainment of equal power. This kept India safe in pursuing her independent foreign policy. This is what Krasner called “modified structuralism,” a power that acts in its own interests but is also capable of acting in universal terms.

Panchsheel agreement too had the tinges of both strands of Indian foreign policy: idealism and realism. Its realistic domain consists in resolving the hiccups of border disputes through mutual non-interference and mutual non-aggression. But its idealism lies in not being able to predict Sino-Indian war of 1962 and, to some extent, Panchsheel gave institutional form to its non-strategic attitude.

The long lasting effect of these two strands is better represented by Raymond Aron by saying that “Nehru’s foreign policy was idealistic abroad, but operated within the logic of realism when it came to matters within the south Asian region”13. There are diametrically opposite views within strategic thinkers about Nehru being an idealist or a realist. Some call him an idealistic romanticist whereas, someone like K. Subrahmanyam, a key Indian strategic thinker considered Nehru a practitioner of realism and balance of power policy.

12 Mehta, P. B. (2009), Still under Nehru’s Shadow: The Absence of Foreign Policy Frameworks in India. India Review, 8 (3), 209-233. 13 Raymond Aron, Peace and War: A Theory of International Relations (New York: Anchor, 1973), p. 161. 156 Conceptualizing Ambiguity in Indian Foreign Policy Second phase of Indian foreign policy from 1964-1991

This phase of Indian foreign policy began with Lal Bahadur Shastri who became the Prime minster of India after Nehru’s death in 1964. He continued the Nehruvian framework of Indian foreign policy with special focus to Nonalignment and socialism. During his time, India had to fight a war with Pakistan in 1965 with America and china helping Pakistan. But he did well in successfully negotiating a peace accord with Pakistani counterparts in Tashkent in 1966. The Tashkent agreement achieved some praise in strategic circles by projecting India as a credible military power capable of safeguarding its national interest; creating an international image of reasonableness for India and most importantly bringing an end to the war.

Afterwards, his position was supplanted by a tougher attitude concerning the use of force and a ‘near-paranoid’ view of threats to national security under Indira Gandhi . Her ‘militant Nehruvian’ attitude led to the Indian intervention in East-Pakistan resulting in the dismemberment of Pakistan and the emergence of Bangladesh . She went ahead with an ‘independent and verbally camouflaged nuclear weapons programme for India’ and unlike her father’s hesitation, facilitated the Sikkim’s integration with India . During 1970, when USA was attempting at rapprochement with China, Indira Gandhi made overtures towards the USSR. This was called as ‘tilt’ in Indian foreign policy towards USSR. Finally, just weeks before the Indo-Pakistani war, India signed the Indo- Soviet ‘treaty of peace, friendship and cooperation’ in 1971. This treaty ensured the transfer of huge quantity of soviet weapons, which helped India to pursue her military intervention in East Pakistan in December, 1971 and through USSR support India easily, defeated Pakistan. This proved Indira Gandhi’s pragmatic and realistic approach to Indian foreign policy and its strategic thinking. In fact, in many ways, she went ahead of past Prime ministers. Unlike, Nehru and Shastri who candidly declared that India would not manufacture nuclear weapons, she followed them in theory but in practice her attitude became ambivalent . She never succumbed to any pressure from anyone against her will. When USA and USSR jointly sponsored the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in 1968 and tried to pressurize India into signing it, she stoutly resisted. She considered NPT utterly discriminatory and stood against its ‘apartheid nature’. Under her leadership, India exploded her first nuclear device in May 1974 which was meant for peaceful purposes and had no military dimension added to it. This nuclear test was India’s strategic necessity because it consolidated India’s position as the dominant power in south Asia. Syed Eesar Mehdi 157 After Indira Gandhi’s assassination, Rajiv Gandhi was sworn as prime minster on 31 October, 1984. Rajiv had no political experience but he managed to see the open espousal of the ‘path-breaking’ economic liberalization and his tenure culminated in India becoming a defacto nuclear weapons power. One of the important political issues which he mishandled was ethnic separatism in Sri Lanka. In July, 1987, he signed an agreement with President Jayewardene of Sri Lanka, under which an Indian army styled as Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) would be dispatched to Sri Lanka for enforcing a ceasefire and disarmament of LTTE forces. But, the peace keeping operation soon turned into a continuous war between IPKF and LTTE with huge casualties on both sides. The battle continued for two years and finally ceasefire agreement was reached between LTTE and IPKF. The way Tamil issue was handled by Rajiv Gandhi showed off his political immaturity. During his time in office, relations with Pakistan deteriorated further because in 1986 India carried the largest military exercise called ‘Brasstacks’ that heightened the tensions that actually existed between India and Pakistan.

Third phase of Indian foreign policy from 1991-1998

This phase started with the policies of recasting the national economic strategy that was revitalized in the Narasimha Rao government when it initiated economic reforms in 1991, and reached their climax during the Vajpayee era with the nuclear tests in May 1998 that eventually led to a lasting accommodation with the international System.

After the end of cold war and the collapse of USSR, Indian foreign policy goals and choices shifted towards improving relations with USA and China. Thus, during this phase, under Narasimha Rao’s leadership, India embarked on a ‘Look East Policy’ on 1991, for improving relations with the states of South-East Asia. This policy was meant for improving Indian economic system and bolster India’s strategic standing in the region. The economic reforms that took place in the same period shifted India’s image from weaker economic power to a significant economic power house. This helped India to achieve easily its much needed strategic goals. Furthermore, during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s leadership, India conducted am important nuclear tests in May 1998. The important nuclear tests of 1998 ensured the security of India by providing a robust means of deterrence against a rising threat emanating from emerging china paved a way for India’s role as a major power.

Fourth phase of Indian foreign policy from 1998 onwards

This phase began with the signing of Lahore declaration and ‘bus diplomacy’ 158 Conceptualizing Ambiguity in Indian Foreign Policy by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. After the nuclear tests of 1998, the opening up to Pakistan— symbolized by the ‘bus diplomacy’, which saw Prime Minster Vajpayee riding a bus to Lahore in February 1999, being personally received by the Pakistani Prime Minster, Nawaz Sharif and the signing of Lahore declaration—gave a new surprising twist to the new direction of Indian foreign policy. This budding relationship between two neighboring countries, India and Pakistan, was deeply stained by the Kargil war that broke out in 1999. After Kargil war, Vajpayee tried every way possible to restore the friendly relationship between the two countries by inviting Nawaz Sharif to Agra for an extraordinary summit in 2001 that failed to accomplish much. The relationship was further aggravated by the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001.

During this phase of Indian foreign policy something remarkable took place, that is, the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. On 18 July 2005, US President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared their resolve to transform the relationship between the two countries. India entered into strategic partnership with US which was considered as a new phase and a turning point in India’s foreign policy orientation. India’s image shifted from middle power to a potential great power. Since then, India is slowing transforming itself into a state that can safeguard its interests not only in south Asia but also beyond.

Meanwhile in October 2009, India leapt forward as the second fastest growing economy reaching a rate of 9.8 percent14. This rise gained further momentum with the realist leadership like Narendra Modi holding the office in 2014. Modi brought vigor, energy and desire to break free from old thinking about foreign policy15. The way his government handled China is way realistic and Kashmir issue was dealt with proper policy thinking with zero tolerance for terrorism. This shrugging off from illusive foreign policy thinking has remained central to Modi government providing India recognition as a rising global power.

14 Ganguly, S. (2012, July 5). Think Again: India’s Rise, Foreign Policy. Retrieved from https:// foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/05/think-again-indias-rise. 15 Joshi, M. (2017, March 8). India and the World: Foreign Policy in the Age of Modi, ORF (Observer Research Foundation). Retrieved from https://www.orfonline.org/research/india-and-the-world-foreignpolicy-in-the-age-of-modi. Syed Eesar Mehdi 159 Conclusion

Indian foreign policy thinking is ambiguous because it consists of two strands— idealist and realist—that are running concurrently and are internally conflicting and diametrically opposite. This explains why Indian policy makers and strategic thinkers have failed to produce a systematic foreign policy doctrine. There are scholars who deem that India has no strategic culture at all. It is because of the fact that Indian foreign policy thinking has always been a juxtaposition of these two modes of thinking and combining them into a doctrine which is extremely problematic. Nevertheless, Indian normative behaviour in its entirety is the synthesis of some tenets of traditional norms of idealism (Ashokan) and some norms of realism (Kautaliyan). Both the strands run parallel in the Indian strategic thinking and foreign policy behaviour. Emerging Trends in the Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 160-179 Enforceability of International ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Arbitra Awards in China and © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Australia

Misha Bahmani Ramakrishna Srinivasan

Abstract

Nowadays we see that there has been a dramatic change in trade business activities worldwide. With the advent of liberalization and globalization, many countries have come together to encourage the practice of trans-border investment. Due to the rise in the numbers of commercial disputes, it has been observed that the mere presence of the system of international arbitration is not sufficient for the proper functioning of commercial contracts. The article will reflect on the process of enforcing foreign arbitral awards in China and Australia under the New York Convention at present. The authors will highlight the historical perspective in relation to the recognition and enforcement of foreign awards in these jurisdictions. One needs to understand the objectives of the New York Convention and to be a favorable seat the contracting states of China and Australia needs to overcome the challenges, which they are facing at present related to the enforcement of International awards and Focus is also made on when the award is contrary to public policy defence.

Keywords: Foreign arbitral award, International arbitration, New York Convention, Public policy, Recognition and Enforcement.

Introduction

Nowadays many countries are making their best efforts to maintain international

* Research Scholar, USLLS, Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. E-mail : [email protected] ** Founding and managing partner, Lex Genesis, New Delhi Misha Bahmani Ramakrishna Srinivasan 161 standards while practicing trade and commerce activities. In order to have a harmonious relationship with the rest of the world international conventions play a vital role. Due to a rapid increase in cross-border transactions, there has been a surge in a number of disputes between the parties. In order to settle such disputes between the parties’ conventions such as the New York and Geneva has been remarkably active in promoting uniformity in the commercial world. It is important to note that arbitration has been considered a successful means for settling down the dispute between the parties. Being a signatory party for a country like China and Australia there has been a drastic improvement in their trade relationship globally. The Chinese and Australian products have been internationally recognized in the market and they have achieved a significant place in different sectors.1 At present they have indulged themselves in many projects, which also include investment at a larger scale. In this regard, the prime objective behind such efforts is to have foreign investment in their respective jurisdictions. Regardless of the growth and development in their economy, there has been a rise in a number of disputes under such circumstances. This has drawn the attention of the lawmakers to solve these disputes within a reasonable period of time by maintaining peace in the business community.2

OBOR (One Belt One Road) is a great platform that has been established recently to encourage cross-border activities for China. This mechanism uses international commercial as well as maritime arbitration for solving cross-border disputes and it has illustrated the focus on recognition and enforcement of the foreign awards. This effort is made to have a unified system for considering issues, which are related to rescission and refusalof enforcement of the foreign arbitral awards.3Moreover, Chinese and Australian arbitration laws related to enforcement of international arbitral awards are pursuant to the New York Convention. It is crucial after being a signatory party to the New York Convention , it permits them to refuse the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and amongst of which public policy has been considered as a significant ground to set aside an arbitral award.4

A good example is the International Arbitration Act (IAA) 1974, which is subjective to the provisions of the New York Convention which highlight the grounds for enforcement

1 Meg Utterback et al., Enforcing foreign arbitral awards in China-a review of the past twenty years, KWM (May 21, 2018, 5:20 PM), http://www.kwm.com/en/knowledge/insights/enforcing-foreign-arbitral-awards- in-China-20160915. 2 Ibid. 3 Keith M. Brandt & Michael K. H. Kan, China, WILMER HALE (May 21, 2018, 6:45 PM), https://www. wilmerhale.com/-/media/2c5ae16d5671409ca695aed3d8dcc79c.pdf. 4 McDermott Will & Emery, “Public Policy” and the enforcement of foreign arbitration awards in China, LEXOLOGY (May 21, 2018, 6:20 PM), https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=f96e8738-5cfe- 4e39-8d1d-7a6dbfbd4c21. 162 Emerging Trends in the Enforceability of International Arbitra Awards in China and Australia of the international arbitral awards in Australia.5Nonetheless, China began its journey in 1987 where the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issued the notice for implementing the New York Convention. This reflected the importance to be given to the New York Convention and issues in relation to the enforcement of international arbitral awards.6

Subsequently, there is an urgent need to focus on the way the interpretation of public policy has been done in these respective countries. It has been found that China has not been successful in clarifying the scope of Chinese public policy. The challenges which they come across is due to unclear regulation stated under their Chinese law and unfortunately, now judges have extended their participation and they have elaborated the interpretation of public policy for refusing the enforcement of the international arbitral awards.7In this regard, the article will examine issues related to arbitrability, the Hague Convention under Chinese perspective. Additionally, challenges existing under the Australian aspect will also be focused under the ambit where there are the costs of unsuccessful challenges of enforcement.8

It is with this perspective in mind, it becomes necessary to consider the new trends that have been prevailing in the Chinese and Australian scenario in order to overcome the challenges that are still remaining. The article will examine the issues that are prevailing in these jurisdictions concerning the enforceability of international arbitral awards. Subsequently, the article highlights the Chinese and Australian Court context in relation to the difficulties, which the parties are facing at the time of enforcement of awards on the ground of public policy defence. Moreover, the author’s prime concern is to find out whether Chinese and Australian Courts have been faithful to the provisions of the New York Convention for enforcing foreign arbitral awards.9

Prior to tackling the core concern of the recent trends that are emerging in these two jurisdictions for recognition and enforcement of international arbitral awards, the authors

5 Graham Maher & Jessica Laverty, Enforcing Foreign arbitral award in Australia, LEXOLOGY (May 22, 2018, 7:30 PM), https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=11163a8f-b517-4dd1-9d7d- 931f383447b2. 6 Yu Qing & Teng Haidi, Recognition and Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in the PRC: What is the reality and what to expect? LEXOLOGY (May 22, 2018, 7:40 PM), https://www.lexology.com/library/ detail.aspx?g=6e6338c3-71d9-42cc-85ee-148f72542a66. 7 Yuxiang Liu et al., The unruly horse in China: The enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and public policy, 19 INT’L TRADE & BUS. L. REV. 72 (2016). 8 Matthew Mulcahy, Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Australia: Some snapshots from 2016, LEXOLOGY (May 23, 2018, 8:40 AM), https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=6cb004c6-7831- 4755-a584-2da3b4d1ee89. 9 Will, supra note 4. Misha Bahmani Ramakrishna Srinivasan 163 have depicted the significance of the New York Convention and succeeding the issues which they come across at the time of enforcement of arbitral awards has been addressed in the article (Below Section I). It is necessary, to begin with, the New York Convention as it is the basic pillar for encouraging international commercial activities. On the basis of this, the article will encourage in having better understanding and scope of public policy in international arbitration regime (Below Section II).

Implementation of the New York Convention in China and Australia

The UNCITRAL Model Law is the keystone for stating the grounds for recognition and enforcement of the foreign arbitral awards. The Model Law was drafted with an objective to encourage the practice to have a uniform template for countries to follow them. It reflects the grounds on the basis of which recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award can be refused. It includes grounds such as incapacity, not given proper notice to appoint arbitrator etc.10Moreover, the public policy is among those grounds where the Court finds it to be contrary to public policy of the state then the arbitral award will be refused.11One can make an application for setting aside an arbitral award, which is done by the Court on the same grounds.12 Furthermore, when an award is in conflict with the public policy of that state and also arbitrability , then the award will be refused.13 The New York Convention plays a symbolic role in addressing matters related to international commercial arbitration, which indulges these grounds at the request of parties the competent authority can refuse recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards.14The Convention has clearly stated that arbitral award recognition and enforcement can be refused if the competent authority agrees that it is against the public policy of that country and the other ground is when the subject matter is not capable to be settled by arbitration under the law of that country. Globally many countries are signatory party to the New York Convention and their arbitration laws are based on Model Law.15In order to recognize and enforce the arbitral awards, there are laws, which govern Chinese Civil Procedural Law (CPL), Chinese Arbitration Law and also concerning judicial interpretations. A brilliant example is the Circular of 1987 where the Chinese legal system has the Number 5 Circular of the Supreme Court of China, which

10 The UNCITRAL Model Law, 1985, art. 36(1). 11 Id. at art. 36(b)(ii). 12 Id. at art. 34. 13 Id. at art. 34(2)(b). 14 The New York Convention, 1958, art. V(1). 15 Id. at art. V(2). 164 Emerging Trends in the Enforceability of International Arbitra Awards in China and Australia is meant for recognition, and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.16

Historically, China has ratified the New York Convention in 1987 and has incorporated provisions of the New York Convention under Chinese CPL. China has applied the principle of reciprocity and commercial arbitration in order to enforce an arbitral award.17Subsequently, Article 4 of the Supreme Court Notice, as well as Article V of the New York Convention, illustrates the grounds when China can refuse the application for recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award.18The Court has to make a decision within 2 months in relation to whether they will be accepting the recognition or the award will be refused concerning foreign related and international awards. Intermediate People’s Court (IPC) will consider enforcement of the foreign award. The new reporting system illustrates where IPC have to report to the Higher People’s Court (HPC) and have to gain their approval in case they find an arbitral award to be invalid within the period of 2 months.19Where the HPC is satisfied with the findings then the enforcement and recognition should not be approved when such report is presented before Supreme People’s Court (SPC) in order to get their approval on the present findings. Despite this, there will be no ruling if the SPC has not given their approval under such circumstance.20 Moreover, enforcement proceeding should be done within 2 years under the CPL although 1 year is meant for Taiwan awards. The procedure is similar for enforcing international arbitral awards and local awards, however, there are few differences, which are stated above by the authors in order to understand the procedure for enforcing an arbitral award.21

In a recent study conducted by Kings & Mallesons, it has been found that China being a civil legal system has reviewed 98 applications concerning enforcement of the

16 Ravi Singhania & Gunjan Chhabra, International Commercial Arbitrations between China and India, MONDAQ (May 25, 2018, 8:40 AM), http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/704286/Arbitration+Dispute+Resolution/ International+Commercial+Arbitrations+between+China+and+India. 17 Bingnan Zhang, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in the PRC and grounds of refusal, UNIVERSITEIT GENT (May 26, 2018, 11:15 AM), https://lib.ugent.be/fulltxt/RUG01/002/213/689/ RUG01-002213689_2015_0001_AC.pdf. 18 Teng Haidi et al., Recognition and enforcement of Foreign arbitral awards in the PRC, CHINA LAW INSIGHT (May 25, 2018, 9:40 AM), https://www.Chinalawinsight.com/2017/06/articles/dispute-resolution/ recognition-and-enforcement-of-foreign-arbitral-awards-in-the-prc/#more-11417. 19 Jane Wessel, Refusal to enforce arbitration awards on ground of public policy in China: A question of timing, LEXOLOGY (May 26, 2018, 10:15 AM), https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=1e0f9969-61e4- 4cad-9108-9f30607bb3b8#. 20 Wessel, supra note 19. 21 Nuo Ji et al., Enforcement of judgments and arbitral awards in China: Overview, THOMSON REUTERS PRACTICAL LAW (May 26, 2018, 11:15 AM), https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/8-619-0132?tr ansitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true&comp=pluk&bhcp=1#co_anchor_ a148466. Misha Bahmani Ramakrishna Srinivasan 165 foreign arbitral awards. Furthermore, the data depicts that 39 cases were reported to SPC by IPC and HPC for getting an approval in order to refuse the enforcement of the arbitral award.22It has been observed that under Chinese law less than 30 cases have been refused on the ground of recognition and enforcement of the foreign arbitral awards.23The SPC has stated that the new reporting system plays a beneficial role in enforcing international arbitral awards and the statistics reflect that only 16 cases out of 39 were directed by SPC to be enforced by the Lower Court.24

Consequently, it has been stated under Chinese CPL that foreign arbitral awards cannot be enforced or recognized if it is contrary to public policy of China.25The term ‘social and public interest’ is equivalent to public policy. The term ‘public policy’ is not defined under Chinese law although it has a broad scope and focuses on procedural and substantive matters. It has been noted that till now there has been no case where enforcing a foreign award is refused on the grounds of public policy in China.26

The Court would refuse the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards on the same grounds, which are stated under the Convention.27One can understand that the Australian perspective through IAA, which has illustrated their concern on having a better understanding of public policy and issues, related to enforcement of foreign awards.28 However, it has been observed that Court may refuse enforcement of a foreign award if it contrary to public policy and is incapable of being settled by arbitration.29Australian arbitration law has defined the term ‘ public policy’ and the Court permits to set aside an arbitral award on the ground of public policy in Australia such if the award is induced or affected by fraud or corruption and against the principle of natural justice.30It is, therefore, interesting to study if the Australian Courts are exercising a broad discretion or not for refusing enforcement of arbitration award on such ground, which is stated under Section 8(8) of the IAA.31

22 Utterback, supra note 1 23 Ibid. 24 Wessel, supra note 19. 25 The Civil Procedure Law, 2012, art. 282 (China). 26 Ji, supra note 21. 27 The International Arbitration Act, 1974, s. 8(5) (Austl.). 28 The International Arbitration Act, 1974, ss. 19 & 39(1)(a) (Austl.). 29 Id. at s. 8 (7) (Austl.). 30 Id. at s. 8 (7A) (Austl.). 31 Leon Trakman, The reforms of Commercial Arbitration in Australia: Recent and Prospective developments, AUSTL II (May 25, 2018, 12:15 PM), https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UNSWLRS/2018/17.pdf. 166 Emerging Trends in the Enforceability of International Arbitra Awards in China and Australia PART A

Recognition and enforcement of international arbitral awards in China

New York Convention is the most noteworthy International Convention, which features the scope of recognition and enforcement of foreign awards. It depicts the conditions, which are meant for the contracting state to get recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.32It is essential to know that there were 14 cases before 2000 that were brought for recognition and enforcement of foreign awards during the tenure of 1990 to 1997. The figures show that 4 were ruled for enforcement and 10 were refused at that time.33This situation highlight 2 cases were straightforwardly refused without any explanation and the rest 2 were provided reason that there will be no enforcement due to lack of executable property and the award was refused. The statistics show that China has been actively performing the New York Convention and their system related to foreign arbitration awards was implemented on convention grounds.34 In 2008 for the first time, there was the refusal to recognize and enforce the foreign arbitration awards on the ground of social public interest.35This demonstrates that there has been an improvement in the Chinese system and there has been an increase in a number of non-recognition and non- enforcement awards and the reasons set behind it have also changed with time.36Similarly, China is among those 157 states, which are contracting states to the New York Convention.37

Historically, China has approved the Bill concerning to it in 1986 and stated that China will apply the New York Convention that will be within the other contracting states that will follow the principle of reciprocity. It will also be applicable to the disputes, which are the result of contractual as well as non-contractual commercial ground which is recognized under the People’s Republic of China (PRC).38This Convention is applicable

32 Zhang Yunyang & Zhao Ziyu, China: Enforcement of International Arbitral Awards in China, MONDAQ (May 25, 2018,12:30 PM) , http://www.mondaq.com/china/x/659666/Arbitration+Dispute+Resolution/ Enforcement+of+International+Arbitral+Awards+in+China. 33 FRANK-BERND WEIGAND (ED.), PRACTITIONER’S HANDBOOK ON INTERNATIONAL 344 (2nd ed. 2009). 34 Yunyang, supra note 32. 35 BAKER & MC KENZIE, THE BAKER & MCKENZIE INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION YEARBOOK: 2011-2012 126 (5th ed. 2012). 36 Utterback, supra note 1. 37 Marike R. P. Paulsson, The 1958 New York Convention from an unusual perspective: Moving forward by partying with it, 5 I. J. A. L. 23 (2017). 38 Contracting States, NEW YORK ARBITRATION CONVENTION (May 28, 2018, 5:20 PM), http://www. newyorkconvention.org/countries. Misha Bahmani Ramakrishna Srinivasan 167 to the notice issued by SPC concerning on enforcement of recognition and enforcement of foreign awards will be applied by China.39 This resulted in a smooth implementation of the principles stated under this Convention in China.40

The Legislative Framework

The Standing Committee of National’s People’s Congress approved its country to be party to the New York Convention on 1986.41 This was a remarkable effort, which was made by the Chinese government for maintaining international standards in their commercial sector. The legal framework is based on the provisions of CPL where the parties have to submit their application to IPC, which can take place at enforcee’s residence or property. The matter will be considered by the People’s Court by keeping in mind the international treaty. If there is participation by PRC or when it has applied reciprocity then People’s Court will handle such arbitral award, which is based on overseas arbitration organization, and then it needs the award to be recognized and enforced by the People’s Court.42Article 546 reflects that a party can enforce a foreign arbitral award by getting the award recognized by the Court. After recognition, the award can be enforced and the application made for recognition or enforcement or both of a foreign arbitration award may be applied sidewise or separately.43

It begins with a notice, which was promulgated by SPC for addressing the issues related to foreign-related arbitration. In addition, it focused on the working of Local Courts on such grounds and illustrated the need and necessity to deal with aspects of foreign arbitration. It provided a system, which will cover the questions that were not properly considered earlier.44For instance, when China fails to obey the principle of mutual benefits then under such circumstance the People’s Court has to report to the HPC prior to making any decision. Although if the HPC refuses then that report must be submitted to the Supreme Court to give its final decision on the basis of that report. One can observe that China has taken proper caution when the notice was promulgated on a reciprocity basis

39 Xiaohong Xia, Implementation of the New York Convention in China, DIGITAL COMMONS (May 29, 2018, 2:15 PM), http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=ab. 40 Haidi, supra note 18. 41 Yunyang, supra note 32. 42 The Civil Procedural Law, 2012, art. 283 (China). 43 Hauwei Sun & Lei Zhang, Enforcement -China, GLOBAL ARBITRATION REVIEW (May 30, 2018,10:30 AM), https://globalarbitrationreview.com/jurisdiction/1004822/china. 44 Anita Lee, Newly published judicial interpretations on arbitration in China, HOGAN LOVELLS (May 28, 2018, 5:40 PM), https://www.hoganlovells.com/en/publications/newly-published-judicial-interpretations- on-arbitration-in-china. 168 Emerging Trends in the Enforceability of International Arbitra Awards in China and Australia with belief to have a proper system, which will be meant for enforcing and recognition of the foreign arbitral award.45The Chinese Arbitration Law 1995 objective was to develop the Local arbitration and the provisions emphasize maintaining international commercial arbitration. This has resulted in following the approach of CPL in their arbitration law prevailing in China. To elaborate, Article 274 of CPL builds its foundation in Article 71 of their Arbitration Act, which states the grounds for refusing the enforcement of the arbitral award, which is formed by domestic and foreign-related institutions concerning arbitration.46

It shows that there is a procedural defect concerning the grounds which are stated under New York Convention to refuse the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral award when it is made on request by the parties on grounds such as incapacity, invalid arbitration agreement, non-delivery of notice to enforcee, case was not present by enforcee, tribunal acting beyond its power etc.47Meanwhile, public policy is the ground, which reflected on national interest. The focus needs to be made on arbitrability and it should be reviewed. It has been found that the restrictions are based on the equal subjects, where the parties have right to decide a dispute resolution method and it covers the matters in which party is interested and can solve these disputes with a civil manner. Due to improvement in the economy, the scope of matters related to arbitrable has been increased in China.48Additionally, the article will elaborate on the issues concerning enforcement of international arbitral awards in China.

Arbitrability

This is found that while addressing the arbitrability of complex issues then the arbitration law will maintain their standards such as the parties will have equal status and there will no administrative disputes. It will cover disputes related to civil and commercial nature. Of course, the parties will have the right to dispose of the matters concerning arbitration. In this respect, we can understand that there are fewer limitations on arbitrability whereas in China the arbitrable disputes are much broader and they maintain international standards. Rather, we need to make a certain improvement in the practice prevailing in China in order to deal with legal issues, which reflects an international perspective.49Earlier

45 Yunyang, supra note 32. 46 Ibid. 47 Zhang, supra note 17. 48 Yunyang, supra note 32. 49 Ibid. Misha Bahmani Ramakrishna Srinivasan 169 disputes involving securities, intellectual property, and personal status were not involved but now there has been a change in the arbitration system it indulges in matters related to trademark and patents. For example, it will cover matters related to compensation of damages meant for patent infringement. Antitrust disputes are under the ambit of Court. In some countries, it is defined and some have indulged arbitration practice in it. But still, they are more restricting while applying arbitration in such aspect. China is among those countries, which allow arbitration on contractual disputes otherwise there are some countries, which follow a different approach than China. To illustrate, the creditor’s right has been arbitrable in China and unfortunately, obligation disputes are still not considered yet.50

The Hague Convention

When the parties will choose arbitration the conflict laws will prevail in a situation where the parties indulge in international civil matters there is less possibility to adopt international arbitration as a means to solve their dispute.51 Recently, China has signed the Hague Convention although it has not been ratified by China and it requires approval from the National People’s Congress.52The Convention has considered litigation as an important method to solve the dispute. It concerns matters of civil nature. This will encourage in covering the set-aside matters, which were not covered by international arbitration. It will be beneficial for setting a mechanism meant for enforcement purpose between the states.53It is applied to the choice of court agreements. For example, it is subjected to exceptions for cases such as judgments, which concerning tort, property rights, arbitration etc. related to or related to proceedings concerning interim relief and certain intellectual property is not applicable.54It focuses on when the Chinese party has submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of a foreign Court or a foreign party acquiesced to the exclusive jurisdiction of Chinese Court.55

It will facilitate solving matters related to civil and commercial at the international

50 Yunyang, supra note 32. 51 Yunyang, supra note 32. 52 Andrew Ottaway, China signs Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreement, GILBERTSON DAVIS (May 29, 2018, 9:40 AM), http://www.gilbertsondavis.com/china-signs-hague-convention-on-choice-of- Court-agreements/. 53 Yunyang, supra note 32. 54 Meg Utterback et al., China in review –Where we have been and where we are going?, LEXOLOGY (May 30, 2018, 11:30 AM), https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=423065b4-e2de-4cf0-bed3- 211acf0d197e. 55 Ibid. 170 Emerging Trends in the Enforceability of International Arbitra Awards in China and Australia level. Especially, it would help in having recognition and enforcement of decisions made by foreign Courts.56This will result in developing a good trade relationship with other countries and will provide a belt through judicial participation in such matters. There are certain issues which are needed to be dissolved such as exclusive jurisdiction, intellectual property, level jurisdiction are among them which can affect the present Chinese’s judicial system and there will be a rise in a number of new challenges in coming years. One needs to focus on the merits of joining the Hague Convention than frightening from the upcoming challenges in the future.57

Recently, on 23 February 2018, the SPC has issued provisions, which reflect on matters, which are related to enforcement of arbitral awards by the People’s Court. These new provisions will be applicable where a party has applied People’s Court for the enforcement of an arbitral award or med-arb award, which is issued by arbitration institution stated under their Chinese Arbitration Law. Although there is no difference made on the basis of domestic arbitration, foreign-related arbitration, ad hoc arbitration and foreign arbitration. there is a need to have clarity on this issue ,how one has to interpret the new provision through legislative guidance.58

PART B

Recognition and enforcement of international arbitral awards in Australia

Since this part of the article will depict the challenges that the Australian Courts come across at the time of recognition and enforcement of the international arbitral awards,, the authors will illustrate the legal system governing the grounds for enforceability of international awards also.

The Legislative framework

Under Australian law enforcement of foreign awards is stated under Part II of IAA. The provision depicts the grounds for refusing the enforcement with Section 8(5), (7) and (7A). Moreover, the public policy exception is stated under the Act in a more specified

56 Yunyang, supra note 32. 57 Ibid. 58 Jiong Liu et al., New Provisions relating to the enforcement of arbitral awards in China, LEXOLOGY (May 29, 2018, 1:40 PM), https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=f87720f2-3788-4556-864d- efd0fd1f4841. Misha Bahmani Ramakrishna Srinivasan 171 manner under Section 8(7A).59In a summarized way, we can say that an appeal should be made on notice or ex parte. When enforcement order is made in Federal Court of Australia (FCA) or State Supreme Court then the appeal will be in Full Federal Court of Australia (FFCA) or Court of Appeal will be State Supreme Court. To make it understandable one can simplify, if it is New South Wales then it will be in the New South Wales Court of Appeal.60Under such circumstance, enforcement has to take place within 6 years in New South Wales as per Section 20 of New South Wales Limitation Act 1969. This similar tenure will be applicable in other states as well. It is to be noted that within 28 days the rules of Court should be applied although the time period might be extended in certain situations. The Court fees vary from Court to Court and it will be applicable for foreign awards for getting enforcement done and it can be challenged only the grounds stated under IAA and recourse will be done as per Article 34 of Model Law which is meant for international awards only.61The authors have provided two issues that are prevailing in the Australian Court concerning this aspect but the second issue concerning the enforcement contrary to public policy will be dealt under Section II of this article.

Entitlement to Indemnity Cost

One of the challenges, which Australian Court has faced, is that there has been an increase in a number of issues related to entitlement to indemnity cost, which has been unsuccessful in matters concerning enforcement of the foreign arbitral awards. In a recent judgment of Zeng62case where the applicant has given money to the first respondent and the loan was guaranteed by other respondents. In this case, the business was carried in China and the agreement stated a dispute resolution clause showing that the dispute would be referred for arbitration before the Xiamen Arbitration Commission in PRC. Unfortunately, the respondent failed to repay the amount and dispute was referred for arbitration.63

The Commission stated an award of RMB 37 million would be made in favor of the applicant. The applicant wanted to enforce the foreign award in the Federal Court on the ground of Section 8 IAA and the respondent, whereas, has applied to Xiamen Intermediate

59 Derek Luxford, Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Australia: Overview, THOMSON REUTERS PRACTICAL LAW (May 30, 2018, 2:15 PM), https://content.next.westlaw.com/ Document/I52fc19316d6311e598dc8b09b4f043e0/View/FullText.html?context%20ata=(sc. Default)&transitionType=Default&firstPage=true&bhcp=1&contextData=(sc.Default). 60 Luxford, supra note 59. 61 Ibid. 62 Ye v. Zeng, [No. 4] (2016) FCA 386 (Austl.). 63 Ibid. 172 Emerging Trends in the Enforceability of International Arbitra Awards in China and Australia People’s Court (IPC) for refusing the arbitral award on the ground that there is lack of procedural fairness. On the basis of this reasoning, it was held that the applicant was entitled to indemnity costs by applying the conventional authority. According to the facts of the case, the concern was made on whether Hong Kong approach should be followed in Australia. It was stated that in Hong Kong the parties have solved their dispute under the contract by the tribunal, which will be based on their choice. It was made clear that the New York Convention and IAA have a limited base for matters related to resistance to pay an award, which is the result of the contractual relationship. Furthermore, it is a resolution of the dispute by a mechanism, which is a chosen mechanism.64 It was observed that it would be inappropriate to indulge in such a practice, which is prevailing in other countries like Hong Kong while addressing the Australian aspect and deciding the matter.65Sino Dragon Trading Ltd v. Nobel Resources International Pte. Ltd66followed a different approach where the Court held that Article 18 and 34 concerning review power of Model Law will not be applicable to unfairness caused by a party own conduct which will also include decision- related to forensic or strategic matters. In addition, the Court has provided reasons for not following the Hong Kong approach in Australia in this case.67

As mentioned above, also in Sanum Investments Ltd v. ST Group Co Ltd,68the question has arisen whether the applicant who was an award creditor under foreign arbitral award have to leave to serve its petition to enforce a USD$200 million award which was issued by Singapore tribunal against two companies which were based in Lao. The Court held that Court has jurisdiction to enforce foreign arbitral award being a Federal Court. As a result, we can understand that due to the presence of an arbitration agreement arbitral award, which was made in pursuance of the New York Convention and was applied in another country instead of Australia. The Court held that the matter would be taken on the bases of interlocutory application for seeking relief. This shows how the Federal Court has followed a simple way to deal with award creditor and it may enforce a foreign award in Australia.69

The Victorian Supreme Court has considered an application related to setting aside

64 Supra note 62. 65 Albert Monichino Q.C., Arbitration: Chief Justice leaves door open on indemnity costs, COMM. BAR MATTERS (May 30, 2018, 3:15 PM), http://www.commbarmatters.com.au/2016/08/11/arbitration-chief- justice-leaves-door-open-on-indemnity-costs/. 66 [No. 2] (2016) FCA 1169 (Austl.). 67 Mulcahy, supra note 8. 68 (2017) FCA 75 (Austl.). 69 Maher, supra note 5. Misha Bahmani Ramakrishna Srinivasan 173 an arbitral award where the Court in Amasya Enterprise Pty Ltd v. Asta Developments70held that principles of enforcement of the foreign arbitral award would be applied in Australia. The focus was made on the policy of minimal intervention under the Model Law where the Court has upheld many cases in countries like Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. It provides a high threshold bar for setting aside the enforcement of an arbitral award. The policy has to be consistent with the minimal nature of grounds meant for refusing enforcement of a foreign arbitral award based on New York Convention as well as Model Law. This shows emphasis is made on pro-arbitration jurisprudence in Australia. We can understand that enforcement of the foreign arbitral award is done in a simpler manner by following a pro-arbitration trend where the Court has played a limited role in enforcing a contractual obligation to arbitrate.71

Understanding of Public Policy Exception

Around the world, the public policies have varied from country to country. While studying Chinese’s civil and Australian common law background it came into consideration by the authors that public policy exception has undergone many challenges when it is being addressed as a ground by the Court. This part of the article will elaborate the defence of public policy and its significance to promote international commercial arbitration in respective jurisdictions for promoting foreign investment.

China

The journey began in 1997 when it was observed by the Chinese Court that public policy ground can result in unexpected and inappropriate result due to wider interpretation.72It is essential to note that public policy exception is not mentioned expressly under Article 260 of Chinese CPL. It has considered that enforcement of an arbitral award will be refused if the award is contrary to the social and public interest of China.73It is essential to keep in mind that violation of public policy reflects on affecting the social public interest as a whole in the country. In this, the importance is given to moral order prevailing in the country and

70 (2016) VSC 326 (Austl.). 71 Maher, supra note 5. 72 Veena Anusornsena, Arbitrability and Public Policy in regard to the recognisation and enforcement of arbitral award in international arbitration: The United States, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia, DIGITAL COMMONS (May 20, 2012, 10:12 AM), https://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi?article=1033&context=theses. 73 John K. Arthur, The essential elements of international arbitration and its yin and yang-steadfast curial support and limited interference-a regional perspective, PERADI (May 30, 2018, 2:10 PM) https://www. peradi.or.id/files/untitled-attachment-00036.pdf2016. 174 Emerging Trends in the Enforceability of International Arbitra Awards in China and Australia the focus is made on maintaining the sovereignty of the Chinese Court.74

One of the challenges the Chinese Court come across is that Chinese domestic law has not defined the term ‘social and public interest’ and this has resulted in uncertainty in understanding the scope of this aspect. It seems that although the term ‘public policy’ has not been mentioned but the presence of social and public interest still remains unclear, as it is not defined under the Chinese law. Globally it has been observed that there are many countries, which have suffered many difficulties due to the non-existence of proper definition of public policy and has resulted in abuse of power by the District Courts at the time of refusing the enforcement of the arbitral award.75 In Hengjin Cereal & Oil Food Co Ltd v. Anhui Cereal & Oil Food Import & Export Co76 an arbitral award was refused on the ground of public policy. In this case, an application was submitted by the Hengjin Company for the enforcement of an arbitral award to IPC where the Court held that such enforcement would be contrary to the public policy of China, as it will affect the social interest of the country where Anhui was a state-owned company. Subsequently, High Court has also refused the enforcement of the award on the same grounds. Whereas, the SPC held that there is no infringement of social interest just being a state owned company. And also the public policy ground will not be applied under such circumstances.77Consequently, this shows that the Chinese legal system required proper guidance while addressing the enforcement of award on the ground of social interest under the ambit of public policy.

Secondly, despite incorporating Article V(2)(b) / under Chinese CPL through Article 237 where the term‘ social and public interest’ has been used instead of public policy, unfortunately, it has not been successful in restricting the power of the judges for refusing enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. The term ‘social and public interest’ is too abstract and has become difficult to put it into real practice. It becomes difficult for judges to consider it as guidance at the time of exercising their discretionary power to refuse the enforcement of the foreign arbitral award under public policy defence. This term can be understood in many ways such as an integrated, economic, cultural or political sphere. The term is uncertain and the interpretation of social and public interest is broadly done which has resulted in a difficult situation while using this term and it is challenging in its nature, as results are uncertain.78

74 Henry Chen & B. Ted Howes, The enforcement of foreign arbitration awards in china, 2 BLOOMERBERG L. REP. 4 (2009). 75 Liu, supra note 7, at 74. 76 (2003) Min Si Ta Zi No. 9 (China). 77 Liu, supra note 7, at 78. 78 Liu, supra note 7, at 79. Misha Bahmani Ramakrishna Srinivasan 175 For instance, in a case where China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission gave an arbitral award in support of United States heavy metal band. In this case, the concert was canceled by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and has resulted in financial loss for the United States. Moreover, the Chinese officials have stated that the band has not been performing well and it was considered as an outrageous act. The Supreme Court has refused the enforcement of the arbitral award as it was violating the social and public order of China. The Court further stated that the award was contrary to national sentiments of China. This shows that the Chinese Court has interpreted the public policy in a wider manner. It has encouraged the Chinese Court to follow a similar approach while considering matter related to public policy.79The Chinese Court in case refuses the arbitral award for enforcement then it will be forwarded to High Court for making a decision on it. Furthermore, if the High Court has made its decision , it will be submitted to the SPC. This approach followed by the SPC at the time of interpreting this exception and by understanding the new system for recognition and enforcement of the foreign arbitral award. The interpretation has been done in two ways in first where one has to focus on detailed definition and second reflects on limiting the term. For example, the SPChas considered two elements such as national basic legal regime as well as fundamental social interest in order to further define this term under Chinese law.80 There has been a decision made by the SPC where along with basic legal principles and fundamental social interest there is also the addition of grounds such as national sovereignty, national as well as public security.81There have been many decisions where the SPC has refused the interpretation done by the Lower Courts, as they are being considered inapplicable to interpret the term ‘social and public interest’.82

However, the new Chinese system is a time-consuming process. This has caused a delay in the enforcement of arbitral award and has resulted in affecting the motive set behind the New York Convention. We can say that the new system is not effective as it takes a lot of time for enforcement of the foreign arbitral award. Whereas, it depicts that this has encouraged in practice of having a uniform approach concerning enforcement of the foreign arbitral award. Due to this, it has become difficult for the Chinese Court to deny the matters on this ground at the present stage.83

79 MICHAEL J. MOSER (ED.), MANAGING BUSINESS DISPUTES IN TODAY’S CHINA: DUELLING WITH DRAGONS 274 (1st ed. 2007). 80 Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd v. Jiangsu ZhongTian Technology Co. Ltd, (2010) Min Si Ta Zi No. 2 (China). 81 Western Bulk Pty Ltd v. Beijing Sinosteel Tiantie Steel Trade Co. Ltd, (2010) J.H.F.Q.Zi. No. 6 (China). 82 ED & F Man (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd v. China National Sugar & Wines Group Corp, (2003) Min Si Ta Zi No. 3 (China). 83 Sormeh Bouzarjomehri & Eisa Amini, Public Policy as ground of International arbitral awards-A 176 Emerging Trends in the Enforceability of International Arbitra Awards in China and Australia The figure shows due to such circumstances the Chinese Court has vacated a foreign arbitral award only once since 2000 on the ground of public policy defence.84To elaborate, from 2002 till 2006 only 4 instead of 9 in total the awards have been submitted to the Chinese Supreme Court related to enforcement of foreign arbitral award among which only 1 was based on public policy exception.85Although the Chinese Court has interpreted public policy defence by maintaining the standards stated under New York Convention and they are making their best effort to deal with this ground with alertness in order to maintain harmony in their jurisdiction.86

It was the famous case of Hemofam DD, MAG International Trade Holding DD87where the Court has refused to recognize as well as to enforce the foreign arbitral award on the ground of public policy defence. It was observed by the Court that the award was decided beyond the scope of the arbitration agreement. The Court has agreed that it was affecting the judicial sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Chinese Court and on this ground, it was held to be contrary to public policy.88Recently, the Taizhou Court has held that the award was made because it was considered to be valid under the arbitration agreement. However, it was found that it was in direct conflict with the previous decision made by Jiangsu High Court and so it was against the social and public interest of China and the court has refused the award on the ground of public policy.89

Australia

The IAA has illustrated a clear difference between Australian public policy and public policy of the country. The Act illustrates two grounds where recognition and enforcement of a foreign award can be refused if the award is contrary to public policy.90For instance, if the award was induced or was affected by fraud or corruption it will be against the public policy of Australia. Moreover, an award can be set aside if the award is against the rule

Comparison between different judicial practices,9 J. P. L. 84-85 (2016). 84 Xia Xiaohong, Implementation of the New York Convention in China, 1 INT’L COM. ARB. BRIEF 21-22 (2011). 85 Bouzarjomehri, supra note 83, at 85. 86 Ibid. 87 Hemofarm DD, MAG International Trade Holding DD, Suram Media Ltd v. Jinan Yongning Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, (2008) Min Si Ta Zi No. 11 (China). 88 Ibid. 89 Taizhou Haopu Investment Co. Ltd v. Wicor Holding AG, (2015) Tai Zhong Shang Zhong Shen Zi, No. 4 (China). 90 Luxford, supra note 59. Misha Bahmani Ramakrishna Srinivasan 177 of natural justice.91Under the Act, the emphasis is made on to encourage the practice of international trade as well as commerce and has adopted the New York Convention.92 The Act makes it clear that it is obligatory to the Convention.93

When the awards are made in Australia then the international award can be refused to enforce on the ground of Australian public policy in pursuant to Article 36 (1)(b)(ii) Model Law. It is important to note that this was observed by the Court in the case of Traxis Europe SA v. Balaji Coke Industry94where enforcement of foreign award was refused on the ground of Australian public policy.95

The remarkable judgment of TCL Air Conditioner Co Ltd v. Castel Electronics Pty Ltd96is an excellent example, which depicts the scope of public policy prevailing in Australia. The Court held that there should be a narrow interpretation of the public policy. Australian law states that international award would be refused or set aside if there is an existence of real unfairness or there is the practice of injustice while conducting arbitration process or at the time of making an arbitral award. It has elaborated the ground of breach of natural justice in order to set aside a foreign arbitral award on the ground of public policy.97The Court illustrated that the interpretation of lexi arbitri should be done while keeping in mind the jurisprudence of common law countries in order to maintain harmony at the international level. The concept of public policy exception should be maintained by the following principle of natural justice. It must maintain international standards and focus must be made on case laws decided at regional as well as international level. We can understand that the international nature of international commercial arbitration must be maintained and must encourage development by harmonizing procedural jurisprudence. The Court held that public policy is restricted to two grounds such as fundamental principles of justice and morality of the State in international relations.98

As a matter of fact, it has been observed that most of the cases are there which deals with refusing enforcement of foreign arbitral award on the ground of public policy and unfortunately, they have been unsuccessful. Most of these cases have been decided by

91 Supra note 30. 92 The International Arbitration Act, 1974, s. 2D (Austl.). 93 Id. at s. 2D (e) (Austl.). 94 (2012) 205 FCR 535 (Austl.). 95 Luxford, supra note 59. 96 (2014) 232 FCR 361(Austl.). 97 Arthur, supra note 73. 98 Ibid. 178 Emerging Trends in the Enforceability of International Arbitra Awards in China and Australia the Federal Court of Australia (FCA). For instance, Colin Joss v. Cube Furniture99has been decided on such circumstances.100

However, in 2016 the Gutnick v. Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd101judgment has depicted the challenges which the Australia Courts are facing while dealing with public policy defence. The Court has considered the public policy ground to refuse the foreign arbitral award. The respondent has applied to enforce an arbitral award in Australia, which was done in Singapore later. The facts depict that the award involves the sale of shares from the applicants to the respondents to get it canceled. The applicant was ordered to return the purchase price of shares to the respondents.102 The Court observed that due to no risk of double recovery the award was not contrary to public policy. In spite of this, there was no expressed clarity about respondent to transfer the purchased shares back. It was implicit that the parties would give back the benefits, which they have gained through this agreement. The Court has given consideration to follow a policy of minimal curial intervention in arbitration aspect. The Court plays a limited role in enforcing contractual obligations placed at the time when the parties decide their dispute by using a mode of arbitration. Substantive disputes arising between the parties concerning fact or fact will not indulge Court participation as well as there will be no reviewing of the decisions made by the arbitral tribunal.103

The Federal Court has set aside a partial award concerning international arbitration and has removed the arbitrator on the ground that there were procedural unfairness and bias.104 Recently, in Mango Boulevard P/L v. Mio Art P/L & Ors 105concern has been made on the significance of public policy in arbitration.

Conclusion

An interesting finding is that Australian courts have emphasized more on the aspects related to fundamental values such as norms of justice and fairness.106 On the other

99 (2015) FCR 735 (Austl.). 100 Luxford, supra note 59. 101 (2016) VSCA 5 (Austl.). 102 Ibid. 103 Mulcahy, supra note 8. 104 Hui v. Esposito Holdings Pty Ltd, (2017) FCA 648 (Austl.). 105 (2018) QCA 39 (Austl.). 106 Report on Public Policy exception in the New York Convention, IBA NET (July 10, 2018, 10:15 AM), https:// www.ibanet.org/Document/Default.aspx?DocumentUid=C1AB4FF4-DA96-49D0-9AD0-AE20773AE07E. Misha Bahmani Ramakrishna Srinivasan 179 hand, the definition given by SPC is done on the basis of the case to case analysis.107With a recent Report submitted to International Bar Association on Public Policy by Gao Xiaoli, it has shown that grounds such as principles of the law, fundamental interest of the society, the safety of the country, sovereignty and good social customs will be considered in China.108

The recent development that has been made by introducing the new report system of China is brought with an intention to prevent IPC from abusing judicial supervision power and such practice will result in the reduction of excessive supervision as well as will encourage the practice of justice.109Also, China has recently signed the Hague Convention in 2017 in order to encourage international commercial arbitration. For having better economic growth and to have further internationalization country like China has set a path by establishing OBOR that at present seem to be fair.110An essential step, which we need today, is to encourage a uniform interpretation of the New York Convention in order to maintain international standards in reality.111

107 Gao Xiaoli, China, Report of the People’s Republic of China on Public Policy as ground for refusal of enforcement of arbitral awards under New York Convention, IBA NET (May 29, 2018, 5:10 PM), https:// www.ibanet.org/LPD/Dispute_Resolution_Section/Arbitration/Recogntn_Enfrcemnt_Arbitl_Awrd/ publicpolicy15.aspx. 108 Brandt, supra note 3. 109 Yunyang, supra note 32. 110 Tereza Gao & Edison Li, Through Simens v. Gloden Landmark, China Reforms arbitration for free trade zones in order to prepare for”Belt & Road”, CHINA CASES INSIGHTS (July 10, 2018, 5:15 PM), https:// cgc.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CC-Insight-5-English.pdf. 111 Bouzarjomehri, supra note 83, at 86. Hampering Women to Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 180-193 Enter Religious Places ISSN 2319-8702(Print) in India: Chauvinism & ISSN 2456-7574(Online) © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies Conventionalism in http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php 21St Century

Shivani Goswami Abstract

In this 21st century, we always keep on bragging and conceiting about equality between men and women. Our constitution also talks about the same and endorses it. The reality is, it is just by words of mouth and on papers. The scenario is totally different if we see the real world. Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary underpinning for a nonviolent, booming and justifiable world. Undoubtedly, Indian women have proved their mettle and grit throughout the orb yet nationally they are still fighting since ages, to be at par with men in certain areas. One such area, where she is still trying to be equated and be at par with men is her admittance and entry to religious places and to worship God. It is an inconceivable thing that discrimination can also occur in places of religion but this is a harsh and crude reality which is in vogue even in today’s scenario. There is no iota of doubt that every person who has faith in God deserves to have equal rights and ability to ‘access God’ at any time and at any place, no matter what the mode or conformation of their biological system is. As stated, even the Constitution of India, accentuate in many Articles the fact that any inequity and prejudice which is based only on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth is proscribed. In spite of this, there are several and assorted places across the country that does not allow women to enter in their respective prominent religious places. Shani Shingnapur Temple is not the only temple that restricts the entry of woman, Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai and Sabarimala temple in Kerala have also been in the news related to an enduring legal battle to

* Associate Professor, USLLS, Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University, Dwarka, New Delhi. E-mail : [email protected] Shivani Goswami 181 gain entrée to these places of worship. Apart from this, PatbausiSatra, Assam, Ranakpur Temple, Rajasthan, Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Kerala, Nizamuddin Dargah etc also place restrictions on the entry of the woman. Recently, the social activist Ms.Trupti Desai has challenged this old tradition regarding the restriction imposed on the women in entering the prominent religious places and it is backed by our judiciary as well by directing the government that “it is the fundamental right of a woman” and the government should protect it. . The present paper will focus on various issues relating to the limitations imposed on women to enter religious places, the reasons behind and different aspects and facades relating to it.

Introduction

In India, the position of woman has always been deplorable and susceptible since ages. Though we keep of bragging and conceiting about equality between men and women and Thoughlegally and on papers, she might be at par with her male counterparts but if we see the reality, it presents a very gloomy and the glum picture. Our Constitution endorses the fact of equality and equivalence between men and women but the reality and practicality says something else. Till date, this fair sex is fighting for her rights to be at par with men and the most reprehensible and abysmal part is her struggle to be equated with men with regard to her entry in religious places, which is being denied to her since centuries. The treatment that is meted out to the women since centuries is too awful for words and beyond description. The point which needs to be pondered over is- when God doesn’t discriminate between men and women, when law doesn’t discriminate between the two sexes, who are we to follow this bigoted practice and deprived women to worship according to her own will, the way she likes. Is it because of patriarchy, society that women have to suffer such ignoble hardships? Is it because of conventional outlook , because of gullible society, because of attitude of the society towards females that they are denied entry and admittance to the most sanctified places in India? We are living in the twenty first century where Indian women have proved their mettle and grit in every field. How far can we justify the denial of entry to the women in temples and mosque, really requires contemplation and deliberation. Though, presently, the courts are taking different stance and are giving verdicts to allow women to enter the temples and mosques, but the society from the core of their hearts need to change their outlook and give women their due position in life.

It is a matter of shame and ignominy that there are so many religious places in 182 Hampering Women to Enter Religious Places in India: Chauvinism & Conventionalism in 21St Century India which refute her entry to the most hallowed and deified places on this orb.

Religious Places where Entry of Women Prohibited

There are several places in India, which still do not allow women to enter inside the religious places and she has to fight for justice. The religious places which still do not allow the entry of the women are ShaniShingnapur Temple, Mumbai, Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai and Sabarimala temple, Kerala, PatbausiSatra in Assam, Kartikeya temple in Pushkar, Ranakpur temple, Rajasthan etc, to name a few.

ShaniShingnapur Temple1: It is a matter of shame and ignominy that women who enjoyed a status at par with men in the Vedic period has to fight for her rights to get entry in religious places and properly worship there. The denial of women inside the chabutra of the ShaniShingnapur temple is not the norm of the present day society, women have been denied entry inside since centuries, though men are allowed entry to the chabutra. Males are allowed to enter the platform of the temple in wet clothes to offer oil to the Shanidev and are also allowed to draw water from the well for performing rituals, females are proscribed to do all this. It is an old age practice which is till date religiously followed on the pretext that women are impure during their menstruation. Perturbed by this, a group of 350 strong women who were from BhumataRanragini brigade tried to enter the inner sanctum of the temple by flouting and in defiance, the 400 year old tradition but were disallowed by the police and temple administration people. The police had formed a ring around the temple. The women vowed to enter by helicopter and demanded intervention of the chief Minister, DevinderFadnavis. To their much exuberance and ebullience, on March 30th, the Bombay High Court ruled in their favour and had done away with the tradition of not allowing women inside the complexes of the ShaniShignapur temple. 2 Presently, the ShaniShingnapur Trust allowed the entry of women inside the sanctum sanctorum, and thus broke and did away with the tradition that had been followed since ages. 1 ShaniShingnapur is the name of a village in Nevasataluka which is in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. It has a very popular Shani temple which is the centre of attraction of assorted tourists from India and abroad. It’s a strange thing that the village does not have any walls or roofs. It neither does have doors and locks inside it and the best part is that it remains theft free. Even the UCO bank branch which is there in the village doesn’t have locks on its doors. There is a belief amongst its people that the village is protected by Lord Shani and anyone who tries to steal would be having a harrowing time and would be punished by Lord Shani. Additionally, women are not allowed to enter the core shine area inside on the ground thatshe is impure during her menstruation. An old practice which is followed till date. See http://zeenews. india.com/news/india/maharashtras-shani-shingnapur-why-this-temple-is-so-famous-5-things-you-may- not-know_1849331.html. Accessed on July 2nd 2018 2 Retrieved from https://indianexpress.com/article/blogs/shani-shingnapur-temple-entry-protest-rights/. Accessed on July 5th 2018 Shivani Goswami 183 Haji Ali Dargah3: Women are also not allowed to enter Haji Ali Dargah and are also fighting their entry in the dargah to offer prayers to the grave of the sufi saint Haji Ali. The dargah as such is opened for women but entry to the inner tomb is not allowed for women. The males as such are allowed to enter the room where the grave is buried and are allowed to lay down flowers and offer prayers. However, females are not allowed to enter the inner tomb. This restriction of entry of women to the inner tomb has been challenged before the Bombay High Court by the Public interest Litigation filed by two women of Bhartiya Muslim MahilaAandolan which is an NGO in November, 2014. The petitioners Dr NoorjehanSafiaNiaz and andZakiaSoman had invoked Article 144 and Article 155 of the Constitution along with Article 256. The case went in favour of the said petitioners. On August 26th, 2016, the Bombay High court while delivering its verdict had clearly stated that the restriction which is placed upon the women in entering the sanctum sanctorum of the Dargah was not constitutionally valid and is ultravires as it contravenes Article 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution of India. There should be no disparity and the women like men should be allowed to enter and offer their prayers. The Bench stated: “The Trust is always at liberty to take steps to prevent sexual harassment of women, by having separate queues for men and women, as was done earlier.” The High court further stated that the Trust is not allowed to impose a ban which goes against the fundamental Rights as are provided under the constitution of India. The State is under the responsibility and duty bound to provide security and safety of women and see that fundamental rights are adequately protected and women are not refuted entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali Dargah. In the wordings of the honorable Court “It is also the duty of the State to ensure the safety and security of the women at such places. The State is equally under an obligation to ensure that the fundamental rights are protected and that the right of access into the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali Dargah is not denied to women.”7.It stated that the Trust had no authority to

3 The dargah is located 500 yards off the shoreline at Arabian sea of Mumbai. It has the tomb of 15th century sufi saint Haji Ali Shah Bukhari 4 Article 14, Constitution: The State shall not deny to any person equality before law or equal protection of Law within the territory of India 5 Article 15, Constitution: Prohibition of discrimination on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth (1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them 6 Article 25, Constitution: Freedom of Conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion. (1) Subject to public order, morality and health and other provisions of this part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion 7 SonamSaigal, ‘Protect fundamental Rights of Women’, retrieved from https://www.thehindu.com/todays- paper/tp-national/%E2%80%98Protect-fundamental-rights-of-women%E2%80%99/article14592928.ece. Last accessed July 6th 2018 184 Hampering Women to Enter Religious Places in India: Chauvinism & Conventionalism in 21St Century change or vary the mode or manner of religious practices of any individual or any group8. To their much dismay and consternation, by the decision of the court, the trustee of the Dargah, appealed to the Supreme Court challenging the verdict given by the Apex court. However, it conceded before the Supreme Court that it has passed a resolution on October, 11, 2016, to allow women and be treated at par with men as far as entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the Dargah is concerned. The Apex Court has given the trust two weeks’ time to remove structural impediments so that the woman can without any barrier and hindrance see the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali Dargah.

PatbausiSatra, Assam: This is another temple where women are not allowed for more than 500 years for the same obvious reason of maintaining the purity of the temple by disallowing the so called impure menstruating women. For a short period, women were allowed inside the temple after the then governor of Assam,Mr JB Patnaik spoke to the authorities and the rule was relaxed for some period only. Thereafter, it was again re- imposed. Presently, the women are not allowed inside the temple to offer their prayers.

Ranakpur Temple, Rajasthan: This white marbled temple, known for its exquisiteness and beauty is a centre of attraction for various tourists, both national as well as international. However, the temple places restrictions on entry of the women during their menstruation. This is not the only temple in Rajasthan which places restriction on the entry of women during periods, there are other temples also which provides such prohibitions

Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Kerala: Considered as the world’s most popular temple, it is really heart rending that this temple also places restriction on women in temple and follows strict customs and rituals. Women are allowed to worship inside but their entry is restricted to the temple vault only.

NizamuddinDargah: In this dargah, women are not allowed in a chamber where the saint lived, and was buried.

Lord Kartikeya Temple, Pushkar: Lord Kartikeya was a brahmchari and is worshipped in this state only in the temple. There is a belief amongst the people that if the women are allowed to worship inside the temple, Lord will curse them rather than bless them. 9

8 KrishnadasRajagopal. Haji Ali Dargah to allow entry of women Retrieved fromhttps://www.thehindu. com/news/cities/mumbai/Haji-Ali-Dargah-to-allow-entry-of-women/article16080565.ece. Last accessed July 10th 2018 9 Retrieved from http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-shani-temple-sabarimala-sree-padmanabhaswamy- haji-ali-entry-to-women-2196954. Last accessed August 7th 2018 Shivani Goswami 185 Jama Masjid, Delhi: Jama Masjid is a very popular Masjid in the heart of Delhi. Women are allowed only when they are accompanied by the male companion. Here also, women are bnot allowed to enter minarets area.10

These are some of the places where the woman is denied entry in religious places in India. Thus, it is seen that women are refused entries in many religious places in India. This, despite the fact that the law and God doesn’t discriminate between men and women. Many factors are responsible for such a bigoted and appalling practice in India.

Lord Ayyappa Temple, Sabarimala: Another temple, which did not allow women from the age of 10— 50 years to offer prayers, is the lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala11 ( Presently, the Apex court has allowed the entry in its decision on 28th September, 2018). It did not restrict all women to the temple. females below 10 and above 50 years were allowed inside the temple and were allowed to offer prayers inside it. The temple also does not provide any restriction and constraint with regards to religion also. Women during her menstrual years were not allowed the entry and the reason provided is the impurity of women during menstruation12. There is a belief amongst people, which unfortunately, is still present that Lord Ayyappa is a celibate who took the vow to answer the prayers of his devotees and woman in her menstrual age may pollute and distract him. Additionally, according to the authorities, the bhaktas follow strict regime for 41 days and observe celibacy during this period and if women are also allowed, it will cause distractions to them. Moreover, the 41 days of fasting would also include her menstrual cycle in which she is considered to be impure. So, the women are not allowed to participate in Mandala pooja of Sabarimala temple.Since ages, women are not allowed entry in the temple. People also say that due to the safety of the women13, they are not allowed which is totally absurd

10 Retrieved from https://indiavivid.com/no-entry-women-temples-india/. Last accessed August 7th 2018 11 The reason why women are not allowed to enter Sabarimala temple is connected to the celibacy of Lord Ayyappa. There is a belief that Lord Ayyappa was unmarried. Mythologically, Malikapurathilamma used to love him and wanted to get married to him. This was refuted by the lord and a condition was imposed. He stated that he would be marrying her only when disciples stop visiting him in Sabarimala. Undoubtedly, lot of pilgrims visit this consecrated temple every year and it is believed that Goddess Malikapurathilamma has been waiting for him since then. Goddess Malikapurathilamma’s temple is next to to Lord Ayyappa’s temple and before visiting this temple, people visit Goddess Malikapurathilamma’stemple and offer their prayers to her. 12 This conservativeness is so high and is so much imbibed that a priest had to perform purification rituals after a woman had put her foot inside the complex. People are so gullible in our society and in Kerala, there is a belief that the women during her menstruation should not be allowed inside the temples, kitchens, should not touch anybody etc, to name a few. 13 Sabarimala temple was constructed in the mountainous region covered by dense forest. The forest consisted of so many tigers and tigers can easily smell the woman in her periods and thus, the women were not allowed to travel through this area. Slowly and gradually it became a tradition which is still practiced in 186 Hampering Women to Enter Religious Places in India: Chauvinism & Conventionalism in 21St Century and incongruous. It is also said that Sabarimala in any case does not proscribe women from entering the temple. The restriction is only for the women after 10 years and till 50 years. Girls and women not falling in these age groups are allowed. According to them, there are other temples which totally prohibit women of all ages to worship but this is not the case of Sabarimala. It is not only Hindu women who are prohibited but even Muslims and Christian women are prohibited in the temple since it is a secular place. This is endorsed by Muslims as well as Christians who worship there.

Apart from this, another controversy with regard to Sabarimala temple which has caught the attention of the media and public is the statement that was made by the president of the board of Sabarimala where he talked about installing machines on the entry of the temple to check whether women are menstruating or not. According to him, “A time will come when people will ask if all women should be disallowed from entering the temple throughout the year… There will be a day when a machine is invented to scan if it is the ‘right time’ (not menstruating) for a woman to enter the temple. When that machine is invented, we will talk about letting women inside.” The remarks that were made by him was not taken in good spirits and met him with an ire and rage in women throughout India and “happy to bleed” campaign was started more specifically on social media to remonstrate and dissent against the taboos relating to menstruation ubiquitous in our society.14 It was Nikita Azad, a 20 year old student who started this campaign.15

A writ petition was filed by Indian Young Lawyers Association & Others v. State of Kerala & Others16 (decision of the Supreme Court came on September 28th, 2018) to grant directions against Government of Kerala, Dewaswom Board of Travancore, Chief Thantri of Sabarimala Temple and District Magistrate of Pathanamthitta to allow female worshippers who were between the age of 10 to 50 years to Lord Ayyappa temple. The women were not allowed on the basis of customs and usage. The writ was also filed to declare Rule 3(b) of Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship( Authorization of Entry) Rules,

today’s world when travelling is not the quandary. 14 Retrieved fromhttps://indianexpress.com/article/blogs/shani-shingnapur-sabarimala-temple-entry-protest- rights/. Last accessed July 14th 2018 15 Retrieved from https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-02-09/women-are-demanding-right-worship-indias- temples. Last accessed July 14th 2018 16 Writ petition (Civil), 373 of 2006, Judgment Date: Sep 28, 2018 Shivani Goswami 187 1965 as unconstitutional being violative of Article 1417, 1518, 1719, 2520 of the Constitution. Article 14 talks about Right to Equality. It states: “ The State shall not deny to any person equality before law or equal protection of Law within the territory of India. Article 15 speaks about nondiscrimination on the basis of sex apart from other things. It states: “ Prohibition of discrimination on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them. Article 17 talks about abolition of untouchability. It states: “ Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law” and Article 25 speaks about freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion. It states: “ Freedom of Conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion.(1) Subject to public order, morality and health and other provisions of this part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion”.

The Supreme Court on September 28, 2018, struck down Rule 3(b) of Kerala Places of Public worship( Authorization of Entry) Rules 1965 which proscribed women between ages of 10 and 50 years to Sabarimala temple. Section 3(b) of Kerala Places of Public Worship( Authorization of Entry) Rules 1965 stated: “ Women who are not by custom and usage allowed to enter a place of public worship shall not be entitled to enter or offer worship in any place of public worship”. The impugned section is violative of Article 14 which talks about equality of all persons irrespective of sexes, it is violative of Article 15 that talks about nondiscrimination on the basis of sex etc. The court also laid down that this rule is in violation of Hindu Women Right to practice religion under Article 25 of the constitution. The court further stated that the devotees of lord Ayappa do not constitute a separate religious denomination. The expression “ all persons” under Article 25(1) establishes freedom of conscience and right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion to every person including women. It is irrespective of gender. In a 4:1 verdict, the Supreme Court allowed women regardless of age to enter Sabarimala temple. The court observed that women is not substandard to men and also considered this custom as a form of untouchability which cannot be practiced as is abolished under Article 17 of the Constitution. The court stated: “ Article 17 certainly applies to untouchability practice in 17 Supra note 5 18 Supra note 6 19 Article 17, Constitution: Abolition of Untouchability- Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law. 20 Supra note 7 188 Hampering Women to Enter Religious Places in India: Chauvinism & Conventionalism in 21St Century relation to lower castes, but it will also apply to the systematic humiliation, exclusion and subjugation faced by women.” The court further observed:

“Prejudice against women based on notions of impurity and pollution associated with menstruation is a symbol of exclusion. The social exclusion of women based on menstrual status is a form of untouchability which is an anathema to constitutional values.”

Thus, the Apex court in the case of Sabarimala allowed women to enter the temple irrespective of their age to enter the temple, going against the old age practice of customs and usage which prohibited women between 10-50 years to perform worship inside the temple.

Though presently, Sabarimala has been opened for women but it is very formidable and daunting to give up the old age customs and traditions. A Lot of hue and cry, physical and mental violence has been created and is still being done to proscribe women to enter the holy and sanctified place, this in spite the fact that the Apex court has allowed women of all ages to enter the prohibited place inside the temple. Amidst much tensions and violence, two valiant women from south India managed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on January 2nd , 2019 and are now facing social boycott and exclusion from the society. One of them was even harassed by her mother in law. After their entry, the temple was closed and was reopened only after purification rituals were done. Apart from it, there are few other instances like on January 4th, 2019, 46 years old woman from Srilanka entered the sanctum sanctorum, on January 8th, 2019, Dalit woman entered the pious place much against to the wishes of the people who were really fuming and enraged.21 The society is not ready to accept the defying of the old age customs and traditions which has been practiced till ages in this conventional country.

In the latest scenario, 4 months after the Apex court decided that women of all ages be allowed to enter the temple without any bigotry, the apex court has now reserved the verdict in 65 petitions that have been filed including 54 review petitions and 4 fresh review petitions. These petitions will be heard by 5 judge constitutional bench headed by the present Chief Justice of India, RanjanGogoi. Interestingly, the board controlling the Sabarimala temple has now changed its stand and have told the Supreme court that it supports the stance taken by the court earlier of allowing women of all ages to enter the temple. Although stated, still its people and society are not ready to accept the fact of menstruating women inside the sanctum sanctorum.

21 A Facebook group called “ NavodhanaKeralamSabarimalayilekku” had posted number of videos and photos confirming the entry of Dalit woman inside the temple. Shivani Goswami 189 It is really a matter of shame and discomfiture that in this modern era of 21st Century we are still confining and limiting women to enter the most sacrosanct and inviolable place and that too on the ground of menstruation which is a natural biological process. Is this not against the fundamental rights guaranteed to every citizen of this country enshrined under the constitution of India? Is this not violative of Article 14, 15,17, 25 of the Constitution? Are these fundamental rights not available to every person of the country irrespective of their sexes? Restrictions are placed on the women to enter places which are public in nature. Though, now the courts have allowed their entry in certain places, yet the society is not ready to accept it. This really requires contemplation.

Causes

Patriarchal Society: One of major attributors is the patriarchal society in which we live in where men have always been considered to be superlative, utmost and supreme as compared to women. The concept of patriarchy is very much in vogue and fads in Hindu as well as Muslim society.. In the patriarchal society, the word he plays a very pivotal and major role and the life of the woman revolves around this word ‘he’. This is what is ingrained and imbibed in the minds of the women throughout her life and men are told to domineer and subjugate browbeaten women. She is being told to obey all commands religiously and the moment she raises her voice against the atrocities practiced against her, she is snubbed and rebuffed. Her restriction to the temple is nothing but a brutal exercise of patriarchal power and nothing else. These restrictions are the ones which are against the principle of gender equality andare totally absurd, uncanny and bizarre which are still ubiquitous and widely prevalent in the present century.

Celibacy of Gods: Celibacy of certain Gods in the temples is another reason for proscribing women to enter religious places. In Sabarimala temple, this is one of the major reasons cited for not allowing women inside. It is believed that Lord Ayyappa who was a celibate took the vow and pledge to answer the prayers of his devotees and woman in her menstrual age may pollute and distract him. Additionally, according to the authorities, the bhaktas follow strict regime for 41 days and observe celibacy during this period and if women are also allowed, it will cause distractions to them. The question here is-it is justified? Can God be distracted? Does God discriminate between men and women? Can people who are religiously following strict regime of 41 days and observing celibacy be distracted? This really seems to be eerie and weird.

Security of Women:Security of women is another reason cited by the authorities 190 Hampering Women to Enter Religious Places in India: Chauvinism & Conventionalism in 21St Century and people for not allowing women to the religious places. There is no iota of doubt that during early times some of the temples were on mountainous regions and people had to come across dense forest, these places might not have been safe for women to travel but in today’s scenario, everything has changed and transformed. Why these age old rules which do not have any place now are still continuing and forbidding women to worship the way she likes and desires.This requires deliberation.

Attractiveness and Seductiveness: Another reason which is very ubiquitous is the attractiveness and seductive power of the women and as a result, intermingling of sexes should not be allowed. Now, this seems to be totally incongruous and ludicrous. It seems from this that the aim of all women is to seduce and attract men and more so when they are deeply engrossed in religious worships. How far this is tenable? Do women want to go inside the temple just to lure and attract men? This is totally ridiculous.

Menstruation:One of the major reasons cited by people and authorities is the menstruation cycle of the women and impurity connected with it. Itis the belief amongst people that women are impure during their menstruation. Isn’t it a matter of shame and ignominy even no when four Vedas which are revered and venerated in our society have nowhere stated that the body of the woman is impure during menstruation, then who are we to castigate and reprimand them as impure and deny them entering the temple during menstruation? Agnihotrayagna, which is considered to be mahayagna should be performed by both men and women daily as is stipulated in the Vedas. This implies that the woman also is also allowed to perform yagna on daily basis which naturally means that she can perform it also during her menstrual cycle. Menstruation is a natural biological process and it should not be considered as a sin rather be considered as a boon and bliss. Can male devotees vow that they didn’t have nocturnal emission during the 41-day ‘vratha’? All these are biological processes that pose no impediments and obstacles in worshipping god.22

Additionally, our society is so gullible and conventional that women during their menstruation are not allowed to touch anything, are not allowed to enter temple, religious places and perform rituals, prohibited to enter kitchens and do cooking, are not allowed to eat with others, not given certain foods during menstruation, not allowed to swim or wash hair etc. These traditional practices are carried since ages and the most reprehensible and abysmal part is that nobody has ever questioned it earlier.

22 Retrieved From https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tracking-indian-communities/vedas-venerate- women-why-hindu-community-should-completely-open-sabarimala-to-women/. Last accessed July 10th 2018 Shivani Goswami 191 There are many fallacies and delusions relating to menstruation which are till date practiced. As stated, in India, women are not allowed to attend religious functions, proscribed to go to temples during those days, proscribed to have sex, swimming, washing hair, not allowed to eat certain foods, not allowed to cook, to touch anybody so on and so forth. Forbidding woman to enter temples during her menstruation has nothing to do with the impurity of the woman rather it is the inverse of it. Founder of Devipuram, Sri AmritanandaNathaSaraswati had very eloquently and lucidly stated following thing with regard to the menstruation. Women are so pure and unpolluted during this time and whatever is pure, people abstain and refrain from touching. Woman was so pure during menstruation that she was revered and venerated as Goddess. If the woman was allowed to go to temple during that time, the energy of the Goddess will flow inside the woman and idol will become lifeless. That’s the reason she was prohibited inside the temple and not that she was impure during that time. Regarding avoiding swimming or washing hair during menstruation, it was stated that water which has been a very powerful element isdirected by its planetary reminiscence and can impact the movement of the menstrual cycle to its own sturdy beat.23 Women are also not allowed to cook and eat with others during menstruation. The reason is during time of eating, the lower chakras of our body are highly active and vigorous. If she eats along with others, people eject adverse energy and menstruating woman who is already so subtle to absorb assorted kinds of energy, can get moved by the lower energies in contrast to higher energies which are helpful and advantageous. The reason behind restricting certain food during menstruation has nothing to do with impurity of the woman as people carry this myth. It is related to the concept of Ayurveda. The Ayurveda science clearly says that certain types of diary products should be avoided and evaded during menstruation as it generates heat. People should consume and eat food that is rich in iron so as to compensate the blood flow which happens during menstruation. Ragi, drumstick etc help the menstruating woman to bear pain and cramps during menses. Avoiding sex during menstruation is another myth prevailing in our conservative society. The very common myth prevailing is the impurity of menstrual blood. Menstrual blood is considered to be the most pure, most powerful blood. In Manipur, it is a practice that when 23 “At the psycho-energetic level, we need to safeguard the body against the persuasive rhythm of the water element. Water is one of the five powerful elements used to bless, cure, heal, nourish, nurture, and revive the body, mind and spirit….. Unlike the mundane understanding of cleansing we have, the ancients knew that water is sacred and powerful, and like all the elements has its own cosmic energy and memory. Water, guided by its cosmic memory, can influence the flow of the menstrual cycle to its own strong beat – exactly what we do not want happening during menses. Conversely, we want the fire element, which is the dominant memory of the blood, to flow in tempo with its own rhythm and tune.” See Maya Tiwari. Women’s power to Heal: Through Inner Medicine retrieved from https://mythrispeaks.wordpress. com/2015/05/28/unearthing-menstrual-wisdom-why-we-dont-go-to-the-temple/. Last accessed August 20th 2018. 192 Hampering Women to Enter Religious Places in India: Chauvinism & Conventionalism in 21St Century the woman first bleeds, her cloth is considered to be very sacred, blessed and is kept safely by her mother and is given to her at the time of the marriage. 24Reason is the power of menstrual blood to keep diseases and illness at bay from the girl and her family.

Thus, after going through all this explanation, it can hardly be said that women are impure during their menstruation and should not be allowed or restricted inside the sanctified temple or dargah etc.

Conclusion

The life of the Indian woman has always been ominous and murky. Since the day she is born, she is subjected to innumerable and incalculable violence and bigotries in endless number of ways. One of the disparities which is inflicted on her is her constraint and restriction to enter certain temples and mosques in India which is really disgraceful and appalling. This is in spite the fact that the constitution has guaranteed equality and impartiality to all irrespective of the sexes. Various causes have been enumerated like patriarchal society, celibacy of Gods, security of women etc. but the pivotal and fundamental amongst them is the patriarchal society and impurity of the woman due to her menstruation. It is not only ubiquitous amongst Hindus but also amongst the Muslims and the woman is proscribed to enter certain temples and mosques.

There is not iota of doubt that women have always been treated as second class citizens in a country that boasts and conceits of egalitarianism. Our is a male domineering and male overbearing society, where the world ‘he’ plays a very important role. The life of the woman keeps revolving around this word. The woman herself has a very servile and fawning mentality. Whatever is being told and commanded, she obeys that unquestioningly and meekly and this has been a practise since ages. The most reprehensible and abysmal part is the logic given of her impurity during menstruation. How far this is tenable and justified? Does the Law provide any disparity? Does the God differentiate between men and women? Are women inferior to men in any respect? When the answer to all the above is ‘ No’, then, who are we to bring any kind of discernment and proscribe women to enter the most pious, sanctified and consecrated place i.e. temples or mosques, as the case may be. This really needs to be pondered and contemplated over. Although, now, women have started raising their voices against this bigoted and inequitable practice and matters have also been gradient in their favourin the courts, Sabarimala is the recent example which can

24 Retrieved from https://mythrispeaks.wordpress.com/2015/05/28/unearthing-menstrual-wisdom-why-we- dont-go-to-the-temple/. Last accessed August 20th 2018. Shivani Goswami 193 be quoted, the need of the hour is to bring equality in real sense and to change the outlook and attitude of people with respect to her entry in the sacred and revered places which has been denied to her since antique and primeval times. The decision of the court can only fortify the stand but ultimately the mindset of the people need to be altered. The courts have opened the door but ultimately it is the women and society which need to push her inside the doors. The need of the hour is also to change the mindset of its people through propaganda, conferences, seminars, workshops etc. Gender sensitization should be inculcated. Justice should not only be done but seems to be done and equality which we boast of and assert should not remain on papers but should be there in the practical life because every woman on this earth has a right to live with self-esteem and poise. Though, we know that the customs and traditions which have been followed since ages cannot be changed abruptly and it would take time to change the mindset of the conservative and conventional society, still the laudable and commendable part is that it has initiated and will find its destination slowly and gradually. This is the least that a woman can demand and expect. Determinants of Financial Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 194-213 Literacy: A Study Among ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Working Women in Delhi © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Kamini Rai Shikha Dua Miklesh Yadav

Abstract

In this research study the researcher has presented the determinants of financial literacy among working women in Delhi, India. The main objective of study is to find the significance of age group and income levels on financial literacy. The sample of the study consists of311 working women from various organisations of Delhi. The data was collected through structured questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale based on purposive sampling. Literature supported that financial attitude; financial behaviour and financial knowledge are three main dimensions of Financial Literacy. Age, Income & Marital Status are considered as important determinants of financial literacy of working women. As per the results it is shown that Age and Income groups have significant difference on financial literacy while marital status does not have any significant difference on financial literacy.

Keywords: Determinants, Financial Literacy, Financial Attitude, Financial Behaviour, Financial Knowledge

Introduction

Financial literacy is an important matter of discussion among the nations around the world. Satisfactory level of financial literacy is needed for money business wellness of the person and that of the family. Ineffective money management can also result in behavior that makes consumers more vulnerable to a financial crisis (Braunstein and Welch, 2002)[1]. It has been observed in many research studies that adequate level of financial literacy increases the standard of living of people but a large

* Associate Professor, RDIAS, Guru Govind Indraprastha University, New Delhi. ** Assistant Professor, RDIAS, Guru Govind Indraprastha University, New Delhi. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Kamini Rai Shikha Dua Miklesh Yadav 195 proportion of population around the earth is in trouble due to unsatisfactory financial literacy and fundamental actions are needed to rectify this problem (Lusardi& Mitchell, (2011)[2]; Atkinson & Messy, (2012)[3]. India is also one of them which are suffering from unsatisfactory financial literacy however Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Central government are making lots of effort to increase financial literacy level of Indian people like opening financial literacy centres, offering zero balance account opening scheme and insurance policy with a very minimum rate of premium. A draft in July 2012 was made and released on national strategy to increase financial education by Reserve Bank of India(RBI 2012)[4]. The need to establish a dynamic financial system for inclusive growth in India has been observed in the study done by PriyankaAgarwal(2015)[5] which is possible only when people are more financial literate. An influential financial education policy needs to be formulated and its effective implementation should be done. Anjali Devi (2016)[6] found that ‘Gender’ is a prominent factor that describes the gap of financial literacy level among men and women and women are not performing well in taking financial decisions as men Men’s financial literacy is increasingly faster than that of women. The same gap of financial literacy among people has been supported by studies around the world (Atkinson and Messy (2012)[3]; OECD (2013)[7] ) which states that women are more likely to experience difficulties in making in savings and in choosing financial products appropriately. However in India financial literacy gap between women living in rural and urban area, working and non-working and married and unmarried also exists. Today India is focusing on women empowerment and to achieve this objective more job opportunities are being provided to women. But despite providing working opportunities and other facilities to make them financial stable, their risk taking capacity in investment avenues is low. They areless likely to manage their personal finances effectively. Very few researches have been done to find out financial literacy level among working women in India. In this research study the researcher proposes to identify the determinants affecting level of financial literacy with variables like financial knowledge, financial attitude and financial behavior among working women in Delhi. Thus the structured closed ended questionnaire was distributed among working women in Delhi to judge the level of financial literacy.

Theoretical Framework and Hypothesis development

Literature Review

Financial literacy is one of the important elements of economic growth of a country. Different researchers have defined financial literacy in different ways. In this study researcher has summarized the dimensions and concepts given by different studies 196 Determinants of Financial Literacy: A Study Among Working Women in Delhi around the world in field of financial literacy-

Dimensions of Financial Literacy Financial Literacy Author(s)/dates Title Dimensions Concepts Financial literacy: a discussion of Financial literacy concepts and is one’s ability take effective Noctor, Stoney competences of effective decisions and decisions and and Stradling financial literacy makes sound judgements make sound (1992)[8] and opportunities concerning the use and judgements for its introduction best practices in handling into young people’s money. learning. financial literacy is the read, analyze, Frozen in the ability to read, analyze, manage and headlights: The manage and communicate Anthes (2000)[9] communicate dynamics of women about the personal financial and money financial conditions that conditions affect material well-being Summary of Ability of an individual to stakeholder make informed judgments judgment responses to and to take effective ASIC: 2003[10] and effective financial literacy decisions regarding the decisions in schools, ASIC use and management of discussion paper money Familiarity with basic The interdependence Understanding economic principles, Morton, J. S. of economic and and knowledge knowledge about the (2005)[11] personal finance of economic U.S. economy, and education terms understanding of some key economic terms Kamini Rai Shikha Dua Miklesh Yadav 197

The ability to evaluate the new and complex Ability to financial instruments evaluate and and make informed Motivation and Mandell (2007)[12] make judgement judgments in both choice financial literacy about financial of instruments and extent instruments of use that would be in their own best long-run interests. Financial literacy as the knowledge of basic financial concepts, Planning and knowledge of such as the working of financial literacy: Lusardi (2008)[13] basic financial interest compounding, How do women concepts the difference between fare? nominal and real values, and the basics of risk diversification. Consumer Financial Financial literacy Literacy and the understand, is person’s ability Servon and Impact of Online analyze, manage, to understand, Kaestner, Banking on the and communicate analyze, manage, and (2008)[14] Financial Behavior finance matters communicate personal of Lower-Income finance matters Bank Customers Financial literacy has two dimensions: Financial understanding, which knowledge/ represents personal Measuring Financial Education and financial knowledge Huston (2010)[15] Literacy ii’s use for or financial education, personal financial and its use, i.e. the management application of such knowledge in personal financial management. financial financial literacy, Yoong, See and Financial literacy education financial education and Baronowich, key to retirement and financial financial knowledge can (2012)[16] planning in Malaysia knowledge are be used interchangeably same 198 Determinants of Financial Literacy: A Study Among Working Women in Delhi

Financial literacy is a combination of awareness, knowledge, awareness, skill, attitude, and Financial Literacy knowledge, skill, OECD, (2013)[7] behavior of individual and Inclusion attitude, and that are required to make behavior good financial decision and to achieve individual financial wellbeing. Financial literacy can be Chetna Singh and Financial Literacy ability to know understood as the ability Raj Kumar among Women – the use of money to know how money (2017)[17] Indian Scenario effectively works in a normal course of action.

In the present study the definition given by OECD, 2013[7] has been used, and it defines financial literacy as a combination of awareness, knowledge, skill, attitude, and behavior needed to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve individual financial well-being. But only three major dimensions: financial knowledge, financial behavior, and financial attitude have been considered for the study.

Financial Attitude

Financial attitude is an ability to plan ahead and maintain a savings account that matters. It refers to the personal interest and involvement towards financial matters. Puneet Bhushan & Yajulu Medury (2014)[18] in their research paper concluded that the real benefits of any financial education program can be achieved only when population of a country has positive attitude towards financial matters.

Financial Behaviour

Financial behaviour may be defined as Individual’s ability to understand the impact on financial decision on their and their family’s life. The financial decision may be related to cash management in savings, investments or in budget planningZeynep Tezel (2015)[19].A positive financial behavior of individual such as appropriate planning for expenditures and caring financial stability enhances their financial literacy level where as negative financial behavior like largely depend upon credits and loans weaken their financial well-being Atkinson and Messy (2012)[3]. Kamini Rai Shikha Dua Miklesh Yadav 199 Financial Knowledge

Financial knowledge may be defined as the awareness and understanding about financial products, concepts, procedures and to use of these concepts to solve financial problems Zeynep Tezel (2015)[19].In a study conducted by (Howlett, Kees and Kemp, 2008),[ 20]the authors concluded that Individuals possessing financial knowledge are more financial literate and they are able to handle money efficiently.

Determinants of Financial Literacy

From the literature reviews some variables or determinants have been identified which have significant impact on the financial literacy level of women. The factors are- Age, Education, Income and marital status. The detail descriptions of factors are: a) Age: Many studies around the world have advocated that age is very important variable to determine financial literacy. It has been identified that average age from 30 to 40 years is associated with higher financial literacy levels Agarwal et al. (2009)[21], Scheresberg (2013)[22]. The dimensions of financial literacy and financial wellbeing are positively related with age of people (Taft M K 2013)[23]. b) Income: Income of people has significant impact on their personal financial literacy level. Financial Knowledge, behaviour and attitude of people are positively related with their earning capacity and income level. People with lower income levels are associated with low financial literacy levels(Bhushan P et al 2013)[24]; Monticone (2010)[25];Hastings and Mitchell (2011)[26]. c) Education: Research studies show that educational qualification of individual is directly associated with financial literacy level. People with higher educational level are significantly more prone to have lower financial literacyChen and Volpe (1998)[27]; Kim and Garman (2004)[28]. However in educational level individuals from business/ finance and economics stream perform better in financial decision than others (Ibrahim D 2009)[29]. d) Marital status: Marital status has also found one of the important determinants of financial literacy. It has arebeen observed that singles are not performing well in financial decision making and they are bearing lower financial literacy levels than married individuals Calamato (2010)[30]; Brown and Graf (2013)[31]. 200 Determinants of Financial Literacy: A Study Among Working Women in Delhi Research Hypothesis

H1: There is significant difference between married & unmarried women’s opinion on financial attitude.

H2: There is significant difference between married & unmarried women towards financial behaviour.

H3: There is significant difference between married & unmarried women in context of level of financial knowledge.

H4: There is significant difference between different levels of income on financial attitude.

H5: There is significant difference between different levels of income towards financial behaviour.

H6: There is significant difference between different income groups on level of financial knowledge.

H7: There is significant difference between opinions on financial attitude by woman catering to different age group.

H8: There is significant difference between age groups towards financial behaviour

H9: There is significant difference between age groups on level of financial knowledge.

H10: There is significant difference of marital status on financial literacy

H11: There is significant difference between age groups on financial literacy

H12: There is significant difference between income groups on financial literacy Kamini Rai Shikha Dua Miklesh Yadav 201 Methodological Framework Dr Kamini Rai Demographic N % Age: Between 20-30 years 96 30.87 30-40 years 127 40.83 40-50 years 88 28.30

Marital Status: Married 186 59.81 Unmarried 125 40.19

Income (per annum): Between 2-5 lakh 96 30.87 5-10 lakh 110 35.37 10-15 lakh 105 33.76

Conceptual Model: Following diagram shows that demographic variables are independent and have impact on dimensions of financial literacy.

Financial Knowledge Demographic (FK) Variables Financial Financial Age Behaviour Literacy(FL) Income (FB) Marital Status Financial Attitude (FA)

Research Instruments:

1. To measure the financial attitude questions related to the extent of belief in planning, propensity to save and propensity to consume have been included in the questionnaire The instrument consists of 10 Likert like statements scoring from 202 Determinants of Financial Literacy: A Study Among Working Women in Delhi 1 (as strongly disagree) to 5 (as strongly agree).

2. To measure the financial Behaviour questions related to the Timely payment of bills, Planning and monitoring of the household budget, Active saving habits, Propensity to borrow and Assessment of affordability of products and expenditures have been included in the questionnaire The instrument consists of 10 Likert like statements scoring from 1 (as strongly disagree) to 5 (as strongly agree).

3. To measure the financial knowledge questions related to the interest calculations, relationship between inflation and return, inflation and prices, risk and return, and the role of diversification in risk reduction have been included in the questionnaire The instrument consists of 8 Likert like statements scoring from 1 (as strongly disagree) to 5 (as strongly agree).

Data Analysis & Interpretation

The language of questionnaire for collecting data was English. To test the reliability and validity of constructs, confirmatory factor analysis model was estimated using AMOS version 20 and path analysis was used to measure the association of independent variable with dependent variable. In total, 311 questionnaires were coded into SPSS for data analysis. The researchers succeeded in testing factor wise reliability and validity that is coded in Table 2.

Table 2: Summary of Factors

Variables Label Standardized R2 Composite Factor Loading Reliability FA3 0.82 0.67 FA4 0.74 0.54 FA5 0.74 0.55 FA 0.95 FA6 0.88 0.77 FA7 0.90 0.81 FA9 0.72 0.52 Kamini Rai Shikha Dua Miklesh Yadav 203

FB2 0.87 0.76 FB3 0.93 0.86 FB FB4 0.95 0.89 0.97 FB5 0.82 0.67 FB7 0.74 0.54 FK1 0.80 0.63 FK2 0.85 0.72 FK FK5 0.91 0.83 0.96 FK6 0.87 0.76 FK7 0.86 0.74 FL1 0.88 0.78 FL2 0.87 0.76 FL 0.94 FL3 0.89 0.79 FL4 0.77 0.59

Demographic Variable 1: Marital Status

Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances was conducted using SPSS for testing

H1,H2 , H3 research hypothesis since the significant value was less than 0.5 which states that equal variances are not assumed. Table 3: Independent Sample Test

t-test for Equality of Means Parameters t df Sig. (2-tailed)

Financial Attitude 1.314 306.969 0.19 Financial Behaviour 0.415 301.718 0.678 Financial Knowledge 1.185 309.871 0.237

Interpretation: Since the value of p >0.05 in all parameters i.e. Financial Attitude, Financial Behaviour & Financial Knowledge. We do not reject the null hypothesis stating that there is no significant difference between unmarried & married working women on Financial Attitude, Financial Behaviour & Financial Knowledge. 204 Determinants of Financial Literacy: A Study Among Working Women in Delhi Demographic Variable 2: Income Level

H4: There is no significant difference between different levels of income on financial attitude

Since the income level has three different categories so ANOVA has been used to measure the significant difference between groups. Table 4:

Sum of Squares df Sig. Between Groups 14.194 2 .001 Within Groups 296.806 309 Total 311.000 311

Interpretation: Since the value of p is 0.001 which is less than 0.05 therefore, we reject the null hypothesis stating that financial attitude changes with the level of income.

Table 5: Dependent Variable: Financial Attitude Tukey HSD

(I) Income per annum (J) Income per annum Sig. 5-10 Lakhs 0.066 2-5 Lakhs 10- 15 Lakhs 0.001 2-5 Lakhs 0.066 5-10 Lakhs 10- 15 Lakhs 0.076 2-5 Lakhs 0.001 10- 15 Lakhs 5-10 Lakhs 0.076

Interpretation: As per above table 5, significance level of woman earning 2-5 lakhs with income level of 5-10 lakhs and earning 5-10 lakhs with 10-15 lakhs per annum is more than 0.05 but significance level of 2-5 lakhs income group with 10-15 lakhs is less than 0.05. The p value is less than 0.05 in one group out of three groups of income level. Overall from the study it can be said that there is change in financial attitude with the change in the income earned per annum. Kamini Rai Shikha Dua Miklesh Yadav 205

H5: There is no significant difference between different levels of income towards financial behaviour.

Table 6:

Sum of Squares df Sig. Between Groups 15.388 2 .000 Within Groups 295.612 309 Total 311.000 311

Interpretation: Table 6 shows that the value of p is 0.000 which is less than 0.05 at given significance level therefore, and so null hypothesis is rejected stating that variation in income level of working women changes the efficiency to understand the impact of financial decisions on one’s life.

Table 7: Dependent Variable: Financial Behaviour

Tukey HSD

(I) Income per annum (J) Income per annum Sig.

5-10 Lakhs 0.043 2-5 Lakhs 10- 15 Lakhs 0 2-5 Lakhs 0.043 5-10 Lakhs 10- 15 Lakhs 0.074 2-5 Lakhs 0 10- 15 Lakhs 5-10 Lakhs 0.074

Interpretation: It can be analysed from the table two groups are having p value less than 0.05 indicating while one group of 5-10 lakhs and 10-15 lakhs the value is greater than 0.05 indicating that we do not accept null hypothesis that at different level of income woman possess different level of financial knowledge. 206 Determinants of Financial Literacy: A Study Among Working Women in Delhi

H6: There is no significant difference between different income groups on level of financial knowledge.

Table 8:

Sum of Squares df Sig. Between Groups 10.664 2 .005 Within Groups 300.336 309 Total 311.000 311

Interpretation: As per the table 8, the value of p is 0.005 is less than 0.05 therefore, we reject the null hypothesis describing that women earning different income bears different level of financial knowledge.

Table 9: Dependent Variable: Financial Knowledge Tukey HSD

(I) Income per annum (J) Income per annum Sig. 5-10 Lakhs 0.045 2-5 Lakhs 10- 15 Lakhs 0.008 2-5 Lakhs 0.045 5-10 Lakhs 10- 15 Lakhs 0.372 2-5 Lakhs 0.008 10- 15 Lakhs 5-10 Lakhs 0.372

Interpretation: It can be analysed from the table that two groups are having p value greater than 0.05 indicating that one group of 2-5 lakhs and 10-15 lakhs the value is less than 0.05 indicating the rejection of null hypothesis that at different level of income woman possess different level of financial knowledge.

Demographic Variable 3: Age

H7: There is no significant difference between opinions on financial attitude by woman catering to different age group. Kamini Rai Shikha Dua Miklesh Yadav 207 Table 10

Sum of Squares df Sig. Between Groups 16.041 2 .000 Within Groups 294.959 309 Total 311.000 311

Interpretation: Since the value of p is 0.000 which is less than 0.05 therefore, we reject the null hypothesis which indicates that financial attitude changes in respect of age group of women starting from 20-30 years.

Table 11:

Dependent Variable: Financial Attitude

Tukey HSD

(I) Age in years (J) Age in years Sig. 30-40 0.047 20-30 40-50 0 20-30 0.047 30-40 40-50 0.05 20-30 0 40-50 30-40 0.05

Interpretation: Results calculated via SPSS shown in table shows that variation in financial attitude as variation in age group at significance level of 5 % the group 20-30 years & 40-50 is having p value 0.000 which is less than 0.05 indicating the rejection of null hypothesis.

H8: There is no significant difference between age groups towards financial behaviour 208 Determinants of Financial Literacy: A Study Among Working Women in Delhi Table 12:

Sum of Squares df Sig. Between Groups 16.203 2 .000 Within Groups 294.797 309 Total 311.000 311

Interpretation: Since the value of p is 0.000 which is less than 0.05 therefore, we reject the null hypothesis therefore we can say that significant difference exists between various age groups towards financial behaviour

Table 13:

Dependent Variable: Financial Behaviour

Tukey HSD

(I) Age in years (J) Age in years Sig. 30-40 0.03 20-30 40-50 0 20-30 0.03 30-40 40-50 0.072 20-30 0 40-50 30-40 0.072

Interpretation: As per table, significance level of age group 20-30 years and 30-40 years, 20-30 years with 40-50 years less than 0.05 indicating to reject the null hypothesis stating there is significant difference between variant age group towards financial behaviour but significance level of 30-40 years with 40-50 years is greater than 0.05. The p value is less than 0.05 in two groups out of three groups of age so overall, different financial behaviour pertains among working women as per their age classification.

H9: There is no significant difference between age groups in respect of level of financial knowledge. Kamini Rai Shikha Dua Miklesh Yadav 209 Table 14:

Sum of Squares df Sig. Between Groups 9.911 2 .007 Within Groups 301.089 309 Total 311.000 311

Interpretation: Since the value of p is 0.007 which is less than 0.05 therefore, we reject the null hypothesis concluding that the level of financial knowledge varies as per the different age groups.

Table 15:

Dependent Variable: Financial Knowledge

Tukey HSD

(I) Age in years (J) Age in years Sig. 30-40 0.12 20-30 40-50 0.007 20-30 0.12 30-40 40-50 0.206 20-30 0.007 40-50 30-40 0.206

Interpretation: As per the results shown two groups are having p value greater than 0.05 while one group 20-30 years and 40-50 years is having p value less than 0.05 indicating that different age groups hold different financial knowledge.

H10: There is no significant difference of marital status on financial literacy 210 Determinants of Financial Literacy: A Study Among Working Women in Delhi Table 16:

Marital Status- Financial Literacy

Independent Samples Test Dimension t-test for Equality of Means t df Sig. (2-tailed) Financial Literacy 1.058 308.448 0.291

H11: There is no significant difference between age groups on financial literacy.

Table 17:

Sum of Squares df Sig.

Between Groups 17.118 2 .000 Within Groups 293.882 309 Total 311.000 311

Interpretation: Since the value of p is 0.000 which is less than 0.05 therefore, we reject the null hypothesis concluding that the financial literacy is different at different age groups.

Table 18:

Dependent Variable: Financial Literacy

Tukey HSD

(I) Age in years (J) Age in years Sig. 30-40 0.029 20-30 40-50 0 20-30 0.029 30-40 40-50 0.053 20-30 0 40-50 30-40 0.053

Interpretation: As per the results shown, two groups are having p value greater Kamini Rai Shikha Dua Miklesh Yadav 211 than 0.05 while one group 20-30 years and 40-50 years is having p value less than 0.05 indicating that different age groups hold different financial literacy.

H12: There is no significant difference between income groups on financial literacy.

Table 19:

Sum of Squares df Sig. Between Groups 16.270 2 .000 Within Groups 294.730 309 Total 311.000 311

Interpretation: As per the table 18, the value of p is 0.005 is less than 0.05 therefore, we reject the null hypothesis describing that women earning different income bear different level of financial knowledge.

Table 20:

Dependent Variable: Financial Literacy

Tukey HSD

(I) Income per annum (J) Income per annum Sig. 5-10 Lakhs 0.026 2-5 Lakhs 10- 15 Lakhs 0 2-5 Lakhs 0.026 5-10 Lakhs 10- 15 Lakhs 0.083 2-5 Lakhs 0 10- 15 Lakhs 5-10 Lakhs 0.083

Interpretation: It can be analysed from the table that two groups are having p value less than 0.05 indicating while one group of 5-10 lakhs and 10-15 lakhs the value is greater than 0.05 indicating the rejection of null hypothesis that at different level of income woman possess different level of financial literacy.

Conclusion: From the inferences drawn it can be said that marital status does not affect the financial attitude, behaviour & financial knowledge. It means no difference exists 212 Determinants of Financial Literacy: A Study Among Working Women in Delhi between married and unmarried in respect of dimensions of financial knowledge.

Another demographic variables income group & age group significantly differ in terms of financial attitude, financial behaviour & financial knowledge. Change in income level & age group leads to variation in three dimensions of financial literacy.

The current study is not free from limitations. Firstly, the study has been conducted on working women of Delhi only that may not be applicable in other cities of country. Secondly, the study covers financial literacy among working women only which may not be applicable to non-working women, financial literacy of men and students etc. Thirdly, the sample size taken for the study is very small on the basis of which 100% accuracy of result cannot be predicted. At last, only three variables of financial literacy have been included for the study while other variables like influences of socialization agent, cultural influences and issues related to family and environment are also important.All these variables could be investigated in future research. Since the examination has been done on the basis of self-structured questionnaire, it can lead to the chances of biasness. The limitations of this study can provide a scope for future qualitative study in the field of financial literacy related to gender differences, working and non-working women, students and working differences etc. Moreover the outcomes of this study are based on primary and secondary data which have its own limitations. For future studies, researcher can try to reduce all these limitations and can include a big sample size.

References

1. Braunstein, S., & Welch, C. (2002). Financial literacy: An overview of practice, research, and policy. Fed. Res. Bull., 88, 445.

2. Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2011). Financial literacy and retirement planning in the United States. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance 10(4), 509-525.

3. Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development .OECD. (2013). Financial literacy and inclusion: Results of OECD/INFE survey across countries and by gender. OECD Centre, Paris, France.

4. Noctor, M., Stoney, S., &Stradling, R. (1992). Financial literacy: a discussion of concepts and competences of financial literacy and opportunities for its introduction into young people’s learning. National Foundation for Educational Research.

5. Anthes, W. L., & Most, B. W. (2000). Frozen in the headlights: The dynamics of Kamini Rai Shikha Dua Miklesh Yadav 213 women and money. Journal of Financial Planning, 13(9), 130.

6. ASIC (2003). Summary of stakeholder responses to financial literacy in schools, ASIC discussion paper, Australian Securities & Investments Commission, February 2004.

7. Morton, J. S. (2005). The interdependence of economic and personal finance education. Social Education, 69(2), 66-70.

8. Mandell, L., & Klein, L. S. (2007). Motivation and financial literacy. Financial services review, 16(2), 105.

9. Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2008). Planning and financial literacy: How do women fare? American Economic Review, 98(2), 413-17.

10. Servon, L. J., &Kaestner, R. (2008). Consumer financial literacy and the impact of online banking on the financial behavior of lower‐income bank customers. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 42(2), 271-305.

11. Huston, S. J. (2010). Measuring financial literacy. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44(2), 296-316.

12. Yoong, F. J., See, B. L., &Baronovich, D. L. (2012). Financial literacy key to retirement planning in Malaysia. Journal of Management and Sustainability, 2(1), 75.

13. Singh, C., & Kumar, R. (2017). Financial Literacy among Women–Indian Scenario. Ease of Living Index: Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 214-228 Why it Fails to Inspire ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Confidence? © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Varun Sarda Yamini Karmarkar Neha Lakhotia

Abstract

The Ease of Living Index released by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry of the Government of India assesses the quality of life in cities on the four broad parameters of governance, social, economic and infrastructure. It is a comprehensive report and the index helps in assessing where one city stands on few parameters as compared to the national average. The Ease of Living Index has a strong linkage to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the assessment is linked towards tracking the SDGs in an urban environment. In the wake of rapid urban developments seen in India which has transformed and fuelled growth there are many challenges also which have creeped into the system like overcrowding, pollution and inequity. The Ease of Living Index will prove to be a litmus test to make a proper assessment of the urban environment and empower cities to plan, implement and monitor performance. Another analysis done by Mint to assess the livability in India points out a lack of any correlation between both the indices ,thus raising questions. The present study addresses the issues surrounding the transparency and authenticity of the index in order to make it more subjective in nature and the policy implications of the same.

Keywords: Ease of Living Index, subjective assessment, livability

Introduction

The cities in India have witnessed major developments in terms of economy, * Assistant Professor, Faculty, Prestige Institute of Management and Research, Indore ** Professor, Reader, Institute of Management Studies, DAVV, Indore *** Assistant Professor, Faculty, Pioneer Institute of Professional Studies, Indore E-mail: [email protected] Varun Sarda, Yamini Karmarkar and Neha Lakhotia 215 urbanization and growth. The proportion of urban population also has increased in comparison to previous years as per the census 2011. There are many challenges faced by the cities and the same needs to be addressed with a proper framework, program design and monitoring. To handle these challenges several initiatives like the Smart cities Mission, Swach Bharat Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Urban Livelihood Mission and HRIDAY were launched. The ‘Ease of Living’ Index launched by the Ministry helps to assess the progress made in urban environments Through these various initiatives and empower cities to use evidence to plan, implement and monitor their performance. There were 111 Indian cities, which included selected smart cities,capital cities and a few more cities with a population of over 1million which were included in the study. With over 134 million people residing in these 111cities, it is first of its kind initiative globally in terms of scaleand coverage. The index is constituted using 79 indicators and these indicators are grouped under four main heads or pillars. These are namely Institutional, Social, Economic and Physical. Out of these the highest weight is assigned to physical services including housing, water supply, sanitation etc and the weightage comes out to be 45%. Further, economy and employment are together given a weight of merely 5%.

The recently released Ease of Living Index has raised more questions about the quality of life than it has answered. The Ease of Living Index assesses the quality of life in cities on the four broad parameters of governance, social, economic and infrastructure. It is a comprehensive report released by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. The index helps in assessing where one city stands on few parameters as compared to the national average. Another index computed by Mint raises questions on the subjectivity aspect of the Ease of Living Index. The present study will analyse the effectiveness, authenticity and transparency in the assessment of both the indices and the policy implications of the same.

Ease of Living Index

The Ease of Living index was released by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry and the results were announced by Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent charge). There were 111 cities which participated in the survey. The ministry studied the quality of life in each city based on parameters like institutional (governance), social (identity, education, health, security), economic (economy, employment) and physical (waste water and solid waste management, pollution, housing/ inclusiveness, mixed land use, power and water supply, transport, public open spaces) factors. Each parameter carried a weightage totaling 100 marks — institutional (25), social (25), physical (45) and economy 216 Ease of Living Index: Why it Fails to Inspire Confidence? and employment (5). Based on this, the cities are given an overall rank.

Table 1: Four Pillars of Ease of Living Index and their Weightage Institutional (25) Social (25) Economic (5) Physical (45)

There have been a strong premise for the selection of the above mentioned parameters. Below is the explanation of the same: -

Institutional: - The institutional factors include governance as an important dimension for evaluating the performance of the cities. Good governance like open, transparent, accountable, collaborative and participatory principles are the basis for evaluating the performance of the cities. The environment with adequate and proper legal framework, efficient political and administrative processes help the government and defines properly the way in which institutions and individuals manage and organize the processes towards realization of the long and the short term agenda towards the development of a city.

Social

The effective growth and development of a city is also dependent on the intellectual resources it possesses and the development of knowledge and skills of the people of a country. This is also linked with making the students learners and innovators in their respective areas. The social indicator of the Ease of Living Index hence focuses on the process of knowledge sharing and making it act as a catalyst in the sustainable goals of development of cities.

Health facilities and the general level of well-being in a city are also important elements of the social indicator. This is so because the social development is linked directly to health. Only the healthy state of a city is capable of contributing the creation of positive and potential social impacts and benefits which further strengthen the city.

Economic

The World Economic Forum has highlighted that cities should be considered as the epicenters of growth in India and the Gross Domestic Product should no longer exist as the only parameter towards assessing the performance of the country or economy. Cities Varun Sarda, Yamini Karmarkar and Neha Lakhotia 217 with their dynamic nature are the focal points of economic activities and economic growth. The economic development and financial independence of cities further pave the way for making them centers of excellence for education, health care facilities, technological developments, entrepreneurship and government administration. It further leads to creation of job opportunities, livelihood and employment. Good level of economic development further leads to urban growth and a rapid rate of urbanization should be managed effectively in order to ensure potential economic and social development and a reduction in poverty.

The reason behind the inclusion of economics as an important parameter in the Ease of Living Index is that cities are the centers of economic activity and in being hubs of innovation and commerce. Both the macro and the micro picture addresses the fact that about 80 percent of the economic growth and 54 percent of the population can be attributed to the cities globally. In the case of India though only 10 percent of the population in housed in 50 most populous cities and close to 68 percent of the population lives in rural areas. India also sees a concentration of power in few cities and the majority of commercial and demographic activity is concentrated into regional seats of power. The 10 largest commercial cities in India account for 55 percent of GDP, with the top 4 cities accounting for a quarter of the country’s output.

Physical

The growth in the population and urbanization has further created huge challenges for the Indian cities. Huge capital investments are required to meet the growing demands for urban services in the cities. The massive growth of population could increase the problems of congestion, pollution and traffic if the proper design and planning is not done. The physical resources and its significance is very important for the overall rating of a city. It is hence very essential to include it as one of the essential parameters in the assessment of a city. Rapid growth in the population has led to an increase in the reliance on traffic leading to pollution, increase in greenhouse gas emissions and poor public health. Proper assessment will help in identifying the ways to make the cities of India more livable and sustainable for future and the decision makers can implement the policies accordingly. Also the leaders of the cities need to consider making decision making for ensuring safety. Hence the inclusion of this aspect is very vital in the computation of the Ease of Living Index. 218 Ease of Living Index: Why it Fails to Inspire Confidence? Table 2: Categories of the Ease of Living Index

Transportation and Mobility Power Supply Safety and Security Assured Water Supply Education Governance Health Identity and Culture Solid Waste Management Public Open Spaces Housing and Inclusiveness Reduced Pollution Economy and Employment Waste Water Management Mixed Land Use and Compactness

The study took into consideration 78 indicators in 15 categories. All cities were evaluated out of 100. The ‘physical’ pillar (infrastructure) was given the highest weightage of 45, while institutional (governance) and social were weighted 25 each. Economy was weighted 5.A Pillar wise break up is given in the Appendix Table 3. Table 4, 5 and 6 of the Appendix give further insight into the break-up of cities, top ten cities as per the index and the city population typology wise break up.

The results showed that top three cities were from Maharashtra indicating that the quality of life of people living in Maharashtra is much better than the rest of India. Pune topped the list, closely followed by Navi Mumbai and Greater Mumbai. Amongst the poorest cities were Patna in Bihar, Kohima in Nagaland and Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. Delhi was considered to be the worst city in terms of economic prospects and in terms of safety and security which are the crucial factors for today Bengaluru was rated as the worst.

An analysis of the sub indices revealed that Navi Mumbai, Tirupati and Karim Nagar had the best institutional sub-index. Tirupati and Tiruchirapalli scored high on the social indicators. In terms of the sub-index related to economics Chandigarh, Ajmer and Kota outperformed among others. Greater Mumbai, Pune and Thane topped in terms of infrastructure and other physical parameters. Amongst the mega cities Mumbai topped Varun Sarda, Yamini Karmarkar and Neha Lakhotia 219 the charts followed by Chennai while Delhi was rated the worst mega-city. Among the top 25 ranks Andhra Pradesh has 75% of its cities in the top while Madhya Pradesh had 57%. Maharashtra had 66% of its cities in the top 25 list. The index helped the countries in realizing their true worth and most of the data was arranged through the local bodies. It also further helped the economies in enjoying a greater ease of living.

The present study analyses if this kind of an index actually is capable of reflecting the reality of urban life in India. An analysis done by Mint points out that there are reasons to be skeptical. The main issues surrounding the doubt is the arbitrariness in the construction of the index and the use of questionable or incomparable data.

Mint Livability Index

To compare the transparency of measurements and to make the index more authentic in nature the Ease of Living Index was modified and brought out in a different form by Mint. In order to make the index more subjective in nature Mint analyzed the livability of people based on seven parameters mainly – Percentage of households with access to clean drinking water in a district, access to improved toilet, pucca house, clean cooking fuel, electricity, share of children stunted and share of women with more than 10 years of schooling. This was done since these indicators are considered to reflect the quality of life of people in a more subjective way but were all together ignored in the computation of the Ease of Living Index. For the purpose of the same the data was sourced from the National Family Health Survey. There were more than 600,000 households in 2015-16 to arrive at district-wise representative estimates.

The index thus computed was compared with 24 of the largest cities which were having a population above one million and having a corresponding city population which is 40% of district population.

Analysis of the Ease of Living Index and the Livability Index

The analysis reveales that there is very little correspondence between the Ease of Living index rankings and the livability index. However, the cross-examination of the sub-indices of the Ease of Living index generates similar results. Also, no correlation can be seen in the comparison of the health rankings of cities with child stunting rates for the corresponding district. The safety ranking is more closely aligned with the murder rate recorded by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Also, the rate of murder rather 220 Ease of Living Index: Why it Fails to Inspire Confidence? than the overall crime rate is used in the study since the under reporting of murders is lower in comparison to overall crimes.

The results of the study indicate that cities like Ludhiana, Srinagar, Bengaluru, Delhi and Amritsar are far better in livability in comparison with the Ease of Living Index ranks. In terms of poor performance cities such as Jabalpur, Gwalior, Visakhapatnam, Jaipur and Bhopal topped the list.

Drawbacks of the Ease of Living Index

Few economists have considered this as one of the major drawbacks of the study that the scheme of assigning weights is lop-sided. It is due to this reason that the authenticity Varun Sarda, Yamini Karmarkar and Neha Lakhotia 221 of the scheme and its efficiency is questioned. Though public services are important there is doubt on the absence of any indicator for job creation and this reduces the value of the index opined O.P. Mathur, senior fellow and chair, Urban Studies, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi. This has made the survey subjective in nature. There could be a reason for the low weight assigned to the aspect of economy and this could be the lack of data itself. It is difficult to measure the economic contribution of cities in India said SrikanthViswanathan, chief executive officer, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy.

Another drawback of the study can be the quality of data used. The main source of data is secondary data, which was collated by city governments from various sources for the computation of the Ease of Living Index. Data from sample field surveys were used and relied upon in the case of unavailability of data with the urban local bodies. This in turn raised concerns over the comparability of these data. In the case of few parameters for example construction of toilets the information given by the Government sources have to be relied and trusted, though such numbers might be biased.

Ease of Living and the Poor

The lives of the poor being laborious, stressful and painful are not taken into consideration while making the Ease of Living Index. The squalid conditions in which the poor and their children live not having enough food to eat, lack of clothes and basic amenities cannot be ignored. In the recently released Global Hunger Index (GHI), India featured at the 100th position among 119 countries, lagging behind even North Korea and Iraq.

There has been a reduction in the welfare spendings done by our Government and it is attributed to fiscal prudence. If the fiscal deficit of India is not kept in check by controlling the expenditures the credit rating of India might go down. However, in terms of paying to the government staff, infrastructural investments and announcing so called measures of fiscal prudence in the name of Bank capitalization , the Government does not think twice. Ramachandra Reddy (2017) has concluded that the money from the poor travels upwards and falls in the hands of the rich rather than making it travel downwards. Though economic growth is often linked with employment related developments in practice this is not the case. A rating agency called Care Ratings, has stated in a recent report that employment generation has not kept pace with GDP expansion hence witnessing a jobless growth. 222 Ease of Living Index: Why it Fails to Inspire Confidence? Policy Implications

The results of the study revealed more about the scarcity of the data rather than only the poor performance of the cities. The data driven approach for the Ease of Living Index is an impetus for accountability and optimal resource allocation. The lack of data does not mean the absence but refers to insufficiencies in sharing the information and does not imply poor performance. Though the shift in policy making to a data driven approach is a forward looking solution. In totality it should be looked upon as accountability reminder to cities. The results of the index can help the cities towards working in the direction of attaining a livability status and making more investments and serving as a

Scope for Future Research

Though the Ease of Living Index and the Livability Index both points towards the subjective wellness of people in the cities there is still more to it. There exists many other indicators which could have been considered in order to give the exact picture of the performance of the city. The parameters like the number of spendings done on white goods, vehicles sold, availability of health care facilities and the spending on the health care facilities, electricity connections, internet connections, trained teachers and enrolments in schooling at all levels too should be included in the studies to give a more precise picture. The analysis can also be done state wise rather than making it on the national level . This will further help in making the necessary policy implementations in that particular state.

Conclusion

The results of the analysis from both the indices reveal that in order to address the issues more promptly and subjectively the methodological issues underlying the Ease of Living Index needs to be taken up more seriously. The transparency in sharing the rationale for different weights will help in building a more credible data and will certainly help in building a stronger Ease of Living Index. If the changes are made and the dodgy sources of data is reduced the index can be made more authentic.

References 1. Abraham, K. G., Greenlees, J. S., & Moulton, B. R. (1998). Working to Improve the Consumer Price Index, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(1), 27-36. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1257/jep.12.1.27 2. Bennett, M. K. (1937). On Measurement of Relative National Standards of Living, The Quarterly Journal of Economics 51(2), 317-336. http://dx.doi. Varun Sarda, Yamini Karmarkar and Neha Lakhotia 223 org/10.2307/1882091 3. Boskin, M., Dulberger, E., Gordon, R., Griliches, Z., & Jorgenson, D. (1998). Consumer Prices, the Consumer Price Index, and the Cost of Living, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(1), 3-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/jep.12.1.3 4. Braithwait, S. D. (1980). The Substitution Bias of the Laspeyres Price Index: An Analysis Using Estimated Cost-of-Living Indexes, The American Economic Review, 70(1), 64-77. 5. Dumagan, J. C., & Mount, T. D. (1997). Re-examining the Cost-of-Living Index and the Biases of Price Indices: Implications for the U.S. CPI, Department of Commerce Working Paper ESA/OPD, 97-105. 6. Gill P (2018). India’s Ease of Living Index city rankings more about data than performance, accessible from https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-ease-of-living- index-city-rankings-more-about-data-than-performance/articleshow/65401810.cms 7. Hasan, L. (2007). On Measuring the Complexity of Urban Living, Munich Personal REPEC Archive (MPRA) No. 7413, March. 8. Jain D and Kundu T (2018). Why Ease of Living Index rankings fail to inspire Confidence?, accessibke from https://www.livemint.com/ Politics/3ZM3OfVjbBfXLgMnTS4oBI/Why-Ease-of-Living-Index-rankings-fail- to-inspire-confidence.html 9. Noe, N. M., & von Furstenberg, G. M. (1972). The Upward Bias in the Consumer Price Index Due to Substitution”, Journal of Political Economy, 80, 1280-1286. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/259971 10. Pollack, R. A. (1975). Subindexes in the Cost of Living, International Economic Review, 16, 135-150. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2525889 11. Reddy R (2017). What about an Ease of Living index, accessible from https:// www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/what-about-an-ease-of-living-index/ article19982523.ece 12. Sen, A. (1984). The Living Standard, Oxford Economic Papers, 36, 74-90. 13. Stigler, G. J. (1961). Report of the Price Statistics Review Committee, in Price Statistics of the Federal Government, D. Brady, et al. (eds.), New York: National Bureau of Economic Research. 14. The World Bank. (2011). Purchasing Power Parities and Real Expenditures of World Economies: Summary of Results and Findings of the 2011 International Comparison Program, http://siteresources.worldbank.org/ICPINT/ 224 Ease of Living Index: Why it Fails to Inspire Confidence? Resources/270056-1183395201801/Summary-of-Results-and-Findingsof-the- 2011-International-Comparison-Program.pdf (Accessed 19 May 2015). 15. Triplett, J. E. (2000). Should the Cost-of-Living Index Provide the Conceptual Framework for a Consumer Price Index? Brookings Institution, accessible from: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20001130.pdf, last accessed August 18, 2016. 16. https://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/tags/ease-of-living-index

Appendix - I Table 3: Pillar Wise Break up of the Top Ten Cities

Institutional Social Economic Physical Navi Mumbai Tirupati Chandigarh Greater Mumbai Tirupati Tiruchirapalli Ajmer Pune Karim Nagar Navi Mumbai Kota Thane Hyderabad Chandigarh Indore Chandigarh Bilaspur Pune Tiruppur Raipur Kochi Greater Mumbai Itanagar Tirupati Ahmedabad Amravati Pune Navi Mumbai Pune Vijaywada Ludhiana Bhopal Vijaywada Indore Thane Bilaspur Visakhapatnam Vasai Vihar Vijaywada Visakhapatnam

Table 4: List of the Cities covered in the Ease of Living Index 2018

State/UT Sl. No Cities Andaman and Nicobar 1 Port Blair 2 Kakinada 3 Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh 4 Tirupati 5 Vijayawada 6 Itanagar Arunachal Pradesh 7 Pasighat Assam 8 Guwahati Varun Sarda, Yamini Karmarkar and Neha Lakhotia 225

State/UT Sl. No Cities 9 Bhagalpur 10 Muzaffarpur Bihar 11 Biharsharif 12 Patna Chandigarh 13 Chandigarh 14 Bilaspur Chhattisgarh 15 Raipur Dadra and Nagar Haveli 16 Silvassa Daman and Diu 17 Diu Goa 18 Panaji 19 Ahmedabad 20 Surat 21 Vadodara Gujarat 22 Gandhinagar 23 Dahod 24 Rajkot 25 Karnal Haryana 26 Faridabad 27 Gurgaon 28 Dharamshala Himachal Pradesh 29 Shimla 30 Jammu Jammu & Kashmir 31 Srinagar 32 Ranchi Jharkhand 33 Dhanbad 34 Davanagere 35 Belagavi 36 Hubbali-Dharwad Karnataka 37 Mangaluru 38 Shivamogga 39 Tumakuru 40 Bangalore 41 Kochi Kerala 42 Thiruvananthapuram Lakshadweep 43 Kavaratti 226 Ease of Living Index: Why it Fails to Inspire Confidence?

State/UT Sl. No Cities 44 Indore 45 Bhopal 46 Ujjain Madhya Pradesh 47 Satna 48 Sagar 49 Jabalpur 50 Gwalior 51 Solapur 52 Pune 53 Aurangabad 54 Kalyan-Dombivali 55 Nagpur 56 Amravati Maharashtra 57 Nashik 58 Thane 59 Greater Mumbai 60 Navi Mumbai 61 PimpriChinchwad 62 Vasai-Virar City Manipur 63 Imphal Meghalaya 64 Shillong Mizoram 65 Aizawl Nagaland 66 Kohima NCT Delhi 67 Delhi 68 Bhubaneswar Odisha 69 Rourkela Puducherry 70 Puducherry 71 Jalandhar Punjab 72 Ludhiana 73 Amritsar 74 Udaipur 75 Ajmer Rajasthan 76 Jaipur 77 Kota 78 Jodhpur Varun Sarda, Yamini Karmarkar and Neha Lakhotia 227

State/UT Sl. No Cities 79 Namchi Sikkim 80 Gangtok 81 Salem 82 Thanjavur 83 Vellore 84 Dindigul 85 Erode 86 Tiruchirappalli Tamil Nadu 87 Thoothukkudi 88 Tiruppur 89 Tirunelveli 90 Chennai 91 Coimbatore 92 Madurai 93 Warangal Telangana 94 Hyderabad 95 Karim Nagar Tripura 96 Agartala 97 Lucknow 98 Agra 99 Moradabad 100 Aligarh 101 Rampur 102 Rae Bareli 103 Bareilly Uttar Pradesh 104 Jhansi 105 Saharanpur 106 Kanpur 107 Varanasi 108 Ghaziabad 109 Meerut 110 Allahabad Uttarakhand 111 Dehradun 228 Ease of Living Index: Why it Fails to Inspire Confidence? Table 5: Top Ten Cities Ranks by the Ease of Living Index 2018

1. Pune 2. Navi Mumbai 3. Greater Mumbai 4. Tirupati 5. Chandigarh 6. Thane 7. Raipur 8. Indore 9. Vijaywada 10. Bhopal

Table 6: City Population Typology Wise: Top Three Cities

Population > 4 Population > 1 Population > 0.5 Population > 0.5 million million < 4 million million < 1 million million Greater Mumbai Pune Chandigarh Tirupati Chennai Navi Mumbai Tiruchirapalli Karimnagar Surat Thane Amravati Bilaspur Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Vivekananda Journal of Research Appraisal and Entrepreneurial Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 229-237 ISSN 2319-8702(Print) Intentions of Commerce and ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Management Students of © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies Assam – A Study http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php

Nilanjana Deb

Abstract

Entrepreneurship as a career option has occupied a place of importance in university curriculum as well as in government policy. This is because an entrepreneur not only finds employment for himself but is instrumental in creating job opportunities for many in the economy. The present study focuses on assessing the much needed skills in young Commerce and Management graduates and their entrepreneurial intentions. Findings of the study reveal that respondents do have the entrepreneurial skills (self-assessed by them) but were somewhat reluctant to start up a business venture on their own immediately after completing their course of study. Interactions reveal that they would like to acquire experience while working as an employee of an organisation, save a part of their earnings and if situation warrants they would like to start a venture of their own in future. The respondents have also highlighted that lack of availability of seed capital and the needed support i.e., incubation centre or R&D facilities are some of the detrimental factors that has resulted in postponement of their decision to be an entrepreneur.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial self-efficacy appraisal score; entrepreneurial intentions; college students; Assam

Introduction

Today, globally it is a recognised fact that the key to building prosperity and stimulate regional growth of a nation is fostering entrepreneurship among their people

* Associate Professor, Department of Business Administration, GIMT, Azara, Guwahati, Assam. E-mail : [email protected] 230 Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Appraisal and Entrepreneurial Intentions of Commerce and Management Students of Assam – A Study especially youth (Sharma and Madan, 2014). Moreover, considering the population of India, currently at 1.34 billion (April 2017), unemployment has been a burning issue since long. Further, our country has reached the stage of demographic transition – a stage where more than 60 per cent of the population falls in the economically active age-group of 15 to 59 years, commonly referred to as the ‘Demographic Dividend’. It is indeed a matter of pride for us that by the year 2022, we can boast of having 500 million strong workforce (Sanghi&Srija, 2016). However, despite having the advantage of demographic dividend, India faces the challenge of generating enough job opportunities to employ or absorb this active population into productive economic activities. Further, considering the high illiteracy levels of the work force with about 70-80 per cent of the lot having education levels below secondary and also due lack of necessary skills even in engineering and management graduates, the policy makers of our country face the uphill task in this regard. Perhaps , this is why the Central Government led by Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi has introduced ‘Skill India Mission’ in 2015 – an initiative to motivate and empower our youths to acquire the skills required to be self-employed.

Conceptually, entrepreneurship means to undertake an economic activity. However, different experts have given different definitions/meanings of the term ‘entrepreneurship’. To elaborate the term entrepreneurship, we can say that it creates small and medium scale businesses in the economy, generates employment opportunities, utilises human, material and financial resources of a country in the right direction apart from generating income and uplifting the standard of living of the citizens. However, from the perspective of economic functions, there are three crucial characteristics of entrepreneurial activity. These are risk taking, innovation and venturing into new business activities for profit.

Entrepreneurship has occupied a place of importance in every economy as an entrepreneur is behind the industrialisation process of a country besides creation of job opportunities for many. According to economist Joseph Schumpeter (1951), an entrepreneur is the one who, through new combinations of the means of production, carries out several functions such as the introduction of new goods, introduction of new production methods and the opening of new markets. In other words, entrepreneurship is essentially a ‘creative activity’ and a phenomenon that comes under the wider aspect of leadership. In view of the fact that entrepreneurship occupies a place of significance in Indian economy and the visible impact of entrepreneurship in wealth-creation and employment-generation is immense. The National Knowledge Commission (2008) defines it as – ‘Entrepreneurship is the professional application of knowledge, skills and competencies and/or of monetizing a new idea, by an individual or a set of people by launching an enterprise de novo or Nilanjana Deb 231 diversifying from an existing one (distinct from seeking self employment as in a profession or trade), thus to pursue growth while generating wealth, employment and social good’.

Moreover, Entrepreneurship as a subject has become an important part of university curriculum. Most of the institutions have an Entrepreneurship Development Cell (EDC) so as to foster young graduates to take up entrepreneurial initiatives more seriously and also try to groom them into successful entrepreneur. Several research works have highlighted the fact that students’ interest in entrepreneurship as a career choice is growing (Fleming 1994, Kolvereid 1996). Strikingly, Kolvereid (1996) also mentions that the interest in professional employment in businesses is declining.

Considering the fact that entrepreneurship occupies a place of importance in an economy, there had been several studies conducted to ascertain the relationship of entrepreneurial characteristics and entrepreneurial intention especially among the younger generation. In this study, the author makes a humble attempt to bring to light the scenario prevailing in Assam by considering the entrepreneurial self-efficacy appraisal score and entrepreneurial intentions of Commerce and Management students.

Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are –

1. To know the entrepreneurial self-efficacy level of the respondents i.e., the graduating students .

2. To assess their entrepreneurial intentions .

3. To identify the probable reasons that results in respondents’ preference for other career options to entrepreneurship .

Research Methodology

The study was based on primary as well as secondary data. Primary data were collected by using questionnaire and secondary data for the study were collected from available literature (i.e., books, journals as well as e-journals).

Definition of the population: The samples of the study were students (elements) of various colleges offering UG and/or PG programmes on Commerce and Management (sampling units) in Guwahati city (extent) during December 2017 - February 2018 (time). 232 Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Appraisal and Entrepreneurial Intentions of Commerce and Management Students of Assam – A Study Sampling technique and sample size: Samples for the study were selected as per the convenience of the researcher and the sample size of the study is 70 (seventy) respondents.

Variables of the study and designing of questionnaire: The study considers two variables – namely the entrepreneurial self-efficacy appraisal score and entrepreneurial intention of the respondents. A questionnaire was designed for the purpose of data collection and consists of questions on demographic profile as well as questions related to the two variables of the study.

In order to evaluate the entrepreneurial self-efficacy as perceived by the respondents, a 6-item scale was used and covered the common skills and traits that the entrepreneur need to possess (identified from review of literature). Similarly to assess the entrepreneurial intentions of the respondents, a 9-item scale was used. The scale used was a modified Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire (EIQ) of Linan and Chen (2009).

Moreover, a 5-point Likert scale was introduced against all the questions under each variable ranging from (1) strongly agree, (2) agree, (3) neutral, (4) disagree and (5) strongly disagree. ‘Profile analysis’ was undertaken in order to know the Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy appraisal score and Entrepreneurial intentions of the respondents. Weights of +2, +1, 0, -1, -2 were assigned to strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree respectively.

A pilot test was also conducted on a sample of 15 (fifteen) respondents to ensure comprehensiveness, clarity and reliability of the designed questionnaire. Further, reliability of the scales was assessed by calculating the Cronbach’s alphas for the scales. Table 1: Reliability Coefficients of the Scales

Scale for Service Quality Dimensions No. of Items Cronbach’s alpha Entrepreneurial self-efficacy 6 0.820 Entrepreneurial intentions 9 0.914

As the Cronbach’s alpha for the two scales were found to be greater than recommended value of 0.70, the scale constructed was found to be reliable.

Formulation of Hypotheses:Based on the objectives of the study, the following Alternative hypothesis is formulated–

Alternative Hypotheses (H1) - ‘There is a relation between entrepreneurial self- Nilanjana Deb 233 efficacy appraisal score and entrepreneurial intentions of the respondents’.

Statistical tools: Pearson correlation test was carried out to identify whether there exist any relation between entrepreneurial self-efficacy appraisal score and entrepreneurial intentions of the respondents. For data analysis, SPSS 20.0 for Windows was used.

Findings

(a) Demographic profile of the Sample

Majority of the respondents (64.29 per cent) were in the age-group of 17 to 21 years. However, Post Graduate students (35.71 per cent), who were also a part of this study, were in the age-group of 21 to 27 years. Equal proportion of male and female students were considered for the study. This was followed in order to obtain authentic results. The demographic profile of the sample is given in the table below – Table 2: Demographic profile of the sample

Age Gender 17 to 21 years 45 Male 35 21 to 27 years 25 Female 35 Total 70 70 Source: Author’s survey

(b) Entrepreneurial self-efficacy appraisal score

In order to know the entrepreneurial self-efficacy appraisal score of the respondents a 6-item scale was used. The respondents were asked to rate themselves on a 5-point scale. Profile analysis was undertaken on an item-to-item basis of the scale. The results obtained is shown in the table below – Table 3: Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy Appraisal Score of the respondents

Statements of 6-item Scale Weighted Score Skill to recognise new business opportunity 30 Skill to find unconventional solutions to problems 13 Ability to evaluate the results of different activities objectively 16 Leadership and communication skills to manage a small enterprise 13 Networking skills and making professional contacts 16 234 Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Appraisal and Entrepreneurial Intentions of Commerce and Management Students of Assam – A Study

Skill to evaluate different activities from the perspective of ethics 06 and morale Total Summated Score 94 Source: Author’s survey

The summated score used to determine the Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy appraisal score of the respondents is 94. If this summated score so obtained is compared with the possible range of -840 to +840, the number, although positive, cannot be considered to be too impressive as it is just 11.19 per cent of the highest possible positive score. Thus, it can be inferred that Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy appraisal score of the respondents is positive but it is not too high. In other words, it can be said that a few of the respondents do have potential/skills to become promising entrepreneur in the near future.

A 9-item scale was used to determine the Entrepreneurial intentions of the respondents. The findings of the ‘Profile analysis’ are shown in the table below – Table 4: Entrepreneurial Intention Score of the respondents

Statements of 9-item Scale Weighted Score Starting a firm and keeping it viable would be easy for me -51 My friends and family would approve of my decision to start a business -35 I know all about the practical details needed to start a business -33 I am able to control the creation process of a new business -29 If I had the opportunity and resources, would love to start a business -34 I am determined to create a business venture in the future -18 If I tried to start a business, I would have a high chance of being -26 successful Being an entrepreneur would give me great satisfaction 02 Being an entrepreneur implies more advantages than disadvantages to me -28 Total Summated Score -252 Source: Author’s survey

The summated score used to find out the Entrepreneurial intention of the respondent is -252, which is negative and implies that majority of the respondents do not have intentions to be an entrepreneur. When this summated score is compared with the possible range of Nilanjana Deb 235 -1260 to +1260, it was found to be 20 per cent of the highest possible negative score. Thus, it can be inferred that majority of the respondents do not have any entrepreneurial intention.

(d) Pearson Correlation between Entrepreneurial self-efficacy and Entrepreneurial intention

Pearson correlation shows the extent of relationship shared by any two variables. Therefore, an attempt is made to know the extent of relationship between Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy appraisal score and Entrepreneurial Intentions. The result of the correlation test performed is shown in Table 5 – Table 5: Correlations

Ent_Self_ Ent_Intention Efficacy Pearson Correlation 1 -.836** Ent_Self_Efficacy Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 70 70 Pearson Correlation -.836** 1 Ent_Intention Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 70 70 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Source: Output of SPSS 20.0

The correlation between the Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy appraisal score and Entrepreneurial Intention as depicted by ‘r’ value (= -0.836), shows that there is negative correlation between these two variables. Moreover, this correlation is found to be statistically significant at 95 per cent confidence level. Therefore, the Null Hypothesis (H0) is rejected and the Alternative Hypothesis (H1) is accepted instead. (e) Reasons for preferring other career options to entrepreneurship

Interactions with the respondents reveal the following –

• Respondents prefer to take up a job in managerial capacity initially to hone up their business and managerial skills before finally deciding whether to take up any entrepreneurial ventures on their own.

• Lack of availability of the much needed seed capital to start a venture. 236 Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Appraisal and Entrepreneurial Intentions of Commerce and Management Students of Assam – A Study

• Lack of adequate number of incubation centres & R&D facilities in the NE Region.

• No prior experience in this field i.e., most likely the respondents would be the first generation entrepreneurs.

Conclusion

It can be said that entrepreneurs play a crucial role in the economic development of the nation and in view of this entrepreneurship as a career option for students have gained importance. Many of the young Commerce and Management graduates of the State have the necessary skills to be an entrepreneur and the findings of the study were in line with the findings on a similar study conducted by Ramos (2014) involving business students of Batangas State University, Philippines. Skills to recognise new business opportunites, find unconventional solutions to problems, ability to evaluate the results of different activities objectively, leadership and communication skills, networking skills and skill to evaluate different activities from the perspective of ethics and morale are factors that are contributory to entrepreneurial capabilities and skills of the students. However, when it comes to assessment of entrepreneurial intentions, it was found that majority of the respondents are reluctant to take up entrepreneurial initiatives immediately after completion of their studies. The respondents prefer to acquire experiences, earn and save a significant amount of money and then decide whether to take up entrepreneurial ventures. Further, the respondents feel that lake of support in the form of seed capital and other infrastructural facilities act as factors that are detrimental for entrepreneurial growth in the State.

References

1. Fleming, P. (1994). The Role of Structured Interventions in Shaping Graduate Entrepreneurship. Irish Business and Administrative Research, 15, 146-147.

2. Kolvereid, L. (1996), Prediction of Employment Status Choice Intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 20(3), 45-57.

3. Linan, F. & Chen, Y. (2009). Development and Cross-Cultural Application of a Specific Instrument to Measure Entrepreneurial Intentions, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33(3), p. 593-617.

4. Ramos, Angelica M. (2014). Entrepreneurial Intentions among Business Students in Batangas State University, Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2 Nilanjana Deb 237 (4), 1-6

5. Sanghi, Sunita & Srija, A. (2016, January). Entrepreneurship Development in India-the Focus on Start-ups, LaghuUdyogSamachar, 20-27

6. Schumpeter, Joseph. (1951). The Theory of Economic Development, Harvard University Press, Massachusetts, p 23.

7. Sharma, Lalit&Madan, Pankaj. (2014). Effect of individual factors on youth entrepreneurship – a study of Uttarakhand state, India. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 2:3, 1-17, Retrieved from http://www.journal-jger. com/content/2/1/3 Insights into Organizational Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 238-249 Flexibility Inspired by Human ISSN 2319-8702(Print) ISSN 2456-7574(Online) Body as a System © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Alpana Agarwal Prem Vrat

Abstract

Organizations need to be more flexible, adaptive and agile to be successful in today’s dynamic business environment. They need to create systems that are flexible to use in terms of anticipated or unanticipated future changes that might take place. Considering today’s business needs, this paper has attempted to examine the significance of flexibility by analyzing its varying degree present in human body. It involves comparing flexibility perspective of human body with corporate organizations. The comparison shows that the similar flexibility dimensions present in both human and corporate body are seen as a system. In human body, flexibility can be seen in three forms: structural, physiological, and psychological. Collectively, these three aspects of flexibility offer coordination and control to our body, and make sure that correct outcome is achieved every time. The analysis shows that there should be optimal degree of flexibility in various systems and subsystems and also that the flexibility should be offered to any system based on its functional requirement and its implication to the overall system. A flexibility valuation grid is also proposed in this paper based on which insights to inculcate optimal degree of flexibility can be drawn. A human body flexibility continuum is also proposed which is another form of flexibility valuation grid.

Keywords: Bio-mimicry, dynamic environment, flexibility, flexibility continuum, flexibility valuation grid, VUCA environment

* Assistant Professor, GL Bajaj Institute of Management Research, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh E-mail : [email protected] ** Pro-chancellor and chief mentor, The North Cap University, Gurgaon-122017 Alpana Agarwal Prem Vrat 239 Introduction

Today’s turbulent business world is now increasingly called a “VUCA” environment—one that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. To be successful in such environment, organizations must be more flexible, adaptive and agile than ever before. Organizations that lack flexibility are unable to bounce back after setbacks (White, 2013). However, though, all businesses respond to change that occurs in the environment by adjusting their operations, yet this is generally done in a very reactive way. It can become more pro-active if the change in the environment is anticipated or proactively sensed, and modifications are made accordingly(Phillips, Sugandha et al., 2000). Nevertheless, the alteration of business plan or operation is always related to a specific change or stimuli in the environment. Moreover, since there are many stimuli from the environment and as each stimulus sets off different modification, it becomes difficult for the organizations to incorporate too many changes. Therefore such situation requires a strategic orientation. The firm needs to organize and structure itself in such a way that it can change more easily in response to any environmental changes (Englehardt and Simmons, 2002). Therefore the idea of flexibility is becoming fundamental in working life during the last few years. It will help organizations in sustaining changes through necessary compliance and dynamism of globalized culture and turbulent environments. Only those organizations that learn the art of operating in a dynamic and flexible way may succeed else will face a depressed future. Considering such environment, organizations need to flourish the flexibility practices. But this is not an easy job. Businesses are struggling since long to define the right structural solution for their organization. In fact, this is one of the important research topics in the field of organizational sciences. A plethora of scholarly work has advanced our understanding of the topic, from seminal work proposing an initial domain (Gerwin,1987; D’Souzaand Williams, 2000; Das, 2001) to specific dimensions; its drivers (Upton, 1997; Jack and Raturi, 2002; Oke, 2005; Karuppanand Kepes, 2006) and their measures (vanHop, 2004; Wahab, 2005) to enablers (Narasimhan and Das, 2000; Zhang et al., 2006), to application in the service industries (Aranda,2003) and more recently, in the supply chain context (Stevenson and Spring, 2007).

The available literature on flexibility also contains the background of flexibility, implementation of different flexibility practices in different parts of the company, the cause of flexibility, etc. Moreover, literature also emphasizes on the need to have flexibility in modern day organizations (Sushil, 2015; Sushiland Bhal, 2015, Bernardes&Hanna, 2009). It has also been linked to the vitality and sustainability of the organization (Jour, Hatum et al., 2006). Furthermore, the growing need for flexibility in business can be 240 Insights into Organizational Flexibility Inspired by Human Body as a System seen from reactive as well as proactive perspective, which requires organization structure to be revisited (Sushil, 2015). Defining how to structure and organize is often described as “the form” of a business. Different organizational forms are widely described in the literature, each have their pros and cons. These forms are often classified by the degree of flexibility contained. Besides, in order to make clear the difference between these types, researchers using metaphors have also described a number of organizational forms. One paramount type relating to flexibility is organic organizations. The organic organizations are similar to an organism, seeking to adapt and survive in a changing environment, and thus must be flexible. In fact human body, the most complex organism, is finest metaphor of organizations, which bears optimal degree of flexibility. This new approach wherein we seek sustainable solutions by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies has been termed by researchers as Bio-mimicry (derived from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) (The wonders of technology, 2013; Vrat and Agarwal, 2013).The present paper involves comparing flexibility perspective of human body as a system with corporate organizations as shown in Table 1. The comparison shows that similar flexibility dimensions can be conceptualized in both human and corporate body as open systems. Table 1: Comparison between corporate organization and human body from flexibility perspective

Flexibility Corporate Organization Human Body dimension Management ability to modify the It refers to the ability to Structural organization structure and its decision move or stretch the internal flexibility and communication processes and external parts of our according to environmental changes. body. It includes small short-term changes It is related with the in processes and procedures without Operational predefined range of body’s influencing substantially the relation flexibility normal functioning, e.g. between the organization and its temperature blood pressure. environment. It refers to willingness to It refers to willingness and intent respond to what’s happening Psychological to shift the outlook and vision of in the environment against flexibility promoters and top management with or according to what is changing business needs. happening in the mind. Alpana Agarwal Prem Vrat 241 Objective

Human body has evolved as the finest creature and has been dealing with dynamic situations ever since its existence. Therefore, considering ideal flexibility in human body and today’s VUCA environment, the objective of this paper is to provide insights on optimal degree of flexibility by analyzing human body in greater detail.

Analyzing exibility in human body

Nature has designed human body in a way that it offers inherent flexibility to it. In human body, flexibility can be seen in three forms: structural, physiological, and psychological. Structural lexibility lies with the skeletal or muscular system of human body, which facilitates coordination and control. It refers to the ability to move or stretch the internal and external parts of our body (Medlej, 2014). For example, in humans, the stomach normally expands to hold about 2-4 litre of food(Helene and Barnes, 1994); human bladder reaches its capacity between 16 to 24 ounces of urine (Live Science, 2012). In fact, improving and maintaining a good range of flexibility can enhance quality of life.

Furthermore, physiological flexibility is related with the predefined range of body’s normal functioning, e.g. temperature, blood pressure, etc. Physiological flexibility is the adaptive response mechanism to ongoing rapid climatic changes. But all physiological traits do not adjust in a similar way to compensate for an abrupt environmental change. There can be moderate to high physiological adaptability in response to external stimuli indicating moderate or high physiological flexibility, whereas restricted adaptation to stimuli is indicative of lower flexibility. Example of moderate degree of physiological flexibility includes digestion related activities, capacity of the body to regulate its core temperature etc. On the other hand examples of low flexibility include mechanisms which are vital for the survival and any delay or sub-optimality in functioning might prove disastrous- e.g. supply of oxygen to various body parts(Bhandari, 2007). In addition, psychological flexibility refers to the willingness to respond to what’s happening in the environment against or according to what is happening in the mind (Bob and Wong, 2015).

Collectively, these three aspects of flexibility offer coordination and control to our body, and make sure that the correct outcome is achieved every time. Besides, it has been observed that the unique characteristic with human body flexibility is the variations in the degree of flexibility throughout the body- some parts in our body are more flexible than others. Human body makes this distinction based on the functional requirement of the specific parts. For example, it has been observed that more flexibility is imparted to 242 Insights into Organizational Flexibility Inspired by Human Body as a System the structural aspect of our body, i.e. organs and organ systems e.g. capacity of stomach to carry food, capacity of urinary bladder etc. Whereas, the physiological areas, which are critical for survival are less flexible, e.g. ranges like human body temperature, blood pressure etc. However, there is no limit to psychological flexibility, which results in individuals with different health, personality, and behavior, though they have similar body with identical systems and subsystems. Eventually, we may find people who have the potential to better tolerate and effectively use emotions, thoughts, and behavior to extract the best possible outcomes in varying situations. And this potential of mind determines the psychological flexibility of a person (Figure 1). Therefore, a healthy person is someone who can manage the self-betterin an uncertain, unpredictable world around him. Also there are individuals who lack psychological flexibility, which negatively affects their health and stress free endurance.

In this way, wide range of dynamic physical and psychological abilities form the essence of health. Nevertheless, if individuals will put in efforts it would help in finding greater efficacy and fulfillment in their daily lives. Thus considering the aforementioned discussion, which provides a holistic view on value of flexibility, there is a need to develop a flexibility valuation model for human body to derive pragmatic insights about incorporating optimum flexibility in various parts of the organization.

Valuation of flexibility in human body

It can be seen from the above analysis that the optimal degree of flexibility in design and operations in human body would result in perfect response to various environmental stimuli. Had the high degree of flexibility been existed throughout the body then results could have been disastrous e.g. our heart and nervous system has been designed for a particular range of blood pressure. Had there been flexibility to control the blood pressure and increase or decrease the pressure as per our wish, this could have resulted in collapse of nervous system. Also, had there been 100 percent flexibility in joints of our body, perhaps we would not have been able to stand firmly. If low flexibility had been there, even a minute turbulence in the environment might result in dreadful consequences to the body. With zero flexibility, we would not able to perform routine tasks, and our daily life would become difficult. So, it can be learned that flexibility is essential for every system but optimal degree of flexibility is the key. Hence a critical question here is- how much flexibility is required? In order to analyze and work outoptimum values of flexibility for different circumstances a ‘Flexibility Valuation Grid’ is proposed. The grid is based on the matrix for valuation of managerial flexibility given by Copeland and Keenam (1998). Alpana Agarwal Prem Vrat 243 It has been developed by emulating varying degree of flexibility in human body on the four quadrants of the matrix. The proposed grid shows the value of flexibility for different combinations of two criteria, which are depicted on X and Y axis of the matrix. The horizontal axis represents ‘Uncertainty in the environment’ and vertical axis stands for ‘Organization ability to respond’. The four cells in the Flexibility Valuation Grid shows four different situations, which are combinations of low to high uncertainty in the environment and organizations ability to respond as shown in Figure 1. These different combinations serve as a basis for deciding the low, moderate or high value of flexibility.

Physical movement Brain and mind

m High o Moderate

/ r o flexibility High

d flexibility value n value o y p t i l r e s g i

o A t

Controlled Physiological y t i

l physiological processes with i Low b

r managerial flexibility) processes autonomy ( A f o Low flexibility Moderate value flexibility value

Low High Uncertainty (likelihood of receiving new information)

Figure 1: Flexibility Valuation Grid

As shown in Figure 1, the Flexibility Grid suggests that a situation where the possibility of receiving new information from the environment is low and the organizational ability to respond is also low, the value of flexibility should be low in such situation. The proposed recommendation can be supported by taking an example of human respiratory system. Under normal conditions the external environmental conditions are mostly stable for human respiratory system. Therefore, overall system is designed to accommodate minor environmental disturbances like smoke, dust, etc.. But under extreme environmental conditions wherein the air contains poisonous gases and solid particles, reduced supply of oxygen and intake of unwanted gases disturbs the respiration process. Moreover if such extreme condition lasts for more than few minutes the body will get suffocated and the person could die. Since our body is exposed to suchconditions very rarely it can be said that when the external environment is relatively stable, and the concerned subsystem has a very 244 Insights into Organizational Flexibility Inspired by Human Body as a System low ability to respond to possible change in environment, value of flexibility becomes low. This would call for external support such as oxygen mask etc. to reinforce the inherent low flexibility the human body has on its own. Such a flexibility of reinforcing the existing system with external support can be called augmented flexibility. In fact, this can be related with Just In Time (JIT) concept in various aspects of supply chain management literature ranging from quality, equipment selection, manufacturing capacity, multifunctional works, etc. (Garg, Vrat et al, 1995, 1996, 1999a, 1999b, 2003). According to Vrat (2011)Just In Time (JIT) is the best material replenishment policy under which the supplier matches the supply rate with the consumption rate perfectly. As observed by Vrat (2011), real life demonstration of Zero Inventory system (JIT) can be seen in human body supply chain framework in the context of the supply of oxygen to the body where the system operates on with zero inventories, zero reordering and zero storage costs.

Besides, there are certain physiological processes in our body wherein the environment is unstable or likelihood of receiving new information is high with low system responsiveness to it. The example is food intake and digestion. Whenever we are confronted with some delicious food or when involved in some physical work, craving to eat is triggered. This is the basic response to stimuli received. This example shows turbulence of the environment in initiating food consumption. However, our body will not die even without having that food, until starved for longer duration. This shows the body’s restricted ability to tolerate hunger and can be said that a moderate flexibility is given to digestion system, wherein we can take food as per our need. This justifies moderate flexibility value for a situation where the environment is turbulent with low system responsiveness.

Another situation where moderate value of flexibility is suggested is when the uncertainty in external environment is low coupled with high organizational responsiveness. Such situation suggests a moderate degree of flexibility. Nevertheless, high flexibility is suggested when the external environment is highly unstable and the organization also bears high ability to cope with it. The reflex action in human body can justify this. For example, when somebody touches a very hot object, our body immediately retracts the specific part to circumvent burning. Apart from this, high flexibility is also built inthe mind for taking decisions in response to external stimuli, which is referred to here as the psychological flexibility.

In this way the degree of flexibility varies in our body as per the overall system requirement. The proposed grid is just an illustration of variations in degree of flexibility in the human body. Moreover, it has been assumed that corporate organizations are analogous Alpana Agarwal Prem Vrat 245 to human body as open system, which should have optimum degree of flexibility; the value of flexibility at different places in human body can be imitated to make recommendations to the organizations.

The human body flexibility continuum

There is no unique value of flexibility that could fit all circumstances. The degree of flexibility varies with the functional requirement of the body. Therefore it can be said that a flexibility continuum exists in our body, the extremes of which demonstrate very high and very low flexibility respectively. In between there are varying degrees of flexibility such as moderately high, moderate, and moderately low as shown in Figure 2.

Blood pressure, Food intake, Kidney & heart body Muscular voluntary functioning temperature, etc. system mechanisms, etc. Reflexes

Low Moderately Moderate Moderately High flexibility low flexibility high flexibility

Figure 2: The human body flexibility continuum

The flexibility continuum in human body can be described by taking different subsystems or mechanisms with flexibility value ranging from low to high. For example, we have body reflexes on extremely high point of the continuum, whereas critical life supporting subsystems are on other extreme of the continuum with low flexibility. The organs and sub-systems involved in physical mobility are in the middle of the continuum. The physiological processes with autonomy e.g. food intake is on moderately high continuum position and controlled physiological processes with a narrow range of operation e.g. blood pressure, body temperature etc. are on moderately low flexibility continuum position.

The human body flexibility continuum is another form of flexibility valuation grid based on which important recommendations can be made to sub-systems of organizations that also require different form and degree of flexibility in different parts of their businesses. According to Volberda (1998), there are four different types of flexibility, which can also be viewed as continuum from most stable to most responsive (Figure 3). Moreover, the degree of flexibility also varies with environmental turbulence and business agility. 246 Insights into Organizational Flexibility Inspired by Human Body as a System

Most stale Most resonsive

teady state erational tructural trategic

Figure 3: The flexibility continuum

Figures 4 (a & b) shows different trends that organizational flexibility can have based on environmental uncertainty and agility of organizations. Here five different flexibility modes have been demonstrated. Organizations can have moderate flexibility, low flexibility, high flexibility as shown in Figure 4 (a). Figure 4 (b) shows that there can be organizations that fail to sustain high degree of flexibility. This shows following practices crucial in sustaining flexibility are equally important to incorporating flexibility in the system. Moreover there are organizations that transforms from low to high flexibility modes depending upon their own vision and changing business environment.

Figure 4 (a): Trend showing low, moderate and high degrees of flexibilities Alpana Agarwal Prem Vrat 247

Figure 4 (b): Trend showing organization flexibility transformation modes

Examples of flexibility in corporate organizations for meeting unanticipated requirements are: creating variable capacity to meet fluctuating demand pattern, developing multi-skilled manpower that would enable the organization to handle unprecedented job requirements at lower manpower costs. However, such flexibility initiative in organizations would require certain preparations, like the variable capacity systems would entail higher initial costs of change in technology; multi-skilling would involve higher training costs of employees on multiple skills. Furthermore, inspired from human body flexibility continuum, organizations can create their own flexibility continuum to distinguish the extent of flexibility required at different functional areas. For example, high flexibility should be given to employees in working hours; whereas very flexibility on tolerance to unethical conduct, quality of work etc.

Implications of the Study

The theoretical implications of the present study lie in the contribution to the body of knowledge by filling gaps in the literature and by establishing a new management paradigm. The present study contributes an altogether new management philosophy to the body of management literature. A Flexibility Valuation Grid inspired from human body has proposed insights to inculcate optimal degree of flexibility can be derived. The proposed human body flexibility continuum is another form of flexibility valuation grid based on which important recommendations can be made to sub-systems of organizations that also require different form and degree of flexibility in different parts of their businesses. 248 Insights into Organizational Flexibility Inspired by Human Body as a System Conclusions

In order to deal with changing environment, the businesses are supposed to create systems that are flexible to use in terms of anticipated or unanticipated future changes that might take place. With flexibility we can find feasible solutions to multiple criteria with incompatibility as in goal programming which rigid multiple objective linear programming fails to give. So, rigidity erodes the options while flexibility opens wider choices, hence better decisions are feasible to fit the situation. Based on this philosophy, in this paper importance of flexibility is examined by analyzing its varying degree in the human body. It has been observed that there is optimal degree of flexibility in human body. It has also been observed that the flexibility should be offered to any system based on its functional requirements and its implication on the overall system. For example, high flexibility should be given to functional areas like research and development, advertisement, etc.; whereas low flexibility to members of accounts and finance department while dealing with financial statements and investment decisions respectively. There is need to further explore this research to open and develop new paradigms of organizational flexibility.

References

1. Aranda,A.(2003 Service operations strategy,flexibility and performance in engineering consultants’ firms. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 23(12),1401-21.

2. Bernardes, E.S., &Hanna, M.D. (2009). A theoretical review of flexibility, agility and responsiveness in the operations management literature: toward a conceptual definition of customer responsiveness. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 29(1), 30-53.

3. Copeland, T.E., & Keenam, P.T. (1998). How much flexibility is worth? The Mckinsey Quarterly, 2, 38-49.

4. Das, A. (2001). Towards theory building in manufacturing flexibility. International Journal of Production Research, 39(18), 4153-77.

5. Englehardt, C.S.,&Simmons, P.R. (2002). Organizational flexibility for a changing world. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 23(3), 113-121.

6. Garg, S., Vrat, P., Kanda, A., & Dua, B.B. (2003).Aspects of flexibility and quality in Indian manufacturing practices – a survey”, International Journal of Alpana Agarwal Prem Vrat 249 Manufacturing Tech. & Management, 5(5/6), 443-458.

7. Hatum, J., Pettigrew, A., & Andrew, M. (2005). Determinants of organizational flexibility: a study in an emerging economy. British Journal of Management.

8. Karuppan, C.M.,&Kepes, S. (2006). The strategic pursuit of mix flexibility through operators’ involvement in decision-making. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 26(9), 1039-64.

9. Phillips, F., & Tuladhar, S.D. (2000).Measuring organizational flexibility: an exploration and general model, Technological Forecasting and Social Change,64(1), 23-38.

10. Sushil.(2015). Strategic flexibility: the evolving paradigm of strategic management. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, 16(2), 113-114.

11. Volberda, H.W. (1998). Building the Flexible Firm. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

12. Vrat, P. (2011). Inventory models and human body food supply chain: some managerial insights. Industrial Engineering Journal, 2(2), 8-16 .

13. Vrat, P. & Agarwal, A. (2013). Bio-inspired models of teamwork: some managerial insights. Industrial Engineering Journal, 6(3), 6-11.

14. Wahab, M.I.M.(2005) Measuring machine and product miscibilities of a manufacturing system. International Journal of Production Research,43(18), 3773-86.

15. Zhang,Q.,Vonderembse,M.A.,& Cao,M.(2006). Achieving flexible-manufacturing competence. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 26(6), 580-99. Recovery Performance Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 250-260 of Primary Agricultural Credit ISSN 2319-8702(Print) Societies: an Evaluationz ISSN 2456-7574(Online) © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies Vijay Singh http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Amit Dangi

Abstract

Co-operative institutions are vital organizations not only in ensuring smooth flow of agricultural credit but also in the overall development of rural economy. In the Co-operative Credit structure, PACS at the village level constitutes the base. They are responsible for providing short and medium-term credit, supply of agricultural inputs and marketing of the produce. In case of co-operative banks of rural sector, the recovery position of PACS can be seen as the index of recovery performance of all other co-operative institutions. This attempt aims to analyse the recovery performance of all PACSs of India taking them together during the period of 2003-16. It is observed that more than ninety seven thousand PACS have been serving rural people and on an average, two staff members have worked for a PACS. It is found that though recovery position has not been satisfactory on an average during the study period, the result of last couple of years during 2003- 16, PACS have revealed good recovery. The process of converting PACS in to Multi Service Centres is expected to make them viable. Further, regional disparity is simultaneously an important concern for the overall success of PACS which should be investigated at regular intervals.

Keywords: Cooperative Credit Institutions, Primary Agricultural Credit Society, Recovery, Overdues, Loans outstanding

* Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce Indira Gandhi University, Rewari Haryana-123401, India. E-mail : [email protected] ** Assistant Professor, Faculty of Commerce and Management SGT University, Gurugram, Haryana, India, E-mail : [email protected] Vijay Singh and Amit Dangi 251 INTRODUCTION

Cooperatives are the backbone of institutional framework of credit mechanism of rural economy in India. Co-operative institutions, especially co-operative banks form an important segment of the Indian Financial System and in fact before nationalization of banks there had been only formal source of advancing loans etc. Co-operative banking in India has an extensive network as compared to other commercial banks and are playing significant role in disbursement of credit and mobilizing the saving through various types of banks at different level. It may be said that co-operative banking system covers almost all strata of Indian population. Co-operative banks finance rural areas under farming, milk, cattle, milk, hatchery and personal finance and in urban areas, they finance under self employment, industries, small scale units, home finance, consumer finance and also personal finance. Co-operative institutions are vital organizations not only in ensuring smooth flow of agricultural credit but also in the overall development of rural economy. The co-operative credit institutions in India may be broadly classified into urban credit co-operatives and rural credit co-operatives. The urban credit co-operatives include only Urban co-operative Banks (UCBs). But, rural credit co-operatives have a complex structure. They have had around sixty five percent of total assets of cooperative sector (RBI, 2017). Ruralco- operative credit institutions have two distinct structures viz. the Short Term Co-operative Credit Structure (STCCS) and Long Term Co-operative Credit Structure (LTCCS). In the STCCS, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACSs) at the village level form the base level, while District Central Co-operative Banks (DCCBs) are placed at the intermediate level and the State Co-operative Banks (StCBs) at the apex level. For the development of credit cooperatives, a series of efforts in terms of instituting committee from All India Rural Credit Survey Committee to Vaidyanathan Committee has been taken by the regulators at central level.

In the Co-operative Credit structure, PACS at the village level constitute the base. They are the foundation on which the whole co-operative edifice is built. They are responsible for providing short and medium-term credit, supply of agricultural inputs and marketing of the produce. Their other functions include attracting local savings through share capital and deposits, distribution of loans, supervision of their proper utilization, their timely recovery and supply of consumer goods. They are also associated with production and other socio-economic welfare programmes of the village. Among the mentioned agencies, PACS plays significant role to cater the financial needs of rural people at immediate level and they directly deal with the farmers and persons who are engaged in the agriculture based activities. These still occupy substantial share of credit delivery in rural areas as 252 Recovery Performance of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies: an Evaluationz compared to other agencies meant for the same purpose be it public or private sector banks etc. Apart from this, they are continuously struggling with many problems in terms of finance and operations as well. Many measures have been taken at government level to improve the position of Nationalized and regional rural banks but for cooperative credit institutions, not much efforts or measures have been taken to improve their position but the role of cooperatives has many times been acknowledged in the union budgets . In the interim budget of 2004-05, the then Finance Minister mentioned the importance of cooperatives and proposed a revised regulatory framework (NAFSCOB, 2014).

But, as the stakeholders of financial sector know that no financial institution especially bank remains viable if its operating cycle of business does not operate efficiently and PACS are not the exception. For financial institutions, problem of loan overdue isan important issue as it not only influences utilization of funds but also the viability of these institutions (Mazumder, Chakravary and Bhandari, 2014). More specifically, it means recovery mechanism and performance that decides the efficiency, productivity and ultimately profitability of a credit institution. In case of co-operative banks of rural sector, the recovery position of PACS can be seen as the index of recovery performance of all other co-operative institutions.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Working on dimensions of PACS has been common area for the researchers and investigators of this field as cooperation has its genesis more than a century in India on formal fronts. Following are brief ups of few works done on performance of PACS.

Krishna (2013) examined the growth of PACS in India and found an increase in aggregate form in the performance of these societies. It was also observed that profit making PACS had also been increased during the study period i.e. 2006-07 to 2010-11. Regarding recovery, an indicator- overdues to loans demanded had also decreased and apart from these, the researcher took many other indicators of PACS and CAGR that was mainly used to compare the selected indicators.

Hooda and Chahal (2011) studied growth and progress of PACS of Haryana by considering different aspects such as number of PACS, memberships, profit making societies, owned funds, working capital, borrowings, deposits, loan outstanding, overdues etc. in absolute manner and relative form as well. They compared figures of these indicators for the years- 1966-67, 1990-91 and 2008-09. It was observed that PACS alongwith profit making societies had shown decreasing trend while in terms of all financial indicators, the Vijay Singh and Amit Dangi 253 performance of PACS of Haryana State was found to be good. Besides this, the performance of PACS was also compared with national average on the basis of the data of 2007-08. The authors suggested giving adequate education to the borrowers/members regarding proper utilization and repayment of loan on time.

Kumar and Mehta (2018) analyzed the performance and prospects of PACS working in Haryana State and for this they took data of fifteen years. It was found that number of PACS decreased significantly while other financial variables like share capital, deposits and working capital had shown an increasing pace. The authors also found less number of PACS working in profits as compared to that in loss and it was serious concern for the development of PACS in Haryana.

Misra (2006) tried to analyse the performance of PACS in terms of their recovery performance. For this, long time as reference period (1988-2005) was considered. Recovery as dependent indicator is regressed by considering average member per society, share of Govt. capital to working capital, deposits-borrowing ratio, medium term loans to short term loans, growth in food credit by banks. the researcher was of the view that optimal membership size should be relooked in the light of viability of PACS.

Mazumder et al. (2014) assessed recovery of PACS in India by categorizing those in six regions according to the classification of NAFSCOB. In their study, it was observed that recovery performance of PACS was low in North-eastern states while it was more in states of Northern and Southern India. Further, it was also found that fluctuation in recovery performance was also high. The authors suggested RBI along with State governments needed to take series of efforts to strengthen PACS.

In addition to these studies, many more are reviewed and it is observed that though studying recovery of cooperatives particularly PACS has been common aarea of research among academicians and scholars, it is always advocated that this aspect of PACS needs to be investigated on regular intervals so that issues and findings can be offered to policymakers and beneficiaries to strengthen the functioning and viability of these PACS. Now, the following part presents objective and methodology, analysis and results and then concluding remarks with some implications.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

In general, purpose of this study is to examine the progress of PACS while specifically it aims to analyse the recovery performance of all PACSs of India taking them together. 254 Recovery Performance of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies: an Evaluationz METHODOLOGY

This attempt is analytical in nature. All PACSs are taken together. Secondary data have mainly been used and accessed from NAFSCOB1 publications. Besides this source, some reputed journals of this area and books have also been referred. A study, of fourteen years (2002-03 to 2015-16) period have been taken for the refernce. Along with amount of demand, overdues, overdues-demand ratio and overdues-loans outstanding ratio as indicators to measure the recovery position of these PACSs, number of societies and their staff members are also taken in to consideration and analyzed to offer meaning inference to the phenomenon. For analyzing the collected information, classical techniques like mean, standard deviation, minima, maxima and charts are employed.

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

As PACS work at grass root or village level in our country and they advance short term and medium term loans to the beneficiaries and specially rural people. Farmers and persons who are dependent on either agriculture or allied activities, have to be dependent on the success of their cultivated crops or related outputs which again in our nation in geographic sense depends on weather and climate conditions. That is why recovery of such advances is always a matter of concern for these cooperative credit institutions. So, efforts of employees of these PACS becomes more crucial for the collection of the dues from the borrowers.

Firstly, status of PACS in numbers and their staff members is looked into i.e. progress in physical resources of PACS during the reference period. Table 1 : Physical and Human Resources of PACS: 2003-16 (Figures in No.)

PACS Employees Employee per PACS Mean 97871 243651 2 Max. 112309 388118 4 Min. 92432 164432 2 Source: NAFSCOB

Table 1 indicates trends in numbers of PACS and their employees during 2003-16 and it depicts that on an average, 97871 PACS have been working to cater the financial and associated needs of rural people mainly farmers. While 243651 employees have worked 1 NAFSCOB is National Federation of State Cooperative Banks Ltd. It is situated in Mumbai and publishes several database and reports related to cooperative sector institutions. Vijay Singh and Amit Dangi 255 in PACS during this period. Maximum PACS were in 2003 but in case of strength of employees, it was the year 2004-05. In case of minimum values, in 2015 both indicators were at their lowest level. Number of employees per PACS has been two employees on an average.

Furthermore, the same aspects of PACS are shown in graphical form also. Figure 1 exhibits trend of PACS in terms of their number and employees as well during 2003-16 Figure 1: Trends of Number of PACS and Their Staff

450000 120000 400000 100000 350000 300000 80000 ee s

250000 y CS 60000 o

P A 200000 mp l E 150000 40000 100000 20000 50000 0 0 . 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

It is clearly evident that there has been fluctuating trend in number of staff member of PACS but simultaneously showing a decreasing trend also specifically after 2005. Though PACS have been decreased in number during 2003-16, after the year 2006-07, there has been a consistency i.e. these varied between 92432 to 95633.

So, it may be concluded that fluctuations in number of employees has been more than that of number of PACS during the study period.

After looking into status of PACS in terms of their physical resources, now turn to assess indicators pertaining to operational part of recovery performance of these PACS taking together. Table 2 details about the trends and statistics about the amount of loans outstanding and overdues along with this amount according to per PACS. 256 Recovery Performance of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies: an Evaluationz Table 2: Advances and Overdues of PACS: 2003-16(Figures in Rs. Lacs)

Year Loans Overdues Loans Outs. Overdues per outstanding per PACS PACS 2003 4241124 1528937 37.76 13.61 2004 4387282 1629517 41.49 15.41 2005 4878546 1605223 44.85 14.76 2006 5177866 1547623 48.67 14.55 2007 5862015 1575150 62.88 16.90 2008 6566638 2400348 69.16 25.28 2009 6404424 3793635 66.97 39.67 2010 7647983 3952400 80.81 41.76 2011 8776794 2269713 93.96 24.30 2012 9124321 2430359 98.71 26.29 2013 13939871 3829550 149.11 40.96 2014 13005386 2963183 139.78 31.85 2015 14722557 3579058 158.67 38.57 2016 15848725 2988913 169.75 32.01 Mean 8613109.43 2578114.93 90.18 26.85 S.D. 4094275.14 937044.69 46.20 10.69 C.V. (%) 47.5 36.3 51.2 39.8 Max. 15848725 3952400 169.75 41.76 Min. 4241124 1528937 37.76 13.61 Source: NAFSCOB S.D. stands for standard deviation and C.V. stands for coefficient of variation

As per mean values, amount of loans outstanding advanced by PACS is Rs. 86,13,109lacs during the study period while that of overdues is Rs. 25,78,115 lacs. Further, loan outstanding was maximum in last year of the reference (2016) while for overdues, these were in 2010. But, minimum amount of both indicators has been in 2003.

Variations in loans have relatively been more than that of overdues both ways in absolute and relative as well (S.D. and C.V.) . Turning to assess the same variables in relative form i.e. loans outstanding and ovedues per PACS, mean amount is showing that each PACS has had Rs. 90.18 lacs of loans outstanding and Rs. 26.85 lacs as ovedues during 2003-16. Here, it may be said that around thirty percent of loan outstanding remains overdue i.e. unrecovered during the study period. Resultantly, quantum of variability of Vijay Singh and Amit Dangi 257 loans outstanding per PACS has been more than that of overdues on the basis of the value of S.D. and coefficient of variation and minimum amount pertaining to both was in 2003.

Above analysis evaluates half of the whole scenario about recovery of PACS. To present comprehensive view, two financial ratios – overdues-loans outstanding ratio and overdues-demand ratio are determined and then analyzed.

Table 3 exhibits details of these two important ratios with regard to recovery of PACS. Table 3: Recovery Performance of PACS: 2003-16

Overdues-Loans Outstanding Ratio Overdues- Demand Ratio Mean 32.59 30.38 S.D. 11.17 8.31 Max. 59.23 44.82 Min. 18.86 17.60 Source: NAFSCOB

Since recovery rate of a bank can be assessed with magnitude of non performing assets and its proportion to loans advanced etc. In case of cooperative credit institutions, quantum of overdues (amount of unrecovered loan out of amount of demanded loan) determines recovery position. So, these two ratios have been considered for analyzing recovery of PACS.

Table 3 presents basic descriptive statistics of these ratios and on average base, there is not much difference in the level of both ratios i.e. 33 percent (overdues to loans outstanding ) and 30 percent (ovedues to demand). Here, it may be concluded that in overall, around thirty percent of loans outstanding and demanded loans also couldn’t be recovered from borrowers by these PACS during the tenure. If these results are put together with previous table, it is again observed that mean amount of overdues per PACS is variably around thirty percent that of loan amount i.e. the finding of these ratios justify the results of previous section. But, it is an alarming signal with regard to viability of PACS and there is need to get attention of management and policymakers of PACS to look into the matter i.e. thirty percent of demanded loan become overdues and take sustainable steps to improve this position simultaneously by keeping situation and circumstances of borrowers in reference to not repaying the borrowed amount. Further, in 2008-09, the level of overdues was relatively high. There is a favorable sign also that is after that year, recovery of PACS has consistently improved as magnitude of overdues has decreased significantly in the last years 258 Recovery Performance of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies: an Evaluationz of the study period.

Hence, it may be viewed that though on average basis, recovery position has not been much satisfactory level, figures of 2015-16 is showing good improvement and PACS can be appreciated for this performance.

In addition to above analysis, figure 2 exhibits trends in overdues and on other side- recovery also. It can easily be argued that there is decreasing trend in both ratios which are based on overdues except 2008 & 2009.

70.00

60.00

50.00

40.00 �o 30.00 �o 20.00

10.00

0.00

Figure 2: Trends in Recovery Indicators of PACS

Due to high level of ovedues in proportion to loans outstanding and demanded, average of both ratios are about thirty percent otherwise in the end of reference period, these are quite at low level which should be considered a favorable sign for PACS’ progress. But, the results of after years i.e. 2017 & 2018 would verify this trend which couldn’t be done due to non availability of data.

CONCLUSION

Cooperative institutions have served the society to great extent in India and credit institutions like PACS and cooperative banks have worked to cater financial needs of beneficiaries particularly rural people. PACS still are considered easy door to get financial and allied help for farmers etc. in rural area despite the fact, commercial banks also offer kisan credit card scheme. But, as earlier mentioned, circulation of given amount is Vijay Singh and Amit Dangi 259 equally required for viable functioning of the said PACS. Inan era of competitive banking environment and technology developments, PACS can ensure automation and quality services if they recover the advanced loans in time. This study reveals a snap view of PACS regarding their recovery position taking them together. NAFSCOB provides information about various indicators of cooperative credit institutions meant for short term structure and for this work, same source is approached. Overall, more than ninety seven thousand PACS have been serving rural people and these constitute about twenty two percent of total rural cooperatives and more than two and forty thousand employees are working there for PACS. Overall, each PACS has two staff member. Further, each PACS has carried Rs. 90 lac as loans outstanding while Rs. 26.85 lac as overdues. As per mean values of two financial ratios regarding recovery performance, about thirty percent of loans outstanding and demanded has become overdue which can be counted as high level but it has figured decreasing trend and in 2016, it is quite at low level.

It may be viewed that though recovery position has not been satisfactory on an average during the study period, the result of last couple of years during 2003-16, PACS have revealed good recovery in this regard. Hence, there is need to keep this pattern by putting them as vital institutions when policies and schemes are designed for rural areas particularly for farmers and people who are dependent on agriculture. These societies need to be restructured according to present socio-economic status of beneficiaries and entry of commercial banks in this field. Viability of PACS is nowadays matter of concern and in this regard, NABARD is extending financial assistance to short term rural cooperative institutions to promote the said PACS as Multi Service Centres so that these can develop themselves as self sustainable units of cooperatives and Central Govt. also through the Union Budget (2017-18) has allocated Rs. 1900 crores for PACS to establish digital banking (RBI, 2017). One more unique provision initiated by NABARD for rural cooperatives is additional short term seasonal agricultural operations (ST—SAO) is expected to liquidity for these institutions. In addition to this, stories of successful PACS may be advertised by institutions and agencies which are working for cooperatives at central and state level so that these can work as guiding force for others. Regional disparity is simultaneously an important issue for the overall success of PACS which should be investigated at regular intervals. 260 Recovery Performance of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies: an Evaluationz References

1. Ahmed, Rais. (2009). Cooperative management and development- text & cases. New Delhi: Mittal Publications.

2. Goel, P. (1984). The menacing problems of overdues of credit co-operatives: an indepth study of Rajasthan. Indian Co-operative Review, 21(3).

3. Hooda, V. S., &Chahal, S. S. (2011). Performance of primary agricultural credit societies: evidences from Haryana. Economic Affairs (Calcutta), 56(1), 49-53.

4. Krishna, S. P. (2013). Growth & performance of primary agriculture credit society in India. Investment Management and Financial Innovations,1-9.

5. Kumar, M.& Mehta, V.P. (2018). Performance and prospects of primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) in Haryana during 2000-01 to 2014-15. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences,7(4), 20-32.

6. Mazumder, R., Chakravarty, C., & Bhandari, A. K. (2014). Recovery Performance of Primary Agriculture Credit Societies in India: An Assessment.IZA Discussion Paper No. 8294. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_ id=2465329.

7. Misra, B. S. (2006). Performance of primary cooperatives in India: an empirical analysis. MPRA Paper No. 21890, 1-33. Retrieved from : http://mpra.ub.uni- muenchen.de/21890/

8. NAFSCOB. (2014). 50 years of NAFSCOB- rural cooperative credit institutions and Union budgets – an analysis (1993-94 to 2013-14). Retrieved from http:// nafscob.org.

9. Reserve Bank of India. (2017). Developments in co-operative banking. (Dec. 21, 2017). Retrieved from https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/PublicationsView. aspx?id=18062 Rural Family Migrants as Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 261-278 Apartment Caretakers: Requisites ISSN 2319-8702(Print) And Fulfilment–Visakhapatnam, ISSN 2456-7574(Online) © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies India http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Asha Bandaru

Abstract

Accelerated urbanization is creating immense employment opportunities for formal and informal sectors in India. Contrary to urban ‘pull’ nature in respect to income generation, rural living prospects are diminishing drastically on account of confounding climate, poor education and health facilities. The past decade has witnessed rapid growth in the urban population, credit to globalization, ensuing development in manufacturing and service sectors. In order to accommodate the never ending urban migration, construction sector has boomed, especially apartment culture is flourishing owing to the inhabitants’ preference to live close to work place and other social facilities. This group living atmosphere is creating nonexistent informal domestic work as apartment caretakers. Research of this paper has been done on 120 respondents;and it assesses the necessity of entire family migration to urban areas, focusing on the reason for preference of this occupation, taking cognizanceof their living-socio-economic conditions after migration and finally divulge perception of their occupation and migration decision fulfilment. Research reveals majority are former small farmers and agriculture labouress, who migrated due to poor previous occupational outputs. Provision of shelter, non-requirement of skill and approximity to basic amenities are the cardinal grounds for choosing this occupation. About two-thirds of respondents are gratifying their decision to migrate and to work as apartment caretakers.

Keywords: Apartment caretakers, Informal sector, Migration requisites, Migration fulfilment, live-in’s.

* Dr., Human Resources Management, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. E-mail : [email protected] 262 Rural Family Migrants as Apartment Caretakers: Requisites And Fulfilment–Visakhapatnam, India Introduction

Migration has been a crucial facet of human history over the centuries for survival intent. The sources of early migration flows were primarily agro-ecological, related to population expansion to new settlements or to conquests by Eaton, Richard M (1993). Migration is influenced both by the pattern of development and the social structure stated by Mosse, D., Gupta, et.al (2002). India has witnessed hyper motility tendency in the past decade with an estimate of 56 per cent in 2011 compared to 42per cent in 2001. Migration pattern has changed in Indian context post globalization. Despite agriculture being a major source of livelihood in India, poor outcomes become preeminent push factor for rural to urban migration, alternatively rapid urbanization serving as a major pull factor by attracting by means of offering better prospects in terms of employment and living conditions. According to Bourdieu (1984), people who migrate do not have either social or economical appraise but construction sector is providing vast employment opportunities for rural migrants mostly in informal sector as construction workers and domestic workers.

Domestic service is a wide concept with non-descriptive form of work rendered by both men and women. In the Indian context, the domestic work is defined generally in- terms of the work performed and the time spent for the work in the employer house. The Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), Article 1 states: (a) the term “domestic work” means work performed in or for a household or households; (b) the term “domestic worker” means any person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship; (c) a person who performs domestic work only occasionally or sporadically and not on an occupational basis is not a domestic worker. The domestic work is categorized into Live-in, who perform their duties by residing along with the employer’s family and Live out, who perform their duties for the whole day or some fixed hours and go back to their houses. Padmini (1990) in her study found that domestic service is the most unregulated and disorganized form of work compared to all other works in India. Domestic work cannot be defined aptly since the workers’ duties are not specific and may tend to vary according to the employer. A domestic worker or helper is a person who performs variety of domestic services for an individual or for a family within the employer household.

The beamy pattern of domestic work includes , providing care for the children and elderly dependents, cleaning and household maintenance, other services like cooking, shopping, laundry and ironing, gardening and taking care of the residencies’. In addition to the above, apartment caretaking is booming with rapid urbanization, as every newly built apartment residents are seeking for apartment caretakers. Apartment caretakers are those Asha Bandaru 263 who migrate to urban areas with their whole family, reside in the shelter provided for them in the apartment and take care of everything from residence care to residents’ personal works.

This occupation has been in existence as live-in domestic workers but the employment stature has changed as apartment caretakers consist of multiple employers. Employers are attracting especially rural migrants by providing shelter. Shelter provision has become a major cause for the employees for opting this occupation since the employee family can move in for better prospects for their offsprings and elderly.

Literature Review

According to John, K. (2013) the wages of live-in workers depending on the worker’s experience and the specific tasks to which they are assigned range between 1000 to 4000 rupees per month (in 2008). They are also provided with the Boarding, lodging, clothes, and other articles of daily use.

Uma Joshi & Neena Thakkar (2013) conducted a survey on domestic workers in India by taking 30 domestic servants from Vadodara city, Gujarat. This survey mostly focused on the treatment received by these domestic servants by their employers. They stated that this selected group of domestic workers highlighted both the positive and negative trends of treatment from their employers. According to their findings majority of these workers received a fair treatment from their employers by getting salary on time, provided with a day off in case of need, flexibility in working hours and benefited with bonus every year. But on the other hand they also found negative treatment by few employers by giving stale food, treating as untouchables, by not giving salary on time, exploited by extra hours of work and insulted by using abusive words. Thus it draws the attention to the fact that these workers are still undervalued and hold low self-esteem in the current society. They further concluded that being an important element of social life; this domestic work force should be formalized by implementing the existing laws and regulations effectively and efficiently.

ILO (2015) made a survey on the problems of migrant labour in domestic work. Through this survey it wants to assess the nature and extent of abuse of these workers. It mainly focused on the two most frequented migration routes i.e., Kerala to Arab country and from Jharkhand to Delhi. The study in Kerala reveals the need for money is the major push factor for women especially for widows and single mothers to travel as domestic workers. The study in Jharkhand revealed that majority of the migrants are young women below the age of sixteen who travel because of their poverty and for mere survival. The 264 Rural Family Migrants as Apartment Caretakers: Requisites And Fulfilment–Visakhapatnam, India survey also envisages that most of the migrants are live-in workers and they are facing lot of physical abuse and becoming the victims of trafficking.

HemantikaBasu (2016) attempted to examine the nature and characteristics of domestic work in Siliguri, West Bengal by taking a sample of 35 women domestic workers including full-time live-in workers, full time non-residential workers and live-out’s or part- time workers. She found that poverty, destitution and illiteracy were the main reasons, which made them to opt this occupation. This study highlights that these workers thought that they were supplementing their family income instead they end up with contributing a substantial portion of their net family income. This study also reveals that out of the total respondents about 50 percent of them belongs to SC category whereas the rest of them belong to other backward classes. She also found that caste based discrimination was mostly not found at the work place.

Dr. NidhiTewathia (2017) in her study on “Living on the Margins of Development: Domestic Women Workers”, found that the household work which was earlier unpaid has been quantified to some extent as payment is made to the domestic workers for such work. The paper focuses on the unaccounted and invisible contribution of women domestic workers in our country. The domestic workers are not recognized as workers and their work is undervalued. Home of the employer is the workplace for the domestic workers and this unique feature makes them vulnerable to abuses, exploitation and acute working conditions. But, these workers themselves are left on the margins of the development matrix. Stuck between bad working conditions and expectations of subservient loyalty, the Indian domestic worker has to cope with the worst aspects of both feudalism and capitalism. The paper concludes by emphasizing that the regulation and formalization of the domestic employment relationship is in the interest of both workers and employers.

BalmurliNatrajan and Rajesh Joseph (2018) in their paper on “Domestic Workers and the Challenges of Collective Action in Informal Work” gave a critical commentary on the collectivization of domestic workers, based upon an ongoing empirical study that combines ethnographic and quantitative inquiry among these workers in different parts of Bengaluru, India and found that they are a relatively neglected population (in scholarship, labour and citizenry mobilizations, and within policy) as compared to workers in the garment, construction, transportation, restaurant and other informal industries. The major challenge to any collectivization effort or bargaining for domestic workers is unlike the formal sector worker’s union, any collective of domestic workers faces the fact of multiple employers. Asha Bandaru 265 Domestic work can be widely studied under various fields such as sociology, anthropology, gender studies, history etc covering the aspects like economic, legal, social, physical and psychological. Above literature indicates that there have been a number of valuable studies from researchers, social activists and voluntary organizations at different levels on the existing problems of domestic workers with primary and secondary data, all of them present evidence of not succeeding in providing a feasible solution to their problems. As the problems of the domestic workers are multifaceted and it may vary from area to area. However, none of studies were made especially on the apartment caretakers with reference to Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh State, India. Hence, the present study is intended to understand the necessity of entire family migration to urban areas, the reason for preference of this occupation, to cognize their living-socio-economic conditions after migration and their perception of their occupation and migration decision fulfilment, forecasting a considerable gap for further research.

Significance of the study

Apartment caretakers are becoming indispensable in modern urban life as their need is augmenting with the excrescent of concrete structures. This unheeded opportunity now becoming a stellar occupation for lot of unskilled rural to urban migrants. Despite the instantaneous increase with proportion to urbanization, research on apartment caretaker occupation is fairly invisible. Hence, creating a scope for deep exploration in this area spring up to study their former and latter lifestyle aspects of migration.

Objectives of the study

• To study the necessity of migration with whole family.

• To know the reasons for opting apartment caretaker occupation.

• To examine the socio economic conditions of the migrants.

• To find whether their purpose(s) of migration have been met.

Research Methodology

A descriptive research design, which includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries, was adopted for this study. The first step in every descriptive study is to specify the objectives with adequate accuracy to ensure the relevance of the collected data. With this 266 Rural Family Migrants as Apartment Caretakers: Requisites And Fulfilment–Visakhapatnam, India descriptive study the researcher can only report what has happened or what is happening, as there exists no control over variables. In order to make the statements about the population or universe of the present study, the sample was taken on the basis of sample analysis.

Selection of the study area

Visakhapatnam is a cosmopolitan city of Andhra Pradesh, India with people from various parts of the country. It is one of the nine coastal districts in the state, serving as an administrative headquarters of Visakhapatnam district. It is bounded on the north to some extent by Orissa state and to a certain extent by Vizianagaram district, by East Godavari district on its south, on the west by Orissa state and on the east by the Bay of Bengal with a population of 4,288,113. Agriculture is the main stray of nearly 70 per cent of the household around Visakhapatnam district. Though Visakhapatnam city is industrially developed, the rural areas around the city are mostly confined to agriculture and its allied activities. Animal Husbandry is one of the important economic activities in agriculture in this region.

Lack of major irrigation facilities around Visakhapatnam ensuing declination of economic status for agriculture based and allied sectors. Due to rapid urbanization, Visakhapatnam is creating more employment opportunities in various sectors. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and due to the overall development of the city in all directions; people do migrate from different states and union territories for professional jobs in industries, software, and service sector and for other types of business entities. In the same way, the uneducated, unskilled people especially from the surrounding rural areas due poor financial outcomes in and around its rural areas attracting a lot of people to this city in search of menial jobs in the unorganized sector especially for construction industry as domestic workers, manual labours and to undertake other low paid jobs. Apartment caretakers are probably one of the most trending groups in domestic service. Thereby the rate of migration from the surrounding rural areas has been increasing proportionally with the respective urbanization for the improvement in their living conditions.

For the study the researcher selected six suburbs: 1) Visakha Beach road 2) Seethammadara 3) Gajuwaka 4) Marripalem 5) Prahaladapuram 6) Maddilapalem.

Sample Size

The universe or population for the present study is not statistically available, so Asha Bandaru 267 the researcher considered 120 respondents as a sample from six areas for the collection of data. Under Visakhapatnam Urban District, there are 35 urban areas and the apartment caretakers working in all these areas are considered as the universe of the study. Identifying each and every person in the occupation of apartment caretakers is a laborious task due to different practical difficulties like migration; frequent change of occupation and for reason inexplicable. Hence, the researcher used a two stage sampling technique for obtaining the sample. In the first stage, 6 urban areas are selected from the 35 urban areas of Visakhapatnam using simple random sampling method. In the second stage 20 respondents are selected from each selected urban areas using convenient sampling method. Under this sampling design, every item of the universe has an equal chance of action in the sample. Through this way, a sample size of 120 was drawn from the population of apartment caretakers in Visakhapatnam urban district.

Data Collection

The present study is mainly based on primary data. For the purpose of collecting the data an interview schedule was prepared. Interview was conducted at their workplace. Personal interview by the researcher was the major tool of data collection. The data were recorded in the interview schedule. Each interview took about half an hour. The data, thus collected were categorized for further analysis.

Analysis & Interpretation

Respondents Demographics:

The demographic information of the respondents in the sample was collected and tabulated in the following table no 1.

Table 4.1 depicts that out of the total respondents, 84 per cent of respondents are adults and young middle-aged adults, migrated to urban areas seeking better social and financial opportunities for their family. All the respondents are male and married. 90 per cent of respondents bearing more than one dependent, that is to say only 10 per cent have migrated with only their spouse, where as all the remaining 90 per cent are living with their children along with their spouse in their allotted accommodation at the work place. None of the respondents have pursued higher education. Due to lack of decent education qualifications, respondents are unable to find formal employment or skilled opportunities after migration. 268 Rural Family Migrants as Apartment Caretakers: Requisites And Fulfilment–Visakhapatnam, India Table.1. Respondents’ Profile

Description Sample Frequency Percentage Age (years) 21-39 120 44 37 40-49 120 56 47 50-54 120 16 13 55-64 120 04 03 No. of dependents One 120 12 10 Two 120 80 67 Three 120 28 23 Education status Illiterate 120 64 53 Primary school 120 56 47 High school 120 00 00 Migrated distance Less than 50 Km 120 08 07 50 – 100 Km 120 88 73 100 – 250 Km 120 24 20 Duration away from home 0 - 6 Months 120 12 10 6 Months – 1 Year 120 16 13 1 – 3 Years 120 84 70 3 Years above 120 08 07

80 per cent of the respondents have migrated from nearby rural areas ranging below 100 kilometres from Visakhapatnam city, since this facilitates them for ease commute to their native place. 93 per cent of respondents have migrated in past 3 years. Due to rapid urbanization, migration trend is alacritous in Visakhapatnam in the quest of better fortune.

Migration requisites:

The opinions of the respondents in the sample on the nature of work at the origin, reason for migration and reason for choosing the present occupation was collected and tabulated in the following table 2. Asha Bandaru 269 Out of the total respondents, 50 per cent of respondents’ are from farming and agriculture labour background, whereas 40 per cent are skilled labour in their native places. Decline in of income from agriculture and its allied sectors have been forced the small farmers and agricultural labourers’ to migrate in search of alternate source of income to urban areas. Due to the fall of population and income generation in rural, scope for the skilled workers is diminishing. These skilled workers are unable to find their relevant occupation after migration to urban areas due to the gap in the working mode incurred by technology.

83 per cent of the respondents have migrated in quest of better social amenities. Lack of health facilities and educational amenities for their children is the major cause for the respondent’ to migrate. 13 per cent responded that their back home occupation is unprofitable due to adverse climatic conditions and high investments. 37 per cent migrated in search of continuous employment in order to meet their regular needs. Whereas 13 per cent respondents’ stated that they have off-season work at native places especially the agriculture labour.13 per cent of the respondents have debts due to their previous unprofitable occupation and about 10 per cent of the sample have migrated due to the family disputes. Table.2. Migration Requisites

Nature of work % Reason for % Reason for choosing % at origin migration profession Farming 27 Continuous 37 Easy to work 33 employment Agriculture 23 Unprofitable 13 Provision of shelter 63 Labour occupation Skilled labour 40 Off season work in 13 Personal interest 07 the native place Unskilled 13 Higher wage 23 No skills required 03 Others 07 Better social 83 Not fit for other work 20 amenities - - Indebtedness 13 - - - - Family disputes 10 - - - - Came with other 03 - - migrants 270 Rural Family Migrants as Apartment Caretakers: Requisites And Fulfilment–Visakhapatnam, India Provision of shelter being the major reason for 67 per cent of the migrants to choose the apartment caretakers occupation, since the living expenses in urban costs fortune for low income earners, being the accommodation costs covered they can save a lot. Since all employers are offering the free accommodation for the caretakers along with their family. The respondents are opting this occupation so that they can reside with their family with minimal living expenses in the urban area. 33 per cent responded that the work in the current occupation is easy when compared to the native occupation, since their back home occupation is highly laborious and more physical power demanded. 20 per cent of the respondents stated that the current occupation involves little physical effort with no experience; this sector is also attracting those who were not fit for most of the other regular works. 3 per cent of the respondents stated that they chose the work because they did not need any specific skills and previous experience. Only a 7 per cent responded that they chose this line of work with personal interest.

Employment conditions

The respondents’ opinion in the sample on their employment like source of employment, service agreement, number of employers, treatment of the employer and extra wage for extra work was collected and tabulated in the table 3.

Since the sample covers only those who work at group residences and multiple apartments, all the respondents have multiple employees. 10 per cent of respondents have 2-3 employers, 10 per cent have 6-10 employers, 20 per cent have 11-15 employers, 37 per cent have 16-20 employers and 23 per cent have more than 20 employers. 73 per cent of respondents have not signed any service agreement with the employers hence resulting in insecurity o their employment, where as 20 per cent has an oral or unwritten agreement with their employers and remaining has service agreement. Only about 3per cent of respondents have found employment through agencies holding a service agreement. Alternatively other 97 per cent found the opportunity personal search and relatives or friends reference. Table.3. Employment conditions

Description Sample Frequency % Source of employment Personal search 120 36 30 Friends 120 56 47 Family members 120 24 20 Asha Bandaru 271

Agency 120 04 03 Service agreement Yes 120 08 07 No 120 88 73 Oral/unwritten 120 24 20 No. of employers 2-5 120 12 10 6-10 120 12 10 11-15 120 24 20 16-20 120 44 37 21-25 120 03 03 26 and above 120 24 20 Treatment of the employer Very well 120 12 10 Well 120 72 60 Average 120 16 13 Ill treated 120 20 17 Get extra money for the additional works Yes 120 44 37 No 120 12 10 Sometimes 120 64 53

All the respondents have no fixed schedule but have to complete all duties in a specific period. Their major tasks include household water management, cleaning and mopping basement, stairs and floors, watering the plants and as a watchman whole day. Other duties include emergency duties, vehicle cleaning and supplying necessary goods. Due to no specific work schedule 83 per cent respondents get sufficient time for their work in any given day. No specific rest periods available for the respondents, hence they find some time to relax in between the work while needed. Even though they are ill, they have to manage their regular duties. 53 per cent responded that they have to do the work in any condition and 37 per cent of the respondents responded that they would assign their regular duties to their family members.

Apart from the regular work respondents do additional tasks for the employers. 40 per cent of respondents do vehicle cleaning, 67 per cent go to nearby shops to purchase employers supplies and groceries and 43 per cent do employers additional hand duties. 54 272 Rural Family Migrants as Apartment Caretakers: Requisites And Fulfilment–Visakhapatnam, India per cent respondents they get extra income only occasionally and 10 per cent stated they never receive any extra income for the extra work. Since the Apartment caretaker role involves taking care of the residence or apartment, weekly holiday is not available for them. All the respondents stated that they do not have the weekly holiday, but they get the festival holidays for about 2-3 days with pay only in the case that they have to assign their regular duties for any known workers to replace them during their holiday period.

Respondents sometimes get some additional benefits from their employers. 90 per cent responded that they get food, 47 per cent get in the form of new or used clothes, 13 per cent get used durables and 20 per cent get festival bonuses from the employers. 80 per cent responded that the employers invited them to the social gatherings. 37 per cent respondents have faced verbal abuse by the employers and most of the times for simple mistakes, while the other 63 per cent said their employers have never abused them.

Socio Economic conditions

The opinion of the respondents in the sample on their socio-economic conditions like their salary, number of earning members, income from other sources, savings and debts was collected and tabulated in the table 4.

Net income of this occupation is very low when compared to other urban workers mainly due to the provision of accommodation facilities. 86 per cent earn between INR 4000 – 5000 per month, 7 per cent earn between INR 3000 – 4000 per month and other 7 per cent earn between INR 5000 – 12000 per month. 93 per cent said that they get their salary regularly and on a fixed date of every month, where as the other 7 per cent get with some delays. 73 per cent of the respondents have an extra earning member in their family, mostly their spouse who does the domestic chores at their employers residences and support the respondent with some extra income, alternatively other 27 per cent do not have the extra earning member in their family to support the respondent financially. 43 per cent of respondents have own house at their native places, 20 per cent holds agricultural land and 10 per cent have livestock, which were taken care by their relatives back home. Table.4. Socio-economic conditions

Description Sample Frequency % Respondent salary (INR) 3000-4000 120 08 07 Asha Bandaru 273

4000-5000 120 104 86 5000-12000 120 08 07 No. Of earning members along with the respondent One 120 32 27 Two 120 88 73 Assets Own house 120 52 43 Agricultural land 120 24 20 Live-stock 120 12 10 Income from other sources 2000-3000 120 24 20 3000-4000 120 16 13 4000-5000 120 78 65 5000-12000 120 02 02 Savings Yes 120 52 43 No 120 68 57 Debts Yes 120 84 70 No 120 36 30

All the respondents earn some extra income from all their other income generation sources like from the assets back home, respondents additional duties of the respondents, spouses’ domestic work at the employers residences. 65 per cent responded that they earn between extra 4000 – 5000 INR per month, 20 per cent responded that they earn between extra 2000 – 3000 INR per month, 13 per cent responded that they earn between extra 3000 – 4000 INR per month and 2 per cent responded that they earn between extra 5000 – 12000 INR per month. 70 per cent of respondents stated that they are holding the debts at native place and other 30 per cent have no debts. 43 per cent of respondents are saving money from the current work and the other 53 per cent said they are clearing the debts from the native place and may able to save once the debts were cleared. 274 Rural Family Migrants as Apartment Caretakers: Requisites And Fulfilment–Visakhapatnam, India Respondents Persuasion

The respondents’ opinion on their economic status, living conditions, societal status, occupational opinion and migration fulfillment was collected and tabulated in the table 5.

1 Economic Status:

All respondents stated that their economic status has improved due to the current occupation, since they are earning a stable income compared to their previous occupation. They also stated that they were able to save most from their earnings compared to the other urban workers due to the minimal expenses towards their free accommodation facility.

2 Living Conditions:

93 per cent of respondents stated that their living conditions have improved due to the availability of good shelter and living close to the basic social amenities like schools and colleges for their children and hospitals for their elders and themselves.

3 Societal Status:

87 per cent responded their social status has been normal, 3 per cent feel they have discriminated status and 10 per cent said that their work belong to lower status compare to their previous work. Table.5. Respondents’ Persuasion

Description Sample Frequency % Improvement in the economic status Yes 120 120 100 No 120 - - Improvement in the living conditions Yes 120 112 93 No 120 08 07 Societal status Lower 120 12 10 Normal 120 104 87 Discriminated 120 04 03 Perception on occupation Asha Bandaru 275

Better 120 08 07 Good 120 60 50 Manageable 120 52 43 Willingness to continue the profession Yes 120 80 67 No 120 40 33 Overall satisfaction of the respondents Satisfied 120 88 74 Neutral 120 28 23 Dissatisfied 120 04 03

4 Occupational Opinion:

50 per cent responded good and 43 per cent manageable regarding their work. This 93 per cent respondents said they would recommend and suggest their line of work for their friends and relatives who were in need and looking for an alternate source of income. 67 per cent stated that they would continue the same occupation in future; alternatively 33 per cent said they might quit if they find a better opportunity in future. When asked what they were expecting from their employers, 90 per cent responded adjustment and 10 per cent responded cooperation.

5 Migration Fulfilment:

Though respective situation force to migrate, migrating with whole family is a strong psychological decision especially those who migrate to a new place with different pace in the culture without holding a secure employment or continuous work assurance.74 per cent of the respondents stated that they were satisfied with the idea of migration, as their social and economic conditions has improved compared to their previous occupation, alternatively 23 per cent responded though they earn decently, they feel underemployed for their skill and potential. 276 Rural Family Migrants as Apartment Caretakers: Requisites And Fulfilment–Visakhapatnam, India Fig.1. Migration Fulfillment

1 �ﬁ 3 3 3

1 �fi 3 23 23 23 23 �fi 74 1 �fi 74 74 74

Findings And Summary

• 84 per cent of respondents who migrated for apartment caretaker role are adults (21-39) and young middle aged (40-49).

• None of the respondents have pursued higher education all are male and married.

• 80 per cent of the migrants are from the nearby rural areas ranging below 100 kilometres and 93 per cent have migrated in past 3 years.

• Nature of work of the respondents at the place of origin is 27 per cent farming, 23 per cent agricultural labour and 40 per cent skilled labour.

• 83 per cent of the respondents have migrated with their family seeking better social and financial opportunities.

• 63 per cent of the respondents opted the apartment caretaker’s occupation mostly for the provision of shelter to reduce their urban living expenses.

• 80 per cent of respondents have more than 10 employers.

• 73 per cent of respondents have no service agreement and 97 per cent of respondents found the current occupation through personal search or from the reference of relatives and friends. Asha Bandaru 277

• All the respondents have no fixed work schedule but have to complete all their duties in a specific period. Since they have no work schedule most of the respondents (83 per cent) get sufficient time for their work.

• Weekly holidays are not available for any of the respondents but they get festival holidays for 2-3 days with pay but they have to assign their duties for any known workers.

• 93 per cent of respondents do additional work like vehicle cleaning, buying groceries etc., where as only 37 per cent of respondents get extra money for additional work and 47 per cent get sometimes.

• 70 per cent of respondents are well treated by the employers and 37 per cent of respondents started they have been verbally abused by the employers.

• 87 per cent of respondents earn net salary between 4000 to 5000 INR per month and 93 per cent of them receive salary regularly on a fixed date.

• 73 per cent of respondents’ spouses do the domestic chores at the employers’ residences to earn extra income for the family.

• 43 per cent of respondents have own home at the place of origin and 57 per cent hold agricultural land.

• 76 per cent of respondents earn extra 3000 to 5000 from the other sources of income.

• All respondents stated that their economic status has improve from the current occupation, where as 93 per cent said that their living conditions have improved.

• 67 per cent of respondents wish to continue in the same profession in future.

• 74 per cent of respondents are satisfied with their current occupation and they feel they made a right decision to migrate.

References

1. BalmurliNatrajan and Rajesh Joseph. (2018). Domestic Workers and the Challenges of Collective Action in Informal Work. Centre for Sustainable Employment, AzimPremji University. 278 Rural Family Migrants as Apartment Caretakers: Requisites And Fulfilment–Visakhapatnam, India 2. Bourdieu. (1984). Strategies for Empowering Women in Unorganised Sector with Special Reference to Bihar in BindeshwarPathak (Ed.). Inter-India Publications, New Delhi.

3. Eaton, Richard M. (1993). The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier. Berkeley: University of California Press.

4. HemantikaBasu. (2016). Women in Care Work: A Study of Domestic Workers in a Developing City of West Bengal. The Indian Society of Labour Economics, 58th Annual Conference, 97-99.

5. ILO. (2015). Indispensable yet unprotected: Working conditions of Indian Domestic Workers at Home and Abroad. Fundamental Principles and Rights, International Labour Office, Geneva.

6. John K. (2013). Domestic Women Workers in Urban Informal Sector. National Monthly Refereed Journal of Reasearch in Arts & Education, 2(2).

7. Mosse, D., Gupta, S., Mehta, M., et.al. (2002). Brokered livelihoods: Debt, labour migration and development in tribal western India. Journal of Development Studies, 38(5), 59–88.

8. Dr. NidhiTewathia. (2017). Living on the Margins of Development: Domestic Women Workers. MPRA Paper No. 82258,13-10.

9. Padmini. (1990). The Social Security System of India (1st ed.), New Delhi: S. Chand and Co. (Pvt.) Ltd., 55.

10. Prof.Uma Joshi, Ms.NeenaThakkar. (2013). Domestic workers in India: The major force of Unorgnaised sectors. Paripex-Indian Journal of Research, 2(3). Social Infrastructure and Economic Vivekananda Journal of Research Jan- June 2019, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 279-292 Development in Punjab: A Study of ISSN 2319-8702(Print) Post Reform Period ISSN 2456-7574(Online) © Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies Rajinder Kaur http://www.vips.edu/vjr.php Avinash Kaur

Abstract

The paper made an attempt to analyze the role of social infrastructure in economic development of Punjab for the post-reform period. For the purpose of the study multiple regression was used for finding the impact of social infrastructure on the NSDP per capita. The study found a significant impact of the education infrastructure and health infrastructure on economic development of Punjab. The growth of Net State Domestic Product per capita is 7.90% and the growth of education index is found to be 0.94% . On the contrary, health index shows negative growth i.e. -1.85%. The study concluded that social infrastructure is a important for the overall economic development of the nation.

Keywords: Social infrastructure, health, education, economic development, Punjab.

Introduction:

Development of infrastructure is the essence for economic development of any country. The proper quality and adequate infrastructural facilities ensure the high standard of living as well as also helps in improving productivity and efficiency. Social infrastructure is helpful in enhancing the human capital. Human capital affects growth in two ways; firstly it effects innovations and technological change and secondly, the increase in the labor productivity. Health and education are influential in improving human development and accelerating economic development. Health facilities pertain to medical care, nutrition and

* Professor, Department Of Commerce Punjabi University, Patiala ** Assistant Professor, Department Of Commerce Punjabi University, Patiala E-mail : [email protected] 280 Social Infrastructure and Economic Development in Punjab: A Study of Post Reform Period water supply; while education comprises quality educational institutes, literacy rate etc. economic development and human development are inter-related and go hand in hand. The uneven distribution along with unsuccessful policies and plans for major social sectors like education and health has led to the poor performance of Indian states. Proper quality education and a sound health system are vital indispensable in the economic growth of a nation. Health and education both are crucial components of the social infrastructure. The education sector contributes to the economy in a different way. Education is the process of developing and enhancing human skills and knowledge of the people. It helps in shaping citizens to become competent both knowledge wise and skill wise, thus in this manner education contributes to the growth of the economy. Similarly, health sector contributes to the economy by providing healthy and able bodied workforce to work and ultimately helps in achieving economic growth of the country. The WHO has defined health as, “A state of complete physical , mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO 1946). Therefore proper and adequate investment in these two sectors is need of the hour. In fact, UNESCO, recommends that at least 15% of the total national expenditure should be allocated to education sector. World Development Report 1993, highlighted that good is a crucial part of well being. Thus, it can be said that proper education and improved health go hand in hand with development progress, and both can’t be bifurcated. An adequate education system and an improved health system helps not only in promoting economic growth but, on the other hand also contributes in increasing productivity and in generating individual per capita income.

Review of literature:

Kang (1985) examined inter district disparities in social services in Punjab. The study found that in social services Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar, Kapurthala and Patiala were developed, while Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Gurdaspur were average districts ; on the other hand, Ferozpur, Sangrur and Bathinda were backward districts. Dadibhavi (1991)analysed the disparities in social infrastructure in the states during 1970-71 to 1984- 85 by using educational and health facilities as indicators and suggested that over the years there had been a remarkable progress in the development of social infrastructure facilities, particularly in case of education and health. Sahoo and Dash (2009) investigated the role of infrastructure in economic growth in India for the period 1970-2006. The study found that infrastructure development in India has a significant positive contribution towards growth than both private and public investment. Dash and Sahoo (2010) investigated the role of physical and social infrastructure in economic growth in India for the period 1970- Rajinder Kaur and Avinash Kaur 281 2006. The study found that physical and social infrastructure has a significant positive impact on output apart from Gross Domestic Capital Formation and international trade. Bhuvaneshwari (2010)made an attempt to study health infrastructure and access to health in Sivagangai district. The study found that 49.6 percent respondents were satisfied with the disease prevention measures taken by the health care system. It also found that 84.8 percent of respondents were satisfied with implementation of immunization programme in the district. Ashraf et.al (2012) made an effort to study social infrastructure in economic development of Pakistan. The study found that there is significant relationship between the effective availability of social infrastructure and economic prosperity of the country. Naik (2014) made an attempt to study development of social infrastructure in Karnataka for the period 1990-91, 2000-01 and 2010-11. The study found that there existed disparities in social infrastructure in Karnataka. Jagdeesha (2014) made an economic analysis of regional disparities in social infrastructure development in Karnataka. The study found that there is positive relationship between education and economic development. The study suggested that area specific programmes need to be implemented to reduce the regional disparities and provide infrastructure facilities with sufficient resource allocation. Riaz (2016) examined the relationship between social infrastructure and productivity of manufacturing firms in Pakistan. The study revealed that indicators of health and education are positively and significantly related to firm level productivity in manufacturing industries in Pakistan. Osumgborogwu (2016) aimed to analyze access to social infrastructure in contrast to availability in rural areas of Imo state, Nigeria. Three variables were undertaken for study; health care facilities, schools and leisure centres. The study showed a strong positive relationship between income and access to social infrastructure. Frolova et.al (2016) analysed the main challenges and tendencies in the functioning of the social infrastructure of the Russian territories and the factors of its development. The study proved that the socio-cultural factors can serve as resources of formation of investment attractiveness of the territory and the development of social infrastructure. The study further disclosed that the financial, economic and social factors, which limit the development of territorial social infrastructure.Kabiru (2016) investigated the challenges of infrastructure in relation to national development in Nigeria. The study found that the provision of infrastructure was far below what was required for the country to attain the desired national development. Bala (2017) made an attempt to study role of education, health and physical infrastructure in economic development of Punjab and Haryana from 1971 to 2012. The study found that the overall economic development index of the Punjab state is better than that of the Haryana state.Mulagand (2017) made an effort to study infrastructure and regional development in Karnataka. The study found that remarkable progress is witnessed across districts and 282 Social Infrastructure and Economic Development in Punjab: A Study of Post Reform Period talukas of the state with regard to economic and social infrastructure. The study suggested that the policy makers should baseline the resources and innovate their existing strategies, so as to bring improvement in indicators across the regions. Walia (2018) made an effort to study education infrastructure and economic growth in Haryana. The study found that the expenditure on education including higher education is still international standards. The study suggested that budgetary resources for education including higher education should not only be enhanced but should be effectively used.

Objectives of the study

• To examine the growth of health infrastructure and education infrastructure of Punjab for the post-reform period.

• To study the role played by social infrastructure in economic development of Punjab.

Hypothesis of the study

H0: Social infrastructure have no significant impact on economic development during the post-reform period

H1: Social infrastructure have significant impact economic development during the post –reform period.

Database and Methodology

The present study is based on the secondary data. The data have been collected from the various issues of Statistical abstract of Punjab and Economic Survey of Punjab for the post-reform period i.e from 1991-92 to 2016-17. The variables considered for the purpose of the study are:

For education infrastructure index, two variables are considered namely; • Number of schools per lakh of population. • Number of colleges per lakh of population.

For health infrastructure index, two variables are considered namely; • Number of medical institutions per lakh of population • Number of hospital beds per lakh of population. Rajinder Kaur and Avinash Kaur 283 Education infrastructure index and Health infrastructure index

The Education and the Health Indices are computed using the following equation:

Index= W1*X1 +W2*X2 +………………………+Wn*Xn

Where; X1, X2 and Xn are selected variables of the infrastructure. W1, W2 and Wn are weights assigned to these variables.

To calculate the weights following method is used:

Wi = Fik.Vk Where,

th Wi = Weights of the i Variable,

th th Fik = Factor loading of i variable and k Factor, reflecting highest correlation between Xi and Factor k,and

th Vk = Variation explained by k factor. In order to calculate the Factor loading, Principal Component Analysis method (Factor Analysis) is used.

Multiple Regression Model

For the purpose of the study multiple regression model is used. Regression model is carried out in order to determine the factors of per capita income, through following equation:

LnYt = a +β1LnX1 + β2LnX2 + β3LnX3 Where, β is the regression coefficient , ‘t’ is the time period varying from 2001-

02 to 2016-17, LnX1 to LnX3 are natural logarithm of the independent variables, namely, education infrastructure index, health infrastructure index and economic infrastructure index and LnYt is the natural logarithm of per capita income.

Compound Growth Rate

Compound Growth Rate of selected indicators in Punjab for the period of the study, have been calculated by fitting the the exponential function of the type 284 Social Infrastructure and Economic Development in Punjab: A Study of Post Reform Period

t u Yt = AB e Where,

Y= value of dependent variables

t=time variable

A & B = constants

Table 1 shows the Net State Domestic Product per capita income of Punjab for the period from 1991-92 to 2016-17. The Net State Domestic Product are considered as the most important single economic indicator to measure the economic development of an economy. It determines both the absolute and relative performance of the economy of the state. Gross State Domestic Product is the sum total of economic value of all goods and services produced within the geographical boundary of the state, after deducting the necessary inputs consumed in the process of production and Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measure (FISIM).From this GSDP, Consumption of Fixed Capital (CFC) is deducted to arrive at the Net State Domestic Product.The per capita income of the state is calculated by dividing Net State Domestic Product with the mid -year estimated population of the state. Per Capita Income represents the annual income of each person of society within a specific geographical boundary at a given time. Table 1 : NSDP Per Capita Income of Punjab

Year NSDP per capita 1991-1992 239.88 1992-1993 249.20 1993-1994 256.47 1994-1995 258.11 1995-1996 263.48 1996-1997 277.67 1997-1998 281.54 1998-1999 292.70 1999-2000 302.19 2000-2001 306.50 2001-2002 306.27 2002-2003 305.98 Rajinder Kaur and Avinash Kaur 285

2003-2004 311.922 2004-2005 331.0304 2005-2006 361.9898 2006-2007 418.8334 2007-2008 493.8096 2008-2009 553.1608 2009-2010 618.0475 2010-2011 695.8235 2011-2012 809.0015 2012-2013 943.1837 2013-2014 1038.312 2014-2015 1088.969 2015-2016 1192.61 2016-17 1288.90 Source : Statistical Abstract of Punjab.

Table 2 and Figure 1 shows the health infrastructure index of Punjab for the period 1991-92 to 2016-17. Table 2 : Health infrastructure Index of Punjab

Year X1- Medical Institutions X2-Beds in hospital Health per lakh of population Per lakh of Population Infrastructure index 1991-92 13.84 117.91 131.35 1992-93 13.65 118.39 131.64 1993-94 13.40 116.18 129.19 1994-95 13.16 114.69 127.47 1995-96 12.91 112.55 125.08 1996-97 12.70 111.02 123.35 1997-98 12.47 109.06 121.17 1998-99 12.24 107.20 119.08 1999-2000 12.01 106.09 117.75 2000-2001 11.78 104.39 115.82 2001-2002 11.63 102.98 114.27 2002-2003 11.49 101.26 112.41 286 Social Infrastructure and Economic Development in Punjab: A Study of Post Reform Period

2003-2004 11.27 99.03 109.97 2004-2005 11.06 96.85 107.59 2005-2006 10.86 95.09 105.63 2006-2007 10.60 94.46 104.74 2007-2008 10.42 92.75 102.86 2008-2009 10.23 91.07 101.00 2009-2010 9.52 76.41 85.67 2010-2011 9.36 74.45 83.56 2011-2012 9.89 80.86 90.48 2012-2013 9.71 81.99 91.42 2013-2014 9.67 82.30 91.69 2014-2015 9.80 83.01 92.53 2015-2016 9.35 78.85 87.94 2016-2017 9.17 78.07 86.98 Source: Statistical Abstract of Punjab

Health is considered as a crucial element for the socio-economic development of any economy. It isconsidered as the most important condition for productivity and growth of an economy. There is a positive and direct association between the health of the people and the economic development of any nation. The two variables considered for this purpose of the study are: number of medical institutions per lakh of population and number hospital beds per lakh of population. The health infrastructure index is computed by using the following equation:

Health infrastructure index= W1 * X1 + W2*X2

Where, X1 is number of medical institutions per lakh of population, X2 is number hospital beds per lakh of population and W1 & W2 are weights as calculated in table 2.

The results indicate that there is a continuous fall in the number of medical institutions and hospital beds as compared to increase in population in Punjab. As a consequence of this of this the health infrastructure index also shows a decreasing trend in Punjab during the study period. Rajinder Kaur and Avinash Kaur 287 Figure 1

140.00

120.00 ealt Inde

100.00

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00 16 17 14 15 12 13 10 11 08 09 06 07 04 05 03 01 02 99 00 97 98 95 96 94 92 93 15 16 13 14 11 12 09 10 07 08 05 06 03 04 02 00 01 98 99 96 97 94 95 93 91 92 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9

Source: Table 2

Table 3 and Figure 2 shows the education infrastructure index of Punjab for the period 1991-92 to 2016-17. Table 3 : Education Infrastructure Index of Punjab

Year X3- Number of schools X4-Number of Education per lakh of population colleges per lakh of infrastructure index population 1991-92 80.86 0.83 72.46 1992-93 79.83 0.82 71.54 1993-94 78.87 0.83 70.69 1994-95 78.33 0.82 70.21 1995-96 78.72 0.80 70.53 1996-97 81.81 0.84 73.31 1997-98 80.26 0..83 71.93 1998-99 78.98 0.82 70.78 1999-2000 79.18 0.82 70.96 2000-01 78.16 0.84 70.07 2001-2002 79.15 0.83 70.94 2002-2003 79.91 0.83 71.62 2003-2004 77.28 0.82 69.27 2004-2005 76.26 0.82 68.37 2005-2006 74.80 0.88 67.13 2006-2007 73.44 0.86 65.90 288 Social Infrastructure and Economic Development in Punjab: A Study of Post Reform Period

2007-2008 68.35 0.84 61.37 2008-2009 74.23 0.84 66.59 2009-2010 81.47 0.82 72.99 2010-2011 80.59 0.81 72.20 2011-2012 108.70 0.86 97.18 2012-2013 107.26 0.84 95.88 2013-2014 101.1 1.48 90.99 2014-2015 98.6 1.54 88.82 2015-2016 98.4 1.59 88.69 2016-17 98.17 1.62 Source: Statistical Abstract of Punjab, various issues.

Education index indicates the development of any nation. Education is one of the major indicator of social infrastructure which is helpful for both individual as well as national development.Education is the way of bringing qualitative improvement in the standard of living of people.

The two variables considered for this purpose of the study are: number of schools per lakh of population and number of colleges per lakh of population. The health infrastructure index is computed by using the following equation:

Educational Index= W3 * X3 + W4*X4

Where, X3 is number of schools per lakh of population, X4 is number of colleges per lakh of population and W3 & W4 are weights as calculated in table 3.

The results revealed that there is stability in the education infrastructure index during the study period. It is inferred that the new schools and colleges have been opened as per the requirement of the increased population, during the study period. It is seen that the growth of number of colleges is better as compared to the number of schools. Rajinder Kaur and Avinash Kaur 289

120.00 Educa�on Index 100.00

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00 16 17 15 12 13 14 11 01 02 08 09 10 96 03 99 00 06 07 93 94 95 97 98 04 05 92 15 16 14 11 12 13 10 00 01 07 08 09 98 99 05 06 92 93 94 9 5 0 2 96 97 03 04 91 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 9 1 9 2 0 2 0 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 9

Source: Table 3 Figure 2 : Education Index

Growth of selected indicators

Table 4 shows the growth rate of selected indicators for the time period from 1991- 92 to 2016-17. The growth of Net State Domestic Product per capita is 7.90% and the growth of education index is found to be 0.94% . Thus it is inferred that there is direct and positive relation between increase in population and increase in Net State Domestic Product as well as in education infrastructure. On the contrary, health index shows negative growth i.e. -1.85%. The negative growth of health infrastructure indicates that the corresponding increase in health sector is lesser as against to the increase in population in Punjab. Table 4 : Growth Rate of Selected Indicators in Punjab (1991-92 to 2016-17)

Indicator Growth Rate t-value F-statistic R-square (p-value) (p-value) NSDP per 7.20% 14.08 198.29 89.2% capita Income (0.00 (0.00) Health -1.83% -17.35 301.295 92.6% Infrastructure (0.004) (0.004) Index Education 0.94% 3.49 12.21 33.7% Infrastructure (0.001) (0.001) Index Source: Calculated from various issues of Statistical Abstract of Punjab. 290 Social Infrastructure and Economic Development in Punjab: A Study of Post Reform Period Table 5 shows the multiple regression model to find out the determinants of Net State Domestic Product per capita income from 1991-92 to 2016-17 with education infrastructure index and health infrastructure index. The results indicated that the p-value of t-statistic is found to be less than 5% level of significance in both education infrastructure index and health infrastructure index. Hence, it is inferred that with 95 per cent confidence level , there exists a significant impact of health infrastructure index and education infrastructure index on the economic development of Punjab. The R-square value indicates that 92.5 per cent of the variance in the economic development of Punjab can be explained with the help of education infrastructure index and health infrastructure index. Table 5 : Regression Model of Punjab (1991-92 to 2016-17)

Model Coefficient t-value p-value Constant 5.46 5.55 0.00 Log of Education Index 1.43 4.94 0.00 Log of Health Index -2.80 -10.73 0.00 R-square 92.5 F-statistic 143.78 p-value 0.00 Source: Calculated from various issues of Statistical Abstract of Punjab.

Conclusion

Social infrastructure represents the elements of social change like schools, colleges, hospitals and nursing homes; which are helpful for the process of social development. Health and education both are crucial components of the social infrastructure. Improved health enhances economic growth as it eliminates production losses which are caused by worker illness. In the same manner, education not only helps in promoting economic growth but also helps in increasing productivity. The absence of proper social infrastructure can hinder the economic development of any nation. The study concluded that Punjab is having positive growth in case of education infrastructure index; on the other hand health infrastructure index depicts negative growth. It is observed that with 95 per cent confidence level, there exists a significant impact of both education and health infrastructure index. The study suggested that health sector is the area which requires more focus on. It is required on the part of Government to invest more funds in social infrastructure and to encourage Rajinder Kaur and Avinash Kaur 291 private sector also, thus by promoting Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP).

Policy Implications

It is inferred that social infrastructure is equally important as compared to physical infrastructure. So, proportionate investment on both types of infrastructure is need of the hour for the overall development of the nation. As, social infrastructure provides educated, knowledgeable, healthier and sound mind person; to do work for other physical infrastructure sectors. It is required on the part of the Government to pay proper and adequate attention on both these types of infrastructure. It is evidenced from the existing literature that social infrastructure has a direct link with the economic development of any nation. The following are some of the policy implications:

 The Government should focus on social infrastructure along with physical infrastructure and proper allocation of funds should be made for social infrastructure in Five Year Plans.

 The Government should encourage Public Private Partnership (PPP) for development of infrastructure for improving quality of infrastructural services.

 Proper policies and schemes should be implemented to enhance the social infrastructure.

 It is required on the part of the Government in case of developing countries, to raise more public spending on education as well as health simultaneously in order to achieve Millennium Development Goals.

References

1. Ashraf, Muhammad et.al (2012). Role of Social Infrastructure in Economic Development of Pakistan. Paper presented at 2nd International Conference on Global Development with Innovative Solutions held at Indus University, Karachi.

2. Bala, Jyoti (2017). Role of Education, Health and Physical Infrastructure in Economic Development of Punjab and Haryana from 1971 to 2012. Man and Development, 38(3), 1 to 22.

3. Bajar, Sumedha (2015). Infrastructure and Economic Growth Evidence from India. Ph.D. theses submitted to Department of Economics and Cooperation, University 292 Social Infrastructure and Economic Development in Punjab: A Study of Post Reform Period of Mysore.

4. Banerjee Abhijit, Angus Deaton & Esther Duflo (2004). Health Care Delivery in Rajasthan. Economic and Political Weekly, 39(9), 944-949.

5. Dadibhavi, R.V (1991). Disparities in Social Infrastructure Development in India: 1970-71 to 1984-85. The Asian Economic Review, 33(1), 31-48.

6. Dash, Ranjan K &Sahoo, Pravakar ((2010). Economic Growth in India: The Role of Physical and Social Infrastructure. Journal of Economic Policy Reform, 373- 385.

7. Economic Survey of Punjab, Various Issues.

8. Frolova et.al (2016). Development of Social Infrastructure in the Management Practices of Local Authorities: Trends and Factors. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, Vol. 11, pp 7421-7430.

9. George, Ashish Thomas 2005). Good Health at Low Cost, How Good and How Low. Economic and Political Weekly, 40(25), 2488-2491.

10. Jagdeesha (2014). An economic analysis of regional disparities in Social infrastructure development in Karnataka. Ph.D thesis submitted to Department of Economics and Co-operation, University of Mysore.

11. Kabiru, Ahmed Salisu (2016). Social Infrastructure and National Development: An Analytical Assessment from Nigerian Perspective. Journal of Humanities and Social Science , 21(10), 36-42.

12. Naik, Mallikarjun G. (2014). Development of Social Infrastructure in Karnataka: A Study of Gadagdistrict .Ph.D thesis, Karnatak University.

13. Osumgborogwu (2016). Analysis of access to Social Infrastructure in Rural Imo State, Nigeria. Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International, 1-7.

14. Riaz, Ahmed (2016). Social Infrastructure and Produtivity of Manufacturing Firms- Evidence from Pakistan. Working paper no. 16-038, Centre for European Economic Research.

15. Statistical Abstract of Punjab, Various Issues. 293 GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF RESEARCH PAPERS TO VJR

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