DOCSLIB.ORG

Analysis of Contemporary Witch Hunts in the Tea

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Analysis of Contemporary Witch Hunts in the Tea View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Vanderbilt Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive TEMPEST IN A TEA POT: ANALYSIS OF CONTEMPORARY WITCH HUNTS IN THE TEA PLANTATIONS OF BENGAL By Soma Chaudhuri Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Sociology December, 2008 Nashville, TN Approved: Professor Gary F. Jensen Professor George Becker Professor Laura M Carpenter Professor Thomas Gregor Copyright © 2008 by Soma Chaudhuri All Rights Reserved To the two most amazing men in my life: my brother Sumit and my husband Arijit. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My dissertation would never have been possible without the invaluable guidance and support of my committee: Gary Jensen, George Becker, Laura Carpenter and Thomas Gregor. I am also grateful to the Graduate School Summer Research Grant for funding two summers of data collection, and to the Dissertation Enhancement Grant for funding the final stage of data collection. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Center for Ethics, for providing a year long Writer’s Group Fellowship. I was fortunate to have Gary Jensen – an outstanding mentor—as my advisor. I am deeply indebted to him for sharing his views on my work, his patience, and all that I have learnt from him. As my teacher and mentor, he has taught me more than I could ever give him credit for here. I hope I never let him down. I am grateful to Karen Campbell and Holly McCammon for always being there for me. I am also indebted to Prasanta Ray, for initiating me into Sociology thirteen years ago. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all the participants of this project, especially the people at North Bengal People’s Development Center, Jalpaiguri, India. I am deeply moved by my association with them, and I hope my study brings in some real change in their lives. My cohorts and my dear friends, Josh Packard, George Sanders and Heather Talley, gave me their unconditional love, support and numerous car rides. I do not think I would have survived graduate school without them. Also, I would like to thank Ipsita Chatterjea for pulling me up, every time I fell down. iv My friends, Anuradha Chakravarty, Soma Dam, Paramita Sinha and Jaita Talukdar, have been my fiercest critics and strongest allies. Thank you for believing in me. And, thank you dear Dipan for showing me the light at the end of the tunnel! I am grateful to my family in Kolkata for their encouragement and love: Daddy, Maa, Snigdha, Sumit and Sharmila, for pushing me to test my horizons; and my parents- in-law, for being very supportive. Last, I would like to thank my husband, Arijit, for his love and patience, during the most stressful years of our lives. I am humbled by his unwavering faith in me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................iv LIST OF FIGURES.........................................................................................................................viii LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................................ix Chapter I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 1 Literature review on the study of witch hunts ............................................................................5 The pre-modern European and the colonial American witch hunts .....................................5 Why is there a need to study witch hunts across ethnic and cultural boundaries?..............9 Problems with the relevance of the literature to the contemporary cases of witch hunts in the tea plantations.............................................................................................................15 Concepts.................................................................................................................................18 Theoretical model and research questions .............................................................................22 The concept of “dual deviance” and Stinchcombe’s analysis of the logic of functional explanation........................................................................................................................22 Scapegoat and Routine Activity theory..............................................................................25 “Doing Gender” and “Bargaining Theory” ..........................................................................30 “The midwife myth”............................................................................................................32 Summary comments ...............................................................................................................37 II. A HISTORY OF THE TEA PLANTATION, MIGRANT TRIBAL WORKERS AND METHODS: THE CASE FOR SENSITIVE RESEARCH .................................................. 44 History of the establishment of the tea plantations in the dooars region .................................44 Dooars and the district of Jalpaiguri ..................................................................................44 History of tea plantation in India ........................................................................................45 Migration of the laborers....................................................................................................46 Labor lines.........................................................................................................................47 Class hierarchy .................................................................................................................48 Tea industry, workers and tea bushes ....................................................................................49 Scheduled tribes of India: social structure and the status of women.......................................52 Witchcraft, diseases and tribals ..............................................................................................57 Tribal research in India: the case for sensitive research .........................................................58 Archives ............................................................................................................................62 Sampling methods, case studies and qualitative methods ................................................64 Interviews ..........................................................................................................................67 Analysis of the data.................................................................................................................71 III. WITCHES IN THE LABOR LINES: SELECTED CASE STUDIES AND DATA DESCRIPTION.................................................................................................................. 77 Introduction .............................................................................................................................77 Five witches and a jackfruit tree: Killkote tea estate, 2002......................................................79 Old women and witchcraft: Central Dooars, march 2005........................................................83 Basanti’s story: A continuing struggle .....................................................................................87 Dulari: The melancholy witch ..................................................................................................91 Descriptive statistics ...............................................................................................................95 The accused ...........................................................................................................................98 The accusers ........................................................................................................................102 Incentives for witchcraft accusations.....................................................................................105 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................106 IV. THE SCOURGE OF THE EVIL EYE .............................................................................. 109 vi Introduction ...........................................................................................................................109 The instigation for witch hunts: The two categories ..............................................................109 Calculated attacks of witch hunts ....................................................................................110 Surprise attacks of witch hunts........................................................................................115 Difference between calculated and surprise category of witch attacks............................119 In search of the deviant: The witch and her craft ..................................................................121 The witch: “The one who gets the deviant label” .............................................................121 Are there witches? The belief in powers of the dark lady with horns...............................125 Manifestation of deviant behavior .........................................................................................131 The scourge of the evil
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Accused: Fairfield’S Witchcraft Trials September 25, 2014 – January 5, 2015 Educator Guide
    Accused: Fairfield’s Witchcraft Trials September 25, 2014 – January 5, 2015 Educator Guide Accused: Fairfield’s Witchcraft Trials September 25, 2014 – January 5, 2015 Teacher Guide Index Introduction: The Legacy of Witchcraft Page 3 Essential Questions & Big Ideas Page 5 Accused Suggested Mini-Activity Page 6 Online Teacher Resources: Lesson Plans & Student Activities Page 7 Student & Teacher Resources: Salem Pages 9 - 10 New England Witchcraft Trials: Overview & Statistics Page 10 New England Witchcraft Timeline Pages 12 - 13 Vocabulary Page 14 Young Adult Books Page 15 Bibliography Page 15 Excerpts from Accused Graphic Novel Page 17 - 19 Educator Guide Introduction This Educator Guide features background information, essential questions, student activities, vocabulary, a timeline and a booklist. Created in conjunction with the exhibition Accused: Fairfield’s Witchcraft Trials, the guide also features reproductions of Jakob Crane’s original illustrations and storylines from the exhibition. The guide is also available for download on the Fairfield Museum’s website at www.fairfieldhistory.org/education This Educator Guide was developed in partnership with regional educators at a Summer Teacher Institute in July, 2014 and co-sponsored by the Fairfield Public Library. Participants included: Renita Crawford, Bridgeport, CT Careen Derise, Discovery Magnet School, Bridgeport, CT Leslie Greene, Side By Side, Norwalk, CT Lauren Marchello, Fairfield Ludlowe High School, Fairfield, CT Debra Sands-Holden, King Low Heywood Thomas School, Stamford, CT Katelyn Tucker, Shelton Public Schools, CT About the Exhibition: In 17th century New England religious beliefs and folk tradition instilled deep fears of magic, evil, and supernatural powers. How else to explain unnatural events, misfortune and the sudden convulsions and fits of local townspeople? In this exhibition, the fascinating history of Connecticut’s witchcraft trials is illuminated by author and illustrator Jakob Crane.
    [Show full text]
  • The 400Th Anniversary of the Lancashire Witch-Trials: Commemoration and Its Meaning in 2012
    The 400th Anniversary of the Lancashire Witch-Trials: Commemoration and its Meaning in 2012. Todd Andrew Bridges A thesis submitted for the degree of M.A.D. History 2016. Department of History The University of Essex 27 June 2016 1 Contents Abbreviations p. 3 Acknowledgements p. 4 Introduction: p. 5 Commemorating witch-trials: Lancashire 2012 Chapter One: p. 16 The 1612 Witch trials and the Potts Pamphlet Chapter Two: p. 31 Commemoration of the Lancashire witch-trials before 2012 Chapter Three: p. 56 Planning the events of 2012: key organisations and people Chapter Four: p. 81 Analysing the events of 2012 Conclusion: p. 140 Was 2012 a success? The Lancashire Witches: p. 150 Maps: p. 153 Primary Sources: p. 155 Bibliography: p. 159 2 Abbreviations GC Green Close Studios LCC Lancashire County Council LW 400 Lancashire Witches 400 Programme LW Walk Lancashire Witches Walk to Lancaster PBC Pendle Borough Council PST Pendle Sculpture Trail RPC Roughlee Parish Council 3 Acknowledgement Dr Alison Rowlands was my supervisor while completing my Masters by Dissertation for History and I am honoured to have such a dedicated person supervising me throughout my course of study. I gratefully acknowledge Dr Rowlands for her assistance, advice, and support in all matters of research and interpretation. Dr Rowland’s enthusiasm for her subject is extremely motivating and I am thankful to have such an encouraging person for a supervisor. I should also like to thank Lisa Willis for her kind support and guidance throughout my degree, and I appreciate her providing me with the materials that were needed in order to progress with my research and for realising how important this research project was for me.
    [Show full text]
  • The Spread of Sanskrit* (Published In: from Turfan to Ajanta
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Serveur académique lausannois Spread of Sanskrit 1 Johannes Bronkhorst Section de langues et civilisations orientales Université de Lausanne Anthropole CH-1009 Lausanne The spread of Sanskrit* (published in: From Turfan to Ajanta. Festschrift for Dieter Schlingloff on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday. Ed. Eli Franco and Monika Zin. Lumbini International Research Institute. 2010. Vol. 1. Pp. 117-139.) A recent publication — Nicholas Ostler’s Empires of the Word (2005) — presents itself in its subtitle as A Language History of the World. Understandably, it deals extensively with what it calls “world languages”, languages which play or have played important roles in world history. An introductory chapter addresses, already in its title, the question “what it takes to be a world language”. The title also provides a provisional answer, viz. “you never can tell”, but the discussion goes beyond mere despair. It opposes the “pernicious belief” which finds expression in a quote from J. R. Firth, a leading British linguist of the mid-twentieth century (p. 20): “World powers make world languages [...] Men who have strong feelings directed towards the world and its affairs have done most. What the humble prophets of linguistic unity would have done without Hebrew, Arabic, Latin, Sanskrit and English, it it difficult to imagine. Statesmen, soldiers, sailors, and missionaries, men of action, men of strong feelings have made world languages. They are built on blood, money, sinews, and suffering in the pursuit of power.” Ostler is of the opinion that this belief does not stand up to criticism: “As soon as the careers of languages are seriously studied — even the ‘Hebrew, Arabic, Latin, Sanskrit and English’ that Firth explicitly mentions as examples — it becomes clear that this self-indulgently tough-minded view is no guide at all to what really makes a language capable of spreading.” He continues on the following page (p.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comprehensive Look at the Salem Witch Mania of 1692 Ashley Layhew
    The Devil’s in the Details: A Comprehensive Look at the Salem Witch Mania of 1692 __________ Ashley Layhew Nine-year-old Betty Parris began to convulse, seize, and scream gibber- ish in the winter of 1692. The doctor pronounced her bewitched when he could find no medical reason for her actions. Five other girls began ex- hibiting the same symptoms: auditory and visual hallucinations, fevers, nausea, diarrhea, epileptic fits, screaming, complaints of being bitten, poked, pinched, and slapped, as well as coma-like states and catatonic states. Beseeching their Creator to ease the suffering of the “afflicted,” the Puritans of Salem Village held a day of fasting and prayer. A relative of Betty’s father, Samuel Parris, suggested a folk cure, in which the urine of the afflicted girls was taken and made into a cake. The villagers fed the cake to a dog, as dogs were believed to be the evil helpers of witches. This did not work, however, and the girls were pressed to name the peo- ple who were hurting them.1 The girls accused Tituba, a Caribbean slave who worked in the home of Parris, of being the culprit. They also accused two other women: Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne. The girls, all between the ages of nine and sixteen, began to accuse their neighbors of bewitching them, saying that three women came to them and used their “spectres” to hurt them. The girls would scream, cry, and mimic the behaviors of the accused when they had to face them in court. They named many more over the course of the next eight months; the “bewitched” youth accused a total of one hundred and forty four individuals of being witches, with thirty sev- en of those executed following a trial.
    [Show full text]
  • 3 Die Materialität Des Teufels Und Ihre Wir- Kung Auf Hexenverfolgung Und Hexenprozeß in Ausgewählten Europäischen Ländern Und in Den Neuenglischen Kolonien
    3 Die Materialität des Teufels und ihre Wir- kung auf Hexenverfolgung und Hexenprozeß in ausgewählten europäischen Ländern und in den neuenglischen Kolonien Kernpunkt vieler Hexenprozesse der frühen Neuzeit in Europa und in den neuenglischen Kolonien war die Frage nach der materiellen Existenz des Teu- fels und ihr Nachweis. Teufelspakt, Teufelsbuhlschaft und Hexenflug - alles Elemente des Volks- aberglaubens - waren für einen großen Teil der Hexenprozesse zentrale An- klagepunkte in den Gerichtsverfahren und trugen sowohl in Europa als auch in den neuenglischen Kolonien zu einer Intensivierung der Hexenverfolgung in der frühen Neuzeit bei. Martin Pott bezeichnet diese Elemente des Volksaberglaubens als „Penta- gramm des Hexenwahns“. Er sieht den Hexenglauben als ausgefeilte Theorie, deren Inhalte im Begriff des Teufelspaktes kulminieren.196 Seit Menschengedenken gehörte die Vorstellung einer den Menschen nicht immer freundlich gesinnten, real existenten Parallelwelt zum alltäglichen Le- ben. Einerseits war sie in vorchristlicher Zeit eine durchaus wertfreie Möglich- keit, unerklärliche Erlebnisse verständlich zu machen, andererseits diente sie später dem Christentum als spirituelles Gegengewicht zum göttlichen Wir- ken. Vor allem in kontinentaleuropäischen Ländern, wie zum Beispiel in Deutschland, gewann das Übernatürliche in der frühneuzeitlichen Hexen- verfolgung an Bedeutung. Die Verhandlung von Hexenanklagen vor Gericht mußte dieser Entwicklung Rechnung tragen. Zeugenaussagen und Geständ- nisse der Angeklagten, welche die Existenz des
    [Show full text]
  • Salem 1692 Brochure
    1 2 3 4 Today Salem, Massachusetts, strives The numbers on the map to be a city of diversity and tolerance, correspond with the sites that but it is important to remember that the appear on the numbered panels. 20 men and women who were executed in All sites except for the Rebecca 1692 were not seeking tolerance. They Nurse Homestead are in Salem. were not witches. They were ordinary men and women seeking justice. 1. Rebecca Nurse Homestead (Danvers, MA) 2. House of the Seven Gables 3. Cemeteries of Salem (3 sites) 4. Salem Witch Trials Memorial Welcome … 5. Salem Witch Hunt: Examine the Evidence to 1692 6. Salem Witch Museum 7. The True 1692 The Rebecca Nurse Homestead The House of the Seven Cemeteries of Salem The Salem Witch Trials 8. Cry Innocent: The People vs. Gables Memorial Bridget Bishop … … … … 9. Witch Dungeon Museum What happened in Salem Town and Salem The Rebecca Nurse Homestead, located in Danvers, The imposing House of the Seven Gables, which has Salem has three cemeteries that are significant to the The Salem Witch Trials Memorial is a place of 10. The Witch House Village (modern-day Danvers) more than MA, (formerly known as Salem Village) is the 17th loomed over Salem Harbor since 1668, remains one of Witch Trials of 1692. Dating back to 1637, Charter meditation, remembrance, and respect for the 20 men 320 years ago still resonates as a measure of century home of Rebecca Nurse, a 71 year old matriarch the oldest surviving timber-framed mansions in North Street Burial Point is the oldest and most visited of and women who were put to death between June and the failure of civility and due process in the who was arrested on suspicion of practicing witchcraft.
    [Show full text]
  • Support Matarial Sociology Class-Xii 2016-17
    SUPPORT MATARIAL SOCIOLOGY CLASS-XII 2016-17 Dr.Renu Bhatia S.K.V. Moti Bagh-I, New Delhi Principal and Group Leader Mr. A.M. Amir Ansari S.B.M. Sr. Sec. School (Govt. Sr. Lecture Sociology Aided) Shivaji Marg, N. Delhi-15 Ms. Sheema Banerjee Laxman Public School, Lecture Sociology Hauzkhas, New Delhi Mr. Zafar Hussain Anglo-Aravic, Sr. Sec. School Lecture Sociology Ajmeri Gate, Delhi Ms. Renu Shokeen Govt. Co-Ed., Sr. Sec. School PGT-Sociology Kanganheri, Delhi Ms. Anuradha Khanna Banyan Tree School, PGT-Sociology Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 Ms. Archana Arora SKV, A-Block, Jhangir Puri PGT-Sociology SOCIOLOGY (CODE NO.039) CLASS XII (2015-16) One Paper Theroy Marks 80 Unitwise Weightage 3 hours Units Periods Marks A Indian Society 1. Introducing Indian Society 10 32 2. Demographic Structure and Indain Society 10 Chapter-1 3. Social Institutions-Continuity and Change 12 and 4. Market as a Social Institution. 10 Chapter 7 5. Pattern of social Inequality and Exclusion 20 are non- 6. Challenges of Cultural Diversity 16 evaluative 7. Suggestions for Project Work 16 B Change and Developmentin Indian Society 8. Structural Change 10 9. Cultural Chage 12 10. The Story of Democaracy 18 Class XII - Sociology 2 11. Change and Development in Rural Society 10 48 12. Change and Development in industrial Society14 13. Globalization and Social Change 10 14. Mass Media and Communication 14 15. Social Movements 18 200 48 3 Class XII - Sociology BOOK I CHAPTER 2 THE DEMOGRAPCHIC STRUCTURE OF THE INDIAN SOCIETY KEY POINTS 1. Demography Demography, a systematic study of population, is a Greek term derived form two words, ‘demos’ (people) and graphein (describe) description of people.
    [Show full text]
  • A Discourse on the Religious Practices of the Rabha Community of West Bengal, India
    International Journal of Research in Social Sciences Vol. 8 Issue 7, July 2018, ISSN: 2249-2496 Impact Factor: 7.081 Journal Homepage: http://www.ijmra.us, Email: [email protected] Double-Blind Peer Reviewed Refereed Open Access International Journal - Included in the International Serial Directories Indexed & Listed at: Ulrich's Periodicals Directory ©, U.S.A., Open J-Gage as well as in Cabell‟s Directories of Publishing Opportunities, U.S.A A DISCOURSE ON THE RELIGIOUS PRACTICES OF THE RABHA COMMUNITY OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA Arpita Sarkar* Dr. Tapas Mistri** Abstract Religion becomes the important part of the human society since the dawn of the civilization. The Rabha is a scheduled tribe community belonging to the Indo-Mongoloid group of people. In West Bengal, they mainly settled in Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar district. The Rabha community has magnificent traditional beliefs and social practices. With selected structured questionnaire, field survey and interactions with the inhabitants of the community the present study partakes to understand the actual form and position of the religion along with the transition and trends of changes in religion of the Rabha community in the segregated parts of the west Bengal. It is observed that their traditional religious philosophy is mainly based on Animism. But the influence of Hinduism and Christianity has a far reaching impact on the religious tradition and structure of the Rabhas. Besides the Rabha society have also constantly changes in the process of Hinduism, Sanskritisation and Christianization (Singha, 2004). These changing trends have effects on their socio-cultural, economic, political life, social institution etc.
    [Show full text]
  • SYLLABUS with Effect from 2016-17
    VIJAYANAGARA SRI KRISHNADEVARAYA UNIVERSITY, BALLARI SYLLABUS Department of Studies in Sociology MASTER OF ARTS (I to IV Semester) Choice Based Credit System With effect from 2016-17 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Credits Matrix for MA Sociology Program: M.A. SOCIOLOGY: SEMESTER-I MASO 1.1- : Classical Sociology<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<... MASO H1.2 - : Sociology of Change and Development MASO H1.3 - : <<<Development<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<..Perspectives on Indian Society MASO H1.4 - : <<<<<<<<<<<<............Sociology of Education<<<<<<<<<<< MASO H1.5 -S : Environment and Society MASO 1.6-S : Sociology of Globalization M.A. SOCIOLOGY:<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<... SEMESTER-II MASO 2.1- : Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology<<<<. MASO H2.2 - : Social Stratification and Mobility<<<<<<<<<. MASO H2.3 - : Rural Sociology MASO H2.4 - : <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Population Studies<<<<<<<<<<<. MASO H2.5 -S : Political Sociology<<<<<<<<<<<<<. MASO 2.6-S : Sociology of Deviance<<< MASO 2.7- : Fundamentals of Sociology<.. M.A. SOCIOLOGY:O SEMESTER-III MASO 3.1- : Modern Sociological Theories MASO H3.2 - : Urban Sociology <<<<<<<<<<<. MASO H3.3 - : Research Methodology<<<<<<<<<<. MASO H3.4 - : Industry aand Society<<<<<<<<<<.. MASO H3.5 -S : Sociology of Social movements<<< MASO 3.6-S : Sociology of Ageing<<<<<<<<. MASO 3.7- : Indian Society<<<<<<<<<<<<<. M.A. SOCIOLOGY:O SEMESTER-IV MASO 4.1- : Sociology of Health<<<<<<<<<<<<<... MASO H4.2 - : Sociology of Gender<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<. MASO H4.3 - : Sociology of Marginalised Groups MASO H4.4 - : Project Work<<<<<<<<<<<<<<.. MASO H4.5 -S : Social
    [Show full text]
  • 3HOURS MAX. MARKS: 80 1. What Is Mass-Media?
    CLASS XII SOCIOLOGY (039) MARKING SCHEME 2018-19 TIME ALLOWED: 3HOURS MAX. MARKS: 80 1. What is mass-media? 2 The mass media include a wide variety of forms, including television, newspapers, films, magazines, radio, advertisements, video games and CDs. They are referred to as ‘mass’ media because they reach mass audiences – audiences comprised of very large numbers of people. 2. State any one set of principles on which caste system is based. 2 The caste system can be understood as the combination of two sets of principles, one based on difference and separation and the other on wholism and hierarchy. Each caste is supposed to be different from – and is therefore strictly separated from – every other caste. Many of the scriptural rules of caste are thus designed to prevent the mixing of castes – rules ranging from marriage, food sharing and social interaction to occupation. These different and separated castes do not have an individual existence – they can only exist in relation to a larger whole, the totality of society consisting of all castes. Further, this societal whole or system is a hierarchical rather than egalitarian system. Each individual caste occupies not just a distinct place, but also an ordered rank – a particular position in a ladder-like arrangement going from highest to lowest. (EXPLAIN ANY 1) 3. What are the various occupations followed in rural society? 2 Agriculture is the single most important source of livelihood. Many activities that support agriculture and village life are also sources of livelihood. For example, a large number of artisans such as potters, carpenters, weavers, ironsmiths, and goldsmiths are found in rural areas.
    [Show full text]
  • The Saffron Wave Meets the Silent Revolution: Why the Poor Vote for Hindu Nationalism in India
    THE SAFFRON WAVE MEETS THE SILENT REVOLUTION: WHY THE POOR VOTE FOR HINDU NATIONALISM IN INDIA A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Tariq Thachil August 2009 © 2009 Tariq Thachil THE SAFFRON WAVE MEETS THE SILENT REVOLUTION: WHY THE POOR VOTE FOR HINDU NATIONALISM IN INDIA Tariq Thachil, Ph. D. Cornell University 2009 How do religious parties with historically elite support bases win the mass support required to succeed in democratic politics? This dissertation examines why the world’s largest such party, the upper-caste, Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has experienced variable success in wooing poor Hindu populations across India. Briefly, my research demonstrates that neither conventional clientelist techniques used by elite parties, nor strategies of ideological polarization favored by religious parties, explain the BJP’s pattern of success with poor Hindus. Instead the party has relied on the efforts of its ‘social service’ organizational affiliates in the broader Hindu nationalist movement. The dissertation articulates and tests several hypotheses about the efficacy of this organizational approach in forging party-voter linkages at the national, state, district, and individual level, employing a multi-level research design including a range of statistical and qualitative techniques of analysis. In doing so, the dissertation utilizes national and author-conducted local survey data, extensive interviews, and close observation of Hindu nationalist recruitment techniques collected over thirteen months of fieldwork. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Tariq Thachil was born in New Delhi, India. He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Stanford University in 2003.
    [Show full text]
  • The Witch Hunts Free
    FREE THE WITCH HUNTS PDF Robert Thurston | 368 pages | 02 Feb 2007 | Taylor & Francis Ltd | 9781405840835 | English | London, United Kingdom Salem witch trials | History & Causes | Britannica Throughout the medieval era, mainstream Christian doctrine had denied the existence of witches and witchcraft, condemning it as pagan superstition. Ina papal bull by Gregory IX established a new branch of the inquisition in Toulouse, France, to be led by the Dominicans. It was intended The Witch Hunts prosecute Christian groups considered heretical, such as the Cathars and the Waldensians. Records were usually kept by the French inquisitors but the majority of these did not survive, The Witch Hunts one historian working inCharles Molinier, refers to the surviving records as only scanty debris. The records seem The Witch Hunts have often been targeted by the accused or their friends and family, wishing to thereby sabotage the proceedings or failing that, to spare their reputations and the reputations of their descendants. Difficulty in understanding the larger witchcraft trials to come in later centuries is deciding how much can be extrapolated from what remains. Inwith the papacy in nearby Avignon, the inquisitor of Carcassonne sentenced a monk to the dungeon for life and the sentence refers to The skeptical Canon Episcopi retained many supporters, and still seems to have been supported by the theological faculty at the University of Paris in their decree fromand was never officially repudiated by a majority of bishops within the papal lands, nor even by the Council of Trentwhich immediately preceded the peak of the trials. But inthe The Witch Hunts witch trialslasting six to eight years, started in the French-speaking lower Valais and eventually spread to German- speaking regions.
    [Show full text]