Chetan Singh - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Chetan Singh

INTRODUCTION CHETAN SINGH I. ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN RESPONSE 1. Diverse Livelihood Strategies and ... more INTRODUCTION CHETAN SINGH I. ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN RESPONSE 1. Diverse Livelihood Strategies and the Changing Economy of Colonial Uttarakhand Dhirendra Datt Dangwal 2. Diversity of Nature Conservation Practices in Himachal Pradesh Sanjeeva Pandey II. GENDER, SOCIETY, AND ETHNICITY 3. Diversity as Counter-hegemony: Reet and Gender Relations in Himachal Pradesh Yogesh Snehi 4. Diverse Forms of Polyandry and Customary Rights of Inheritance and Landownership in the Western Himalayas Chetan Singh 5. The Subaltern Speak in the Bhutanese Lozey: A Critique of Two Indigenous Dzongka Texts Jaiwanti Dimri 6. Cultural Diversity, Social Exclusion and Identity Politics in Nepal Hari Prasad Bhattarai III. THE MANY WAYS OF RELIGION 7. Archaeology of an Extinct Religious Tradition: Bonpos of the Western Himalaya Laxman S. Thakur 8. Deep Ecology and Buddhism: Imperatives for the Himalayan Region Bharati Puri 9. Pluralism in Kashmiri Religious Traditions Mushtaq A. Kaw IV. EXPRESSIONS OF FOLK TRADITIO...

More than 150 years after the mid-19th century, northwestern India underwent a degree of social t... more More than 150 years after the mid-19th century, northwestern India underwent a degree of social transformation that was impressive. Unraveling the complex nature of the processes underlying this remarkable change, this book reveals diverse modes of resistance and response, especially in the Punjab, to a colonial ideology that sought to institute a subtle, yet powerful, forms of social control. After Independence, the much celebrated Green Revolution drew the peasantry of northwestern India into the vortex of economic trends that had unexpected and far-reaching consequences, which are today a matter of great concern. Long-term social currents that had been stirring rather slowly in the region gained momentum. As a result, the process of societal change, started earlier began to strain against the restrictive fabric of the traditional social order. Social Transformation in northwestern India endeavours to explain the multidimensionality of change that is so characteristic of the regio...

Indian Economic & Social History Review, 2000

The book outlines an economic history ofGorakhpur during its transition to British rule. Gorakhpu... more The book outlines an economic history ofGorakhpur during its transition to British rule. Gorakhpur was part of Awadh until 1801, when it was ceded to the East India Company. The book deals with agricultural expansion, forests, property rights and, briefly, with trade and industry. One purpose of the book is to illustrate the argument that the eighteenth century in northern India saw ’flourishing agriculture, powerful and prosperous merchants and the proliferation of markets’ (p. 17). While most of the earlier studies on economic changes in the eighteenth century have been ’macroregional’ in their approach, the present work takes a close look at a relatively small region. The descriptive part of the book is well written, and the result of honest hardworking research. The agricultural-ecological regions are distinguished and agricultural practices and cropping patterns described in valuable detail. From revenue records, a picture is drawn of ’unusual agricultural expansion’ in the period, when forests were cleared, revenue collection increased, new types of cultivators

... ABIM - An Annotated Bibliography of Indian Medicine. Forests, pastoralists and agrarian socie... more ... ABIM - An Annotated Bibliography of Indian Medicine. Forests, pastoralists and agrarian society in Mughal India. -. Author(s): Singh, Chetan. Title: Forests, pastoralists and agrarian society in Mughal India. Publication date: 2001. ...

He published widely on the history of natural resources (forest, cultivated plants, wetlands, sus... more He published widely on the history of natural resources (forest, cultivated plants, wetlands, sustainability) and on the history of knowledge in the 18th century (Albrecht von Haller, Scientific Networks, Economic Enlightenment).

Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research, 2012

Hunting and wild animals have long been part of pastoralist life across the Tibetan Plateau, and ... more Hunting and wild animals have long been part of pastoralist life across the Tibetan Plateau, and especially in the northern Changtang region. Most recent research on Changtang hunting has focussed upon economic aspects in relation to conservation issues, wildlife ecology and status, human-wildlife confl icts and modern development. In contrast, the present study emphasizes social and cultural features of subsistence hunting practice and establishes some historical depth with which to contextualize data from recent decades. This chapter offers a rare diachronic perspective on hunting in a case study area located in the northwest of the Tibet Autonomous Region (China) and utilizes ethnohistorical evidence from throughout the twentieth century and contemporary ethnographic data from repeat fi eldwork visits to the area. The results demonstrate that hunting in Changtang areas is best conceived of as a dynamic arena of practice. A subsistence hunting pattern for the region is described in relation to local ecological factors which seasonally determine hunting activity. This pattern is then viewed in relation to two historical periods of regional-level social and economic transition: a pre-modern wealth division between local pastoralist groups and the modern Communist period of collectivization into pastoralist communes. In conclusion, a range of local attitudes towards wildlife are examined in an attempt to open alternatives to the predominant economic, conservation and development-centred discussions of hunting and wild animals in Changtang pastoral communities.

Environmental History. A study of forests, pastoralism and agricultural interaction in Mughal India.

Despite the remarkable literary achievements of its classical age, pre-modern South Asia was also... more Despite the remarkable literary achievements of its classical age, pre-modern South Asia was also, in large part, a pre-literate one. The idea of popular literature-as understood by 'literate' societies today-seems therefore, not to have had a very long history in the region. It might even appear to be somewhat contradictory, for the literate people represented the upper social echelons and there may have been nothing 'popular' about what they wrote and read. This did not, however, mean that common people had no medium, or means, of public expression. An exceptionally rich oral tradition seems to have served the purpose that popular literature came to fulfil in some other societies.

During the medieval period different states in the Himachal region passed through a broadly simil... more During the medieval period different states in the Himachal region passed through a broadly similar political process by which small ruling elite consolidated its position through a clever use of religion. The local cults of villages and chiefdoms in small river vallies were integrated with the 'great tradition' of Brahmanical Hinduism in a manner that created a complex hierarchy of deities at the village, intermediate and State levels. Their systematic incorporation in the socio-political system corresponded with the temporal hierarchies of authority in the State, and enabled the raja to exercise domination on behalf of the supreme deity who was invariably Visnu or his incarnation, brought into the hills by the Brahmans. Notwithstanding the local variations arising out of geographical and cultural differences and historical reasons, Sanskritization of State polity discussed in this paper resulted in a hegemonic system that outlasted even the monarchies that had initially created it.

Indian Economic and Social History Review, 2001

Indian Economic and Social History Review, 2000

Indian Economic and Social History Review, 2000

Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research, 2012

Shepherding in the Western Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh (India) was carried out primarily... more Shepherding in the Western Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh (India) was carried out primarily by agropastoralist. They were an integral part of the socio-economic system of pre-colonial Himalayan states. Due to environmental and social factors, varied pastoral practices had evolved historically in different parts of Himachal. The establishment of British rule in India represented a fundamental break from the past. Colonial interests now dominated and pastoral practices were restricted and altered in response to the newly introduced forest laws.

Indian Economic and Social History Review, 1996

INTRODUCTION CHETAN SINGH I. ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN RESPONSE 1. Diverse Livelihood Strategies and ... more INTRODUCTION CHETAN SINGH I. ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN RESPONSE 1. Diverse Livelihood Strategies and the Changing Economy of Colonial Uttarakhand Dhirendra Datt Dangwal 2. Diversity of Nature Conservation Practices in Himachal Pradesh Sanjeeva Pandey II. GENDER, SOCIETY, AND ETHNICITY 3. Diversity as Counter-hegemony: Reet and Gender Relations in Himachal Pradesh Yogesh Snehi 4. Diverse Forms of Polyandry and Customary Rights of Inheritance and Landownership in the Western Himalayas Chetan Singh 5. The Subaltern Speak in the Bhutanese Lozey: A Critique of Two Indigenous Dzongka Texts Jaiwanti Dimri 6. Cultural Diversity, Social Exclusion and Identity Politics in Nepal Hari Prasad Bhattarai III. THE MANY WAYS OF RELIGION 7. Archaeology of an Extinct Religious Tradition: Bonpos of the Western Himalaya Laxman S. Thakur 8. Deep Ecology and Buddhism: Imperatives for the Himalayan Region Bharati Puri 9. Pluralism in Kashmiri Religious Traditions Mushtaq A. Kaw IV. EXPRESSIONS OF FOLK TRADITIO...

More than 150 years after the mid-19th century, northwestern India underwent a degree of social t... more More than 150 years after the mid-19th century, northwestern India underwent a degree of social transformation that was impressive. Unraveling the complex nature of the processes underlying this remarkable change, this book reveals diverse modes of resistance and response, especially in the Punjab, to a colonial ideology that sought to institute a subtle, yet powerful, forms of social control. After Independence, the much celebrated Green Revolution drew the peasantry of northwestern India into the vortex of economic trends that had unexpected and far-reaching consequences, which are today a matter of great concern. Long-term social currents that had been stirring rather slowly in the region gained momentum. As a result, the process of societal change, started earlier began to strain against the restrictive fabric of the traditional social order. Social Transformation in northwestern India endeavours to explain the multidimensionality of change that is so characteristic of the regio...

Indian Economic & Social History Review, 2000

The book outlines an economic history ofGorakhpur during its transition to British rule. Gorakhpu... more The book outlines an economic history ofGorakhpur during its transition to British rule. Gorakhpur was part of Awadh until 1801, when it was ceded to the East India Company. The book deals with agricultural expansion, forests, property rights and, briefly, with trade and industry. One purpose of the book is to illustrate the argument that the eighteenth century in northern India saw ’flourishing agriculture, powerful and prosperous merchants and the proliferation of markets’ (p. 17). While most of the earlier studies on economic changes in the eighteenth century have been ’macroregional’ in their approach, the present work takes a close look at a relatively small region. The descriptive part of the book is well written, and the result of honest hardworking research. The agricultural-ecological regions are distinguished and agricultural practices and cropping patterns described in valuable detail. From revenue records, a picture is drawn of ’unusual agricultural expansion’ in the period, when forests were cleared, revenue collection increased, new types of cultivators

... ABIM - An Annotated Bibliography of Indian Medicine. Forests, pastoralists and agrarian socie... more ... ABIM - An Annotated Bibliography of Indian Medicine. Forests, pastoralists and agrarian society in Mughal India. -. Author(s): Singh, Chetan. Title: Forests, pastoralists and agrarian society in Mughal India. Publication date: 2001. ...

He published widely on the history of natural resources (forest, cultivated plants, wetlands, sus... more He published widely on the history of natural resources (forest, cultivated plants, wetlands, sustainability) and on the history of knowledge in the 18th century (Albrecht von Haller, Scientific Networks, Economic Enlightenment).

Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research, 2012

Hunting and wild animals have long been part of pastoralist life across the Tibetan Plateau, and ... more Hunting and wild animals have long been part of pastoralist life across the Tibetan Plateau, and especially in the northern Changtang region. Most recent research on Changtang hunting has focussed upon economic aspects in relation to conservation issues, wildlife ecology and status, human-wildlife confl icts and modern development. In contrast, the present study emphasizes social and cultural features of subsistence hunting practice and establishes some historical depth with which to contextualize data from recent decades. This chapter offers a rare diachronic perspective on hunting in a case study area located in the northwest of the Tibet Autonomous Region (China) and utilizes ethnohistorical evidence from throughout the twentieth century and contemporary ethnographic data from repeat fi eldwork visits to the area. The results demonstrate that hunting in Changtang areas is best conceived of as a dynamic arena of practice. A subsistence hunting pattern for the region is described in relation to local ecological factors which seasonally determine hunting activity. This pattern is then viewed in relation to two historical periods of regional-level social and economic transition: a pre-modern wealth division between local pastoralist groups and the modern Communist period of collectivization into pastoralist communes. In conclusion, a range of local attitudes towards wildlife are examined in an attempt to open alternatives to the predominant economic, conservation and development-centred discussions of hunting and wild animals in Changtang pastoral communities.

Environmental History. A study of forests, pastoralism and agricultural interaction in Mughal India.

Despite the remarkable literary achievements of its classical age, pre-modern South Asia was also... more Despite the remarkable literary achievements of its classical age, pre-modern South Asia was also, in large part, a pre-literate one. The idea of popular literature-as understood by 'literate' societies today-seems therefore, not to have had a very long history in the region. It might even appear to be somewhat contradictory, for the literate people represented the upper social echelons and there may have been nothing 'popular' about what they wrote and read. This did not, however, mean that common people had no medium, or means, of public expression. An exceptionally rich oral tradition seems to have served the purpose that popular literature came to fulfil in some other societies.

During the medieval period different states in the Himachal region passed through a broadly simil... more During the medieval period different states in the Himachal region passed through a broadly similar political process by which small ruling elite consolidated its position through a clever use of religion. The local cults of villages and chiefdoms in small river vallies were integrated with the 'great tradition' of Brahmanical Hinduism in a manner that created a complex hierarchy of deities at the village, intermediate and State levels. Their systematic incorporation in the socio-political system corresponded with the temporal hierarchies of authority in the State, and enabled the raja to exercise domination on behalf of the supreme deity who was invariably Visnu or his incarnation, brought into the hills by the Brahmans. Notwithstanding the local variations arising out of geographical and cultural differences and historical reasons, Sanskritization of State polity discussed in this paper resulted in a hegemonic system that outlasted even the monarchies that had initially created it.

Indian Economic and Social History Review, 2001

Indian Economic and Social History Review, 2000

Indian Economic and Social History Review, 2000

Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research, 2012

Shepherding in the Western Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh (India) was carried out primarily... more Shepherding in the Western Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh (India) was carried out primarily by agropastoralist. They were an integral part of the socio-economic system of pre-colonial Himalayan states. Due to environmental and social factors, varied pastoral practices had evolved historically in different parts of Himachal. The establishment of British rule in India represented a fundamental break from the past. Colonial interests now dominated and pastoral practices were restricted and altered in response to the newly introduced forest laws.

Indian Economic and Social History Review, 1996