Amisha Sahini | St. Xavier's College, Kolkata (original) (raw)
Books by Amisha Sahini
T HE concept of "Sanskritization" was found useful by me in the analysis of the social and religi... more T HE concept of "Sanskritization" was found useful by me in the analysis of the social and religious life of the Coorgs of South India. A few other anthropologists who are making studies of tribal and village communities in various parts of India seem to find the concept helpful in the analysis of their material, and this fact induces me to attempt a re-examination of it here. The first use of the term Sanskritization in this sense occurs in my book, Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India (Oxford, 1952), p. 30: The caste system is far from a rigid system in which the position of each component caste is fixed for all time. Movement has always been possible, and especially so in the middle regions of the hierarchy. A low caste was able, in a generation or two, to rise to a higher position in the hierarchy by adopting vegetarianism and teetotalism, and by Sanskritizing its ritual and pantheon. In short, it took over, as far as possible, the customs, rites, and beliefs of the Brahmins, and the adoption of the Brahminic way of life by a low caste seems to have been frequent, though theoretically forbidden. This process has been called "Sanskritization" in this book, in preference to "Brahminization," as certain Vedic rites are confined to the Brahmins and the two other "twice-born" castes. Sanskritization is no doubt an awkward term, but it was preferred to Brahmanization for several reasons: Brahmanization is subsumed in the wider process of Sanskritization though at some points Brahmanization and Sanskritization are at variance with each other. For instance, the Brahmans of the Vedic period drank soma, an alcoholic drink,' ate beef, and offered blood sacrifices. Both were given up in post-Vedic times. It has been suggested that this was the result of Jain and Buddhist influence. Today, Brahmans are, by and large, vegetarians; only the Saraswat, Kashmiri, and Bengali Brahmans eat non-vegetarian food. All these Brahmans are, however, traditionally teetotallers. In brief, the customs and habits of the Brahmans changed after they had settled in India. Had the term Brahmanization been used, it would have been necessary to specify which particular Brahman group was meant, and at which period of its recorded history. Again, the agents of Sanskritization were (and are) not always Brahmans. In fact, the non-twice-born castes were prohibited from following the customs and rites of the Brahmans, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that Brahmans were responsible for this prohibition as they were a privileged group entrusted with the authority to declare the laws. But the existence of such a prohibition did not
Cambridge University Press, 2008
This book develops a framework for analyzing the creation and consolidation of democracy. Differe... more This book develops a framework for analyzing the creation and consolidation of democracy. Different social groups prefer different political institutions because of the way they allocate political power and resources. Thus, democracy is preferred by the majority of citizens but opposed by elites. Dictatorship, nevertheless, is not stable when citizens can threaten social disorder and revolution. In response, when the costs of repression are sufficiently high and promises of concessions are not credible, elites may be forced to create democracy. By democratizing, elites credibily transfer political power to the citizens, ensuring social stability. Democracy consolidates when elites do not have a strong incentive to overthrow it. These processes depend on (1) the strength of civil society, (2) the structure of political institutions, (3) the nature of political and economic crises, (4) the level of economic inequality, (5) the structure of the economy, and (6) the form and extent of globalization.
This book develops a framework for analyzing the creation and consolidation of democracy. Differe... more This book develops a framework for analyzing the creation and consolidation of democracy. Different social groups prefer different political institutions because of the way they allocate political power and resources. Thus, democracy is preferred by the majority of citizens but opposed by elites. Dictatorship, nevertheless, is not stable when citizens can threaten social disorder and revolution. In response, when the costs of repression are sufficiently high and promises of concessions are not credible, elites may be forced to create democracy. By democratizing, elites credibily transfer political power to the citizens, ensuring social stability. Democracy consolidates when elites do not have a strong incentive to overthrow it. These processes depend on (1) the strength of civil society, (2) the structure of political institutions, (3) the nature of political and economic crises, (4) the level of economic inequality, (5) the structure of the economy, and (6) the form and extent of globalization.
Drafts by Amisha Sahini
This study brings into light the existing health inequality in South Asian countries, a compariso... more This study brings into light the existing health inequality in South Asian countries, a comparison among themselves as well as between South Asia and the rest of the World. It highlights the pandemic preparedness of these economies and subsequent impact on the lives of more than two billion people living here, investigates how COVID-19 has forced them to re-focus policy making towards building a universal health care system so as to effectively to combat the impact of an unmitigated epidemic on health system resources and costs, and household costs. Different conjectures based on ethnic and genetic vulnerability of South Asians to the virus are examined and questioned in order to determine if they are indeed more susceptible. Finally, we perform a case study on India’s approach to COVID-19, change in policy making and future possibilities of reduction in health inequality in India.
T HE concept of "Sanskritization" was found useful by me in the analysis of the social and religi... more T HE concept of "Sanskritization" was found useful by me in the analysis of the social and religious life of the Coorgs of South India. A few other anthropologists who are making studies of tribal and village communities in various parts of India seem to find the concept helpful in the analysis of their material, and this fact induces me to attempt a re-examination of it here. The first use of the term Sanskritization in this sense occurs in my book, Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India (Oxford, 1952), p. 30: The caste system is far from a rigid system in which the position of each component caste is fixed for all time. Movement has always been possible, and especially so in the middle regions of the hierarchy. A low caste was able, in a generation or two, to rise to a higher position in the hierarchy by adopting vegetarianism and teetotalism, and by Sanskritizing its ritual and pantheon. In short, it took over, as far as possible, the customs, rites, and beliefs of the Brahmins, and the adoption of the Brahminic way of life by a low caste seems to have been frequent, though theoretically forbidden. This process has been called "Sanskritization" in this book, in preference to "Brahminization," as certain Vedic rites are confined to the Brahmins and the two other "twice-born" castes. Sanskritization is no doubt an awkward term, but it was preferred to Brahmanization for several reasons: Brahmanization is subsumed in the wider process of Sanskritization though at some points Brahmanization and Sanskritization are at variance with each other. For instance, the Brahmans of the Vedic period drank soma, an alcoholic drink,' ate beef, and offered blood sacrifices. Both were given up in post-Vedic times. It has been suggested that this was the result of Jain and Buddhist influence. Today, Brahmans are, by and large, vegetarians; only the Saraswat, Kashmiri, and Bengali Brahmans eat non-vegetarian food. All these Brahmans are, however, traditionally teetotallers. In brief, the customs and habits of the Brahmans changed after they had settled in India. Had the term Brahmanization been used, it would have been necessary to specify which particular Brahman group was meant, and at which period of its recorded history. Again, the agents of Sanskritization were (and are) not always Brahmans. In fact, the non-twice-born castes were prohibited from following the customs and rites of the Brahmans, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that Brahmans were responsible for this prohibition as they were a privileged group entrusted with the authority to declare the laws. But the existence of such a prohibition did not
Cambridge University Press, 2008
This book develops a framework for analyzing the creation and consolidation of democracy. Differe... more This book develops a framework for analyzing the creation and consolidation of democracy. Different social groups prefer different political institutions because of the way they allocate political power and resources. Thus, democracy is preferred by the majority of citizens but opposed by elites. Dictatorship, nevertheless, is not stable when citizens can threaten social disorder and revolution. In response, when the costs of repression are sufficiently high and promises of concessions are not credible, elites may be forced to create democracy. By democratizing, elites credibily transfer political power to the citizens, ensuring social stability. Democracy consolidates when elites do not have a strong incentive to overthrow it. These processes depend on (1) the strength of civil society, (2) the structure of political institutions, (3) the nature of political and economic crises, (4) the level of economic inequality, (5) the structure of the economy, and (6) the form and extent of globalization.
This book develops a framework for analyzing the creation and consolidation of democracy. Differe... more This book develops a framework for analyzing the creation and consolidation of democracy. Different social groups prefer different political institutions because of the way they allocate political power and resources. Thus, democracy is preferred by the majority of citizens but opposed by elites. Dictatorship, nevertheless, is not stable when citizens can threaten social disorder and revolution. In response, when the costs of repression are sufficiently high and promises of concessions are not credible, elites may be forced to create democracy. By democratizing, elites credibily transfer political power to the citizens, ensuring social stability. Democracy consolidates when elites do not have a strong incentive to overthrow it. These processes depend on (1) the strength of civil society, (2) the structure of political institutions, (3) the nature of political and economic crises, (4) the level of economic inequality, (5) the structure of the economy, and (6) the form and extent of globalization.
This study brings into light the existing health inequality in South Asian countries, a compariso... more This study brings into light the existing health inequality in South Asian countries, a comparison among themselves as well as between South Asia and the rest of the World. It highlights the pandemic preparedness of these economies and subsequent impact on the lives of more than two billion people living here, investigates how COVID-19 has forced them to re-focus policy making towards building a universal health care system so as to effectively to combat the impact of an unmitigated epidemic on health system resources and costs, and household costs. Different conjectures based on ethnic and genetic vulnerability of South Asians to the virus are examined and questioned in order to determine if they are indeed more susceptible. Finally, we perform a case study on India’s approach to COVID-19, change in policy making and future possibilities of reduction in health inequality in India.