RESEARCH PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN

2023. Title of the Research Project: The Railway Strike of 1974 and the Indian State

Abstract of the Project: 

The twenty day long Railway strike by the Indian Railwaymen numbering almost two million in May 1974, which received worldwide media attention to many remains the most valiant of the strikes by the workers of any organised industry in the country. It continued for twenty days. The strike is important considering the large scale mobilization that took place before and during the strike, the duration for which the strike continued and because the strike was able to challenge the might of the Indian state. The strike is also known for the response, which it met with from the Indian state. It has been accepted by observers that it was precipitated by the grievances of the workers and these grievances were related to the condition of the workers.

Since the strike has been described as the most valiant of the struggles of the working class in post independent history hence the project had sought to answer questions like; 1. Why did the strike take place? Was it the grievances of the workers that propelled the Unions to go for a strike of this magnitude in the railways?  2. How was the strike organized? How were the railwaymen mobilised for the strike? 3. How was the strike met with by the Union government? 4. Why did the workers fail to secure the demands for which they organised the strike? And what were the causes behind the failure of the strike?

2018. Title of the Research Project: The Movement for Separate State of Kamtapur and Greater Cooch Behar in North Bengal, Project undertaken under SAP DRS III Project scheme of the Department of Political Science, University of North Bengal, 2018.
Project funded by: University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi SAP DRS III Programme of the Department of Political Science, University of North Bengal

Abstract of the Project
The project focus on the Kamtapur People’s Party (KPP) led Kamtapur movement and the GCPA led Greater Cooch Behar Movement. The movements though become powerful at times but in recent years both the KPP and the GCPA had suffered a decline in their support and had weakened which is reflected in the decline in the intensity of their activities and also in the poor performance of both the organisations in the elections held in recent years. The movements seems to have lost steam largely because of defection of the members and supporters of the organisations to the Trinamul Congress which had emerged as a strong force from the 2008 panchayat elections followed by the 2011 state assembly in which it emerged victorious. Some of the top level leaders of both the organisations had defected to the Trinamul. Several supporters of both the organisations had left the GCPA and also the KPP causing the weakening of both the organisations. But even though the KPP and the Greater Cooch Behar demanding organisations have declined but in future there is a possibility that the movements may be able to draw the support of the Rajbansis and others in Cooch Behar considering that it is a district which is underdeveloped and backward and considering Cooch Behar was a Princely State before its merger with India, and most importantly because during our interviews we have found that the overwhelming Rajbansis are in favour of a separate state.

2018. Title of the Research Project: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Politics of Identity in North West Odisha (2000-2016), Project Report Submitted to the University of North Bengal, 2018.

Project funded by: University of North Bengal

Abstract of the Project 
The formation of the state of Jharkhand in 2000 by bi-furcating the state of Bihar only created problems for the Jharkhand demanding parties in the states of Odisha and West Bengal. The non inclusion of the tribal dominated districts of other states within the state of Jharkhand created problems for the JMM. Left with no other option, the JMM started mobilising on the issue of ‘Greater Jharkhand’ in the region and claimed that the formation of the Jharkhand state is not yet complete and since then it had demanded the inclusion of the districts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundargarh within the proposed state of ‘Greater Jharkhand’. The JMM and others are active and mobilise support on the issue of ‘Greater Jharkhand’ and in Odisha have social and electoral support in these districts, which lies in the North Western part of the state. Hence they still attempt to construct a Jharkhandi identity in this part of the state. The central research questions which the study answers are; how does the JMM mobilise support in favour of its principal demand for inclusion of the districts within the state of Jharkhand? What are the other issues raised by the JMM from time to time along with its principal demand? What is the support base of the JMM in the region? How successful it has been in the elections which it had contested? The answers to these questions have been given in different sections of the report.

2013. Title/Subject of Research Project: Underdevelopment, Identity Politics and the Demand for Separate States in Orissa (Odisha) and West Bengal.
Major Project
Date of Commencement: 26/03/2011
Date of Submission: Two year Project but submitted after two extensions each of six months duration.
Sponsoring/Funding Agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi.
[Project No. F. No.2-080/2010-RP],      Lengh of the Report: 368 Pages

Abstract of the Project

The study deals with the four movements for separate states in eastern India. In the northern region of West Bengal there is a strong demand for the formation of a separate state of ‘Gorkhaland’ consisting of the hills and plains of Darjeeling and parts of Jalpaiguri district. Apart from this there are also demands for the formation of a separate state of ‘Kamtapur’ and ‘Greater Cooch Behar’. The territorial claims of these two demands overlap considerably. Similarly in the eastern state of Odisha there is a demand for the formation of separate state of Kosal in Western Odisha. Out of the two, the demand for a separate state of Kosal is much more organised and strong. At the moment, it is the Kosal Kranti Dal (KOKD) which is spearheading the movement for a separate state of Kosal. The questions that I address in the study are; Why these demands for separate states? Or in other words what are the reasons behind these demands? Which are the organisations that are leading the movements? What do they claim? What do they allege? What is the social base of these organisations or parties? To what extent they have succeeded electorally and socially? Apart from underdevelopment and backwardness how is the question of identity important? What are the other arguments that are being advanced? Do they also advance the argument of ‘smaller states better governance’, ‘smaller state better political participation’, ‘smaller state better administrative convenience’ etc.
We have argued in the concluding part of the project report that all the demands for separate states are located in the backward regions or the district of the respective states and hence the ethnic organisations that mobilise support in favour of the demand for separate states or autonomy raise the issue of backwardness, separate linguistic and cultural identity, smaller states better governance etc. Organisations like the GJM could mobilise all the sections of the hills in support of its demand for a separate state of Darjeeling but the other organisations like the KPP or GCPA had failed yet to get the support of the mass or the sections which they seek to mobilise. The Kosal movement in western Odisha as it stands today has not received support from all the sections of the society in western Odisha. The movement has the support of the urban educated elites which includes the professional classes like lawyers, businessmen, ex-servicemen etc. The movement is urban based and the organisations that mainly spearhead the movement, the KOKD like the WOPF and the KSP is an urban based political party. Even though these organisations are weak but in future particularly after the formation of a separate state of Telangana it appears that these organisations will resort to greater political mobilisation and grow and, the movement will intensify in future.

2010. Title of the Research Project: Aftermath of the Assam Movement: The AGP and Politics in Assam (1985-2011), Project undertaken under SAP DRS II of the Department of Political Science, University of North Bengal.
Project funded by: University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi SAP DRS II Programme of the Department of Political Science, University of North Bengal

Abstract of the Project

In this project which was published in the form of a long paper we look at the phenomenon of the AGP in Assam. We look at the AGP with a focus on its birth with the Assam movement, the constitution of the party, the frontal organs of the party, the policies and programmes it adopted when it was in power in the state for two terms (1985-1990 and 1996-2001) and then we look at the party when out of power. Then we finally arrive at a conclusion. The entire discussion is carried on in several sections and subsections.

2011. Title of the Research Project: Nehru and the Issue of Substantive Democracy in India (1947-1964) submitted to the Centre for Nehru Studies, Department of Political Science, University of North Bengal.

Project funded by: University Grants Commission, New Delhi funded Centre for Nehru Studies, Department of Political Science, University of North Bengal.

2009. Title of the Research Project: Gandhi’s Critique of the Modern Industrial Civilisation and his Alternative for India’ submitted to the Centre for Gandhian Studies, Department of Political Science, University of North Bengal, 2009.

Project funded by: University Grants Commission, New Delhi funded Centre for Gandhian Studies, Department of Political Science, University of North Bengal.

2006. Title/Subject of Research Project: Political Parties in Power: An Assessment of Regional Party Led Governments in Four Indian States: 1995-2002
Date of Commencement: 1.1.2005: 

Duration of the Project: 2 Years till 31.12.2006
Date of Submission: 24.09.2007
Sponsoring/Funding Agency: University Grants Commission, New Delhi,  Length of the Project Repot:  256 Pages

Project Summary

In India the Regional parties were increasingly successful at the national and state level in the 1990s and formed governments almost at the same period starting from 1995 and all the parties remained in office until the end of their term. With the assumption of office by the prominent Regional parties starting from the mid of 1990s several questions became important relating to how, did these parties perform when they acquired power at the state level? Did they perform in accordance to the expectation of the people? Where they able to fulfill their election promises? How did they handle the state level institutions? Why was it, that almost all the parties and their allies (except the TDP which remained in office for two terms till 2004) was voted out of power when the next elections were held? What are the problems which the regional parties confront when they are elected to power? What sort of regional party can perform better in the states under the existing constitutional arrangement? Answers to all the questions have been probed in the study. We have focused mainly on the manner in which and how it used the democratic institutions and how it performed in the economic front.
The specific questions that the study addressed are what were the content’s of the economic policies the regional parties pursued when in power? How were the policies different from the policies of the national party led governments? How populist were these policies? Whether the parties were able to pursue these policies throughout their tenure? How did the policies affect the different classes in the societies of these states? Is it possible to relate these parties with any class or coalition of classes at the state level on the basis of the policies? Did the Regional Parties contributed to the consolidation and development of democratic institutions at the state level when in power? Out of the four governments which government performed better in the states under the existing constitutional arrangement? It focuses on the question of democracy and economic policy. The question of democracy has become crucial since political parties are considered as agents for preserving and strengthening democratic institutions. Did the Regional Parties contributed to the general economic growth or development of the state? Did they help in the building, development and consolidation of democratic institutions at the state level. At the concluding we have attempted to make a comparative assessment of the performance of these governments at the state level.

2005. Post Doctoral Fellow at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Kandy, Sri Lanka from July 2005 till November 2005.

Title of the Post Doctoral Project: Ethnic Parties in Multi-Party Democracies of South Asia: India and Sri Lanka in a Comparative Perspective

Abstract of the Project 

Recent times have seen a massive augmentation of the potency of ethnic power throughout South Asia. In India, the expansion of ethnic parties has affected the party system at the national level, which now manifests features of a bipolar system. Similarly in Sri Lanka, within the last two decades, there has been a growth in the prominence of ethnic forces representing both minority and majority ethnic communities. These parties have often been credited with the consolidation and development of democracy in academic literature. Although to some extend this is true, a careful analysis reveals that some of these ethnic forces often induce conflicts in the society predominantly because some of them pursue aggressive strategies.

The study has attempted to compare the role of ethnic parties in the sustenance and promotion of democracy of India and Sri Lanka. It is argued here, that the relationship between ethnic forces and democracy should not be assumed to be a direct one. Some of these forces foster ethnic conflict. The extent of conflict they generate in a society would depend upon the ethnic composition of the society (or State in the Indian context) in which they operate, the nature of the organisational structure of the forces themselves, and the mobilization strategy they adopt.