Universität Wien

142222 VO Minority politics in India from the 1990s: Legacy and change of colonial governance (2024W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 14 - Orientalistik, Afrikawissenschaften, Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismusk
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
Register/Deregister for this course

Details

Language: English

Examination dates

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Wednesday 02.10. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 09.10. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 16.10. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 23.10. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 30.10. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 06.11. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 13.11. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 20.11. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 27.11. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 04.12. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 11.12. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 08.01. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 15.01. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 22.01. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 29.01. 10:30 - 12:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In India, quotas (referred to as “reservations”) are allocated to various minorities and groups considered victims of social prejudices (for example, Dalits, tribes, women, etc.). This system of official recognition for certain social groups was conceived during colonisation to ensure equal access for all sections of society in political institutions, employment, and education. It was continued after Indian independence, and also transformed. Today, the Indian government also guarantees special protection for linguistic and religious minorities.
This lecture will present the history of this system from colonial times to the present day, as well as its various effects, public acceptance, and debates in India over reservations. It will focus on the reservation system (quotas in political and educational institutions), as well as Indian state policies and politics concerning linguistic and religious minorities.
The course will familiarise students with the concept of minorities, the Indian reservation system, and the situation of minorities in India.

Assessment and permitted materials

Written exam: 12 February 2025, 10:30-12:00.
If you are unable to take the exam on this date, you must arrange an alternative date with the lecturer.
The exam consists of 5 short questions (5 points each) and one essay (15 points).
You need to register for the exam via u:space.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

You can reach a max. of 40 points at the exam. Positive grades from 21 points.
>= 35 points (1)
>= 30 points (2)
>= 25 points (3)
>= 21 points (4)
< 21 Punkte (5)

Examination topics

The lectures.

Reading list

Baruah, S. 2013. “Politics of Territoriality: Indigeneity, Itinerancy and Rights in North-East India,” in Smadja, J. (ed), Territorial Changes and Territorial Restructurings in the Himalayas. New-Delhi: Adroit Publishers and Paris: Centre for Himalayan Studies, pp. 69–83.
Beteille, A. 1998. “Distributive Justice and Institutional Well-Being,” in Gurpreet, M. (ed.), Democracy, Difference and Social Justice. Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 463-88.
Bhartiya, N. 2015. “Politics of Religious Minorities.” The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 76, No. 4, pp. 923-926.
Galanter, M. 1991. Competing Equalilies: Law and the Backward Classes in India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Tawa Lama-Rewal, S. (ed). 2005. Electoral Reservations Political Representation and Social Change in India. A Comparative Perspective. New Delhi: Manohar.
Turin, M. 2018. “Situating language, recognising multilingualism: linguistic identities and mother tongue attachment in Northeast India and the region”, in Vandenhelsken, M.; Barkataki-Ruscheweyh, M.; and Karlsson, B. G., Geographies of Difference. Explorations in Northeast Indian Studies. Oxon, New York: Routledge, pp. 253-271

Association in the course directory

IMAK2 VO, EC 2/2

Last modified: Th 02.10.2025 13:26