NAYI DISHAYEIN – Summer School on Interrogating ‘Development’

21st May to 4th July, 2026

Background

Most countries in the world seem to have adopted a similar ‘development’ model. We in India are also following suit. Like everyone else, we too are aiming to be a predominantly urban, fossil fuel-based, industrial technology-intensive, consumer economy and society of the Euro-American variety.

A closer look, however, reveals that the adoption of this development model in India—pursued more explicitly and aggressively since the 1990s—has led to vastly unequal outcomes for different segments of society. On one end, we see glittering malls stocked with high-end consumer brands, state-of-the-art cars, booming air travel, dazzling gated apartment complexes, and a multitude of televised sports leagues. Yet, this is only one side of the story.

The other side is far less glamorous. The top 10% of the population controls over 75% of the country’s wealth and 57% of its total income. As a result, the luxuries mentioned above are accessible only to this privileged minority. Meanwhile, the remaining 90% struggle to make ends meet, often living in slums that sit in the shadow of those very apartment complexes, without access to basic amenities like clean water, sanitation, or adequate housing. Rural India, which continues to depend heavily on agriculture, faces meager incomes and limited opportunities. The scarcity of well-paying, non-agricultural jobs in both urban and rural areas is alarming. It is no surprise, then, that youth unemployment among graduates under 25 stands at 42%—the highest level recorded in the last four decades (PLFS 2021-22).

We need not argue here about the state of air, water, and soil, and the rising waste dumps across the country resulting from our model of ‘development’ and living. This model of ‘development’ has also pushed the cities to encroach upon the land, water, and other resources of the rural areas for mineral extraction, power generation, cement-steel production, and connectivity via roads and airports. This is a model of development for a few, at the cost of many. As we know from recent examples like land grabbing at Aravali, Nicobar Island, Hasdeo etc.

How does one make sense of this huge gap between the promise of ‘development’ and its actual delivery? Why does it not work for all? Does it even work for a few? because it is also well known that the lives of the ‘haves’ are often devoid of meaning, belongingness, and fulfillment!

If the flaws of this model are so glaring, why do we continue to pursue it with such fervor?
Why do politicians and mainstream economists rarely speak about human well-being—about things that really matter to us like education, health, clean air, and water—instead of obsessing over GDP growth?
What theories of economics legitimize this model of development? Where did it come from, and why have we adopted it so wholeheartedly?

About the Program

Sambhaavnaa Institute has been organizing a participatory, reflective, and perspective-building program called Nayi Dishayein that interrogates ‘development’ and seeks to understand its history and origins, its workings, and its ramifications on people and the planet.

In this program, we invite curious young people to:

Critically examine the notion of development: Where did it come from? How and why have we bought into it so uncritically?
If it is all about economics, economic systems, and economic models, what exactly is an economy? What is our current economic system, where did that come from, and can there be other ways of organizing our economy? Can we have infinite growth on a finite planet? Can GDP be the be-all and end-all of human well-being?
Can we discern the root causes of growing inequality and the unequal opportunities in this model of development? Can we understand its compulsions to crush both people and the planet on its way?
We are, to start with, a country quite fractured along the lines of gender, caste, class, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, and knowledge: Does this kind of development heal those fractures or further deepen them?
Finally, how have people been countering these onslaughts, if at all? What role and impact do these people’s movements have against this juggernaut? What is their contribution to a more just and sustainable society?
What can my role as a young individual be in all this?

This program aims to interweave theory and practice. The first part of the program is a 10-day campus-based component that will focus on building a varied and dynamic understanding of some of the pertinent issues facing our society today. It deploys a mix of lectures, classroom discussions, exercises and presentations, field trips, theater, film/documentary screenings, songs of resistance, and the sharing of lived experiences by activists and scholars.

The second part of this program shall involve field immersion for four weeks with some ongoing social change initiatives (in groups of 2–3). Participants will travel to a grassroots organization.

Participants will return to Sambhaavnaa Institute for the third part of this program (for 4 days) to reflect on their learnings and experiences based on their internship.

Who is the program for?

This program is open to anyone in the age group of 21–28 who is:

Seeking to engage with the above questions
Someone who aspires to work in the development sector
Seeking to make sense of the contradictory world we live in
Grappling with one’s role in a humane and sustainable world.

Resource Persons:

Janaki Srinivasan: Janaki Srinivasan teaches political science at Panjab University, Chandigarh. Her research interests are in development studies and political theory, with special attention to theory from the global south, the politics of social movements, and feminist theory and practice. Janaki facilitates ‘Gender and Development’ session at the Nayi Dishayein program at Sambhaavnaa Institute.

Anirban Bhattacharya: Anirban Bhattacharya leads the National Finance team at the Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA), where he writes and campaigns on socio-economic issues, inequality, and democratic rights in India’s financial system. He engages in research and advocacy to promote transparency and accountability of financial institutions and economic policy.

Himanshu Kumar: Himanshu Kumar is a Gandhian activist who, together with his wife, ran the Vanvasi Chetana Ashram in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, for 22 years. He learned the local Adivasi language (Gondi) and worked through the Ashram to help Adivasis access their rights under the law. Starting in 2005, during the murderous Salwa Judum campaigns of vigilante groups against the Adivasis of Bastar in Chhattisgarh, Himanshu worked to try to get villagers back to their homes, get people falsely accused out of jail, and win justice for the victims of police and vigilante crimes. His Ashram was eventually bulldozed and he was forced to move to Delhi, from where he continues to try to follow up with legal cases on the state’s treatment of the Adivasis.

Mohammad C: Mohammad is an activist and educator dedicated to social justice through community engagement and critical pedagogy. For over a decade, he has been a core facilitator at Sambhaavnaa Institute, leading workshops that bring together youth, activists, and professionals to challenge systemic inequalities. He focuses on political education and social transformation, using Theatre of the Oppressed as a participatory tool to deepen understanding and collective reflection.
Fatema Chappalwala: Fatema is an educator and environmentalist with experience in political education and program coordination. She designs and facilitates workshops on gender, environment, development, and waste management, using creative and participatory methods such as Theatre of the Oppressed and experiential learning. As a writer and curriculum designer, she is deeply committed to using education as a tool for social and environmental transformation.
Nitin Varghese: Nitin Varghese is a core member of the Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS), a collective that has been working for over 20 years to advocate for the rights of Dalit and Indigenous communities in rural areas of Madhya Pradesh. These communities face systemic violations of their right to land, livelihood, access to resources and the right to live with dignity. Nitin Varghese is a vocal advocate on issues such as illegal deforestation, forced eviction of local communities, and the denial of access to land and forests. The human rights defender Nitin Varghese and other defenders associated with the Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan have been repeatedly targeted in reprisal for their peaceful campaigns in support of the land and environmental rights of the Adivasi community in the Burhanpur District, Madhya Pradesh.

Information about the other Resource Persons will be updated soon.

Language: This program will be conducted in English and Hindi. Basic proficiency in both is required. (Speaking either English or Hindi is sufficient, but the ability to understand both is essential.)

Contribution to the Program: We request participants to contribute an amount of Rs. 6,000 towards workshop expenses, inclusive of all onsite workshop costs: boarding, lodging, and all the materials used in the workshop. Travel will be borne by the participants.

Do not let money impede your application. Need-based fee waivers are available. We have a limited number of scholarships, so please apply for a fee waiver if you really need it. Do remember that there are applicants who need it more than you. The fee waivers will be offered to people from marginalized groups and non-funded social, political, or student movements.

Dates:

21st May to 30th May 2026: Program at Sambhaavnaa campus (First part)
1st June to 30th June 2026: 4 weeks of internship (Second part), Travel days included
1st to 4th July 2026: Reflections about the internship at Sambhaavnaa campus (Third Part)

Venue for the campus components: Sambhaavnaa Institute, Kandbari, Tehsil, Palampur, District Kangra, PIN 176061, Himachal Pradesh

How do I apply?

Please select one from among the three field exercises detailed below, and then fill out the application form. The field exercise is compulsory for your application to be considered. There are 2 methods to submit your exercise. You can choose either of these:

Method 1: You can make a brief video, look into the camera, and articulate your experiences, specifically as per the requirements of the exercise. The video has to be at least 3 minutes long. (Please note that we will not be assessing the video on the basis of video editing, camera quality, or the efficacy of the presentation). Please write in no more than 500 words. You can share this video on WhatsApp with us at +91 889 422 7954

Method 2: Write about your experience and learning from the field exercise. We are interested in your reflections, interpretations, and analyses of social realities. (Please note that we will not be assessing the exercise on the basis of language, grammar, or the efficacy of the presentation.). Please write in no more than 500 words.

Field Exercise options: please choose only one of the exercises below

Exercise 1: Interview an informal worker in your area (peasants, domestic workers, migrant laborers, etc.) and write a note about how they are treated/used/compensated/cared for by the current economic system. You can also cover elements of their personal, physical, psychological, and family conditions and how the current economic system brings these about.

Exercise 2: Follow the garbage trail from your place of residence to the final place where it rests. Locate one person in the life-cycle who manages your garbage, and speak to them about the nature of their work, their wages, their family and who else earns in their family, the living conditions of their family, and so on. Provide a description of the garbage trail and any insights you obtain from it. Share about the garbage worker as well as your reflections on his/her life and working conditions and if and/or how they could be changed for the better.

Exercise 3: Visit a government school in your neighborhood. What did you see about the infrastructure, social class of the students, and the teachers, and what can you make out of the quality of education being imparted? How does it, if at all, differ from the kind of school you went to?

Please fill out the form below to apply without using any Artificial Intelligence(AI) tools