Nayi Dishayein: Spring School on Rethinking ‘Development’
a space to think critically, to listen, to have a dialogue, and evolve pathways for a gentler and more sensitive society
Background
Inequality and injustice are deeply entrenched in the socio-cultural and economic fabric of our country today, and the economic gaps in particular, are widening at an alarming rate. The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the brokenness of the enigma which is: Development. The narratives of ‘modern development’ seem to have picked up speed under the pandemic, exemplified by the Central Vista Project, the so-called modernisation of Lakshadweep, and lack of policy-level discussions stimulated by the economic, unemployment and agricultural crises. These ‘macro’ level events continue to exist alongside some of the other problems as parts of our everyday lives have been compromised due to inequalities in access to dignified healthcare facilities and quality education. In the rush for digitalization, our desires to seek technological solutions for most of our structural problems are becoming monsters of our own aspirations.
The Indian state has also used the pandemic as an instrument of control, as they have cracked down voices of dissent, human rights, environmental, and social activists. As the pandemic-induced atmosphere of fear and uncertainty has embedded into the daily lives of people, the fundamental rights of life, freedom of speech, religion, and dissent guaranteed to all citizens by the Indian Constitution have been infringed upon, with impunity. Due to public health responses like lockdowns, curfews, and social distancing, we have also been left with few options to balance different aspects of our emotional, physical, and mental lives.
So, the pandemic has influenced the narratives of development in India in multifaceted ways; and has posed more challenges for us, as citizens, both at the level of individual and social. But it might not be an understatement to write that the current conditions of our society, wrought with conflict, discrimination, and exploitation, is a grim reminder that these thought processes need to be explored with a sense of urgency.
About the workshop
Sambhaavnaa Institute has for the last eight years been organising a participatory, reflective and perspective-building program on ‘Rethinking Development’ called Nayi Dishayein. This program aims to interweave theory and practice, focusing on building a varied and dynamic understanding of some of the pertinent issues facing our society today. Ideas are never context-less, so, this September, we shall avail this opportunity to understand the sociocultural and political contexts that have led to the present climate in our country, with a focus on development and pandemic.
In this program, we work with young people to:
- Deconstruct, and critically examine, the notion of development – to understand it as a field of ideas.
- Examine the root causes of growing inequity in distribution of wealth and resources and opportunities, and its impacts on nature and people, in a society fractured along the lines of gender, caste, race, class, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, knowledge, and language.
- To re-examine and challenge our beliefs, views, convictions, and privileges resulting from the enduring power structures that stem from the social markers of caste, gender, religion, and class; and how they are linked with the notion(s) of development.
- Examine how the State and its institutions of policy-making and governance influence these power structures and vice versa.
- Assess possibilities of transformation through people’s actions, through an exposure to, and dialogue on, a range of initiatives/movements towards a more just society.
The workshop will use an interactive and didactic approach to learning and will have a collaborative curriculum – themes, concepts and case studies. Through the mediums of interactive discussions and conversations, field trips, theatre, film/documentary screenings, lectures, songs of resistance, and sharing of lived experiences by activists and scholars, we shall engage with the abovementioned themes.
Who is the program for?
If you are in the age group of 21-28 years and seeking an engagement with the above deliberations, or you are just figuring out how to frame the questions you would want to ask yourself, or trying to understand the interconnections between different issues that you see around yourself, especially in the wake of the pandemic, then please join us for an intensive collective churning on them – to open up ‘nayi dishayein’ in both your thinking and … hopefully, living.
Language: Primarily English, and some Hindi.
Contribution for the Program: We hope that participants would contribute an amount of Rs. 8500/ – towards workshop expenses, inclusive of all on-site workshop costs: boarding, lodging, and all the materials used in the workshop. Need-based partial waivers are available; we have a very limited number of partial waivers, so, please apply for a waiver only if you really need it. Please do remember that there may be others who need it more than you.
Dates and Venue: 1st to 12th September, 2021, Sambhaavnaa Institute, VPO – Kandbari, Tehsil – Palampur, District – Kangra, PIN 176061, Himachal Pradesh
Resource Persons: Dunu Roy, Aswathy Senan, Zubair Idrisi
Limited Seats: Due to coronavirus pandemic we have reduced the size of the batch to only 15 participants. All government issued guidelines will be adhered to during the program.
Contact: For more information please Whatsapp or call: +91-8894227954, or email: programs@sambhaavnaa.org.
Getting to Sambhaavnaa – Please visit: Getting here
Please fill the application form below:
(There is a sincere request we have to make. If you fill the form and get a confirmation from our side for your participation, please do not make cancellations at the last moment, unless there are unforeseen circumstances. So, while filling the form, please try to make sure you do not have anything else planned in advance for the dates of the workshop. It takes some time to process the forms and begin our preparations for the workshop. If you back out after the confirmation, it sends our preparations for a toss, in addition to the time and effort we are expending. Also, many other people who are eager to attend miss out on the opportunity. We shall really appreciate your consideration; and hope you understand the need for such a request.)