Ashok K Pankaj
Biographic Data
| ID | 101838 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ashok K Pankaj |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ashok K |
| FAMILY NAME | Pankaj |
| SIGNATURE | PANKAJ A K |
| AFFILIATIONS | Indira Gandhi National Tribal University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2480-5634 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 20 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Social (in)security and social policy for gig workers in South Asia
Over the last decade, digital worker platforms and the digital economy have become integral parts of labour worldwide, including in South Asian countries. Gig workers often experience job insecurity, low wages, long working hours, and harsh working conditions, which make their living conditions precarious and extremely vulnerable. Further, their vulnerabilities often also result from the informal nature of their employment, poor housing condition…
Repair, Revise and Reuse
,
Can Dalit laugh? Humour as resistance and politics of Dalit-comedy in India
From the margins to the centre
Dr Ambedkar’s idea of human rights and its scope of teaching in social work education
Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Ambedkar henceforth) is not merely known as the chief architect of the Indian constitution, social activist, philosopher, and social reformer but also as a great human rights defender in India. His idea and vision of human rights have been referencing points for creating an egalitarian society and formulating social policies. Despite his strong vision, teaching, and philosophy about an equal and just society, the pedago…
Gig workers in precarious life
The growing informal nature of employment in the gig economy does not only merely provide employment for many but also causes exploitation, insecurity, and exclusion from social security because of its informal status. Workers in gig work often go through long working hours, low wages, fear of losing their job, and insecurity which result in their precarious life condition. They experience vulnerabilities related to their employment, residency st…
Document' and North-Indian Labour Migrants
Governing migration and migrants is a contentious process across the country, and it has become more problematic in politically sensitive states like Manipur. The police regularly conduct document checks of labour migrants in various localities of Manipur to verify and confirm their legal status, which leads to their social, economic and psychological insecurity. While this is a routine law-enforcement procedure considered necessary for ensuring …
The Making of New Dalit Middle Class
Through delineating the struggles and challenges of Dalits in making of the Dalit middle class, this article seeks to argue that the struggle and aspiration of Dalits to live a dignified life and urban as a space of 'liberation from caste' represents a high point in making of the new Dalit middle class. However, existing literature about the Dalit middle class revolves around identity, provision of reservation in education, employment and cultura…
Dalit Women in Cinema
Dalit women in India experience gender in an entirely different way from upper-caste women because, along with gender discrimination, Dalit women face caste discrimination. Their experience of gender discrimination intersects with their caste identity, which intensifies their suffering. Dalit women experience gender-based discrimination and social exclusion and stigma. Drawing from the Tamil movie Karnan, two Bollywood movies-200-Halla Ho and Art…
Caste Amid Aspiration and Opportunity
In India, there are a number of Dalit autobiographies and Bollywood movies that narrate the humiliation of Dalits in various spheres of their life. The autobiographies of Dalits and a few prominent Bollywood movies capture the struggles of Dalits to obtain a high level of education. Education has been one of the primary instruments for Dalits to achieve upward mobility. Drawing from two prominent Dalit autobiographies by Tulasi Ram and Omprakash …
Caste and Discrimination in Welfare
Dalits constitute one-fifth of the total Indian population and, being located at the bottom of the caste hierarchy, suffer from the acute problem of discrimination and exclusion in every sphere of society. Despite various government affirmative actions and policies, Dalits experience discrimination, which in turn lead to inaccessibility of welfare services among them. Based on the author’s engagement in field work for data collection,1 this artic…
Dalits, Subalternity and Social Change in India
Land, Labour and Market
Social exclusion has been identified as an obstacle for Dalits in every sphere of society, which deprives them of access to resources. It has multiple forms which exclude Dalits from labour market and which creates adverse impact on their means of living. This article provides a theoretical and empirical perspective on the study of caste-based discrimination in the sphere of resource accessibility and consumer market discrimination. It sets the s…
The Fallacies of ‘Basic Income’
The dramatic decade
‘... no matter which period of history we study in India, there are few decades more significant than the 1970s. For this is the epoch that made India the vibrant democracy it is today’ (250). Undoub
The Public Distribution System in Bihar
The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in India plays an important role in providing food grains to the poor at subsidised prices. However, it has not been very successful in accomplishing its objective in many states. To make the distribution of cereals more effective, Bihar replaced the ration card with a new instrument of delivery in 2008—a 12-page booklet of coupons to be given annually to beneficiaries. This study, based on a panel s…
The promise of power
In this book, Maya Tudor revisits social and institutional explanations of the successes and failures of democracy in post-colonial societies through a case study of India and Pakistan. Her argumen
Development versus Democratic Essence
This article reflects on the role of voters’ preference for democratic essence over development-related issues in the 2005 Haryana and Bihar Assembly elections. Based on analysis of these elections, it is argued that in a society where the distributive effects of development are less than egalitarian, economic deprivations are reinforced by socio-political inequality, but democracy still promises to be a great equaliser and source of empowerment …
Engaging with Discourse on Caste, Class and Politics in India
This article maps the changing profile of pre-Mandal and post-Mandal debates on caste, class and politics in India, showing that the centrality of caste as an agent of politics and its dominant role in public-political life has remained a reality throughout. What is contested now is the extent to which recognition of caste as an instrument of socio-political change (following the Mandal Commission) and caste-centric socio-political movements of t…
India's Democracy
Caste and Discrimination in Welfare
Dalits constitute one-fifth of the total Indian population and, being located at the bottom of the caste hierarchy, suffer from the acute problem of discrimination and exclusion in every sphere of society. Despite various government affirmative actions and policies, Dalits experience discrimination, which in turn lead to inaccessibility of welfare services among them. Based on the author’s engagement in field work for data collection,1 this artic…
The Making of New Dalit Middle Class
Through delineating the struggles and challenges of Dalits in making of the Dalit middle class, this article seeks to argue that the struggle and aspiration of Dalits to live a dignified life and urban as a space of 'liberation from caste' represents a high point in making of the new Dalit middle class. However, existing literature about the Dalit middle class revolves around identity, provision of reservation in education, employment and cultura…
Dalit Women in Cinema
Dalit women in India experience gender in an entirely different way from upper-caste women because, along with gender discrimination, Dalit women face caste discrimination. Their experience of gender discrimination intersects with their caste identity, which intensifies their suffering. Dalit women experience gender-based discrimination and social exclusion and stigma. Drawing from the Tamil movie Karnan, two Bollywood movies-200-Halla Ho and Art…
The Fallacies of ‘Basic Income’
Land, Labour and Market
Social exclusion has been identified as an obstacle for Dalits in every sphere of society, which deprives them of access to resources. It has multiple forms which exclude Dalits from labour market and which creates adverse impact on their means of living. This article provides a theoretical and empirical perspective on the study of caste-based discrimination in the sphere of resource accessibility and consumer market discrimination. It sets the s…
Engaging with Discourse on Caste, Class and Politics in India
This article maps the changing profile of pre-Mandal and post-Mandal debates on caste, class and politics in India, showing that the centrality of caste as an agent of politics and its dominant role in public-political life has remained a reality throughout. What is contested now is the extent to which recognition of caste as an instrument of socio-political change (following the Mandal Commission) and caste-centric socio-political movements of t…
Gig workers in precarious life
The growing informal nature of employment in the gig economy does not only merely provide employment for many but also causes exploitation, insecurity, and exclusion from social security because of its informal status. Workers in gig work often go through long working hours, low wages, fear of losing their job, and insecurity which result in their precarious life condition. They experience vulnerabilities related to their employment, residency st…
Caste Amid Aspiration and Opportunity
In India, there are a number of Dalit autobiographies and Bollywood movies that narrate the humiliation of Dalits in various spheres of their life. The autobiographies of Dalits and a few prominent Bollywood movies capture the struggles of Dalits to obtain a high level of education. Education has been one of the primary instruments for Dalits to achieve upward mobility. Drawing from two prominent Dalit autobiographies by Tulasi Ram and Omprakash …
The Public Distribution System in Bihar
The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in India plays an important role in providing food grains to the poor at subsidised prices. However, it has not been very successful in accomplishing its objective in many states. To make the distribution of cereals more effective, Bihar replaced the ration card with a new instrument of delivery in 2008—a 12-page booklet of coupons to be given annually to beneficiaries. This study, based on a panel s…
India's Democracy
Engaging with Discourse on Caste, Class and Politics in India
This article maps the changing profile of pre-Mandal and post-Mandal debates on caste, class and politics in India, showing that the centrality of caste as an agent of politics and its dominant role in public-political life has remained a reality throughout. What is contested now is the extent to which recognition of caste as an instrument of socio-political change (following the Mandal Commission) and caste-centric socio-political movements of t…
Development versus Democratic Essence
This article reflects on the role of voters’ preference for democratic essence over development-related issues in the 2005 Haryana and Bihar Assembly elections. Based on analysis of these elections, it is argued that in a society where the distributive effects of development are less than egalitarian, economic deprivations are reinforced by socio-political inequality, but democracy still promises to be a great equaliser and source of empowerment …
The promise of power
In this book, Maya Tudor revisits social and institutional explanations of the successes and failures of democracy in post-colonial societies through a case study of India and Pakistan. Her argumen
The dramatic decade
‘... no matter which period of history we study in India, there are few decades more significant than the 1970s. For this is the epoch that made India the vibrant democracy it is today’ (250). Undoub
The Public Distribution System in Bihar
The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in India plays an important role in providing food grains to the poor at subsidised prices. However, it has not been very successful in accomplishing its objective in many states. To make the distribution of cereals more effective, Bihar replaced the ration card with a new instrument of delivery in 2008—a 12-page booklet of coupons to be given annually to beneficiaries. This study, based on a panel s…
Land, Labour and Market
Social exclusion has been identified as an obstacle for Dalits in every sphere of society, which deprives them of access to resources. It has multiple forms which exclude Dalits from labour market and which creates adverse impact on their means of living. This article provides a theoretical and empirical perspective on the study of caste-based discrimination in the sphere of resource accessibility and consumer market discrimination. It sets the s…
The Fallacies of ‘Basic Income’
Dalits, Subalternity and Social Change in India
Caste and Discrimination in Welfare
Dalits constitute one-fifth of the total Indian population and, being located at the bottom of the caste hierarchy, suffer from the acute problem of discrimination and exclusion in every sphere of society. Despite various government affirmative actions and policies, Dalits experience discrimination, which in turn lead to inaccessibility of welfare services among them. Based on the author’s engagement in field work for data collection,1 this artic…
Caste Amid Aspiration and Opportunity
In India, there are a number of Dalit autobiographies and Bollywood movies that narrate the humiliation of Dalits in various spheres of their life. The autobiographies of Dalits and a few prominent Bollywood movies capture the struggles of Dalits to obtain a high level of education. Education has been one of the primary instruments for Dalits to achieve upward mobility. Drawing from two prominent Dalit autobiographies by Tulasi Ram and Omprakash …
Dalit Women in Cinema
Dalit women in India experience gender in an entirely different way from upper-caste women because, along with gender discrimination, Dalit women face caste discrimination. Their experience of gender discrimination intersects with their caste identity, which intensifies their suffering. Dalit women experience gender-based discrimination and social exclusion and stigma. Drawing from the Tamil movie Karnan, two Bollywood movies-200-Halla Ho and Art…
Dr Ambedkar’s idea of human rights and its scope of teaching in social work education
Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Ambedkar henceforth) is not merely known as the chief architect of the Indian constitution, social activist, philosopher, and social reformer but also as a great human rights defender in India. His idea and vision of human rights have been referencing points for creating an egalitarian society and formulating social policies. Despite his strong vision, teaching, and philosophy about an equal and just society, the pedago…
Gig workers in precarious life
The growing informal nature of employment in the gig economy does not only merely provide employment for many but also causes exploitation, insecurity, and exclusion from social security because of its informal status. Workers in gig work often go through long working hours, low wages, fear of losing their job, and insecurity which result in their precarious life condition. They experience vulnerabilities related to their employment, residency st…
Document' and North-Indian Labour Migrants
Governing migration and migrants is a contentious process across the country, and it has become more problematic in politically sensitive states like Manipur. The police regularly conduct document checks of labour migrants in various localities of Manipur to verify and confirm their legal status, which leads to their social, economic and psychological insecurity. While this is a routine law-enforcement procedure considered necessary for ensuring …
The Making of New Dalit Middle Class
Through delineating the struggles and challenges of Dalits in making of the Dalit middle class, this article seeks to argue that the struggle and aspiration of Dalits to live a dignified life and urban as a space of 'liberation from caste' represents a high point in making of the new Dalit middle class. However, existing literature about the Dalit middle class revolves around identity, provision of reservation in education, employment and cultura…
From the margins to the centre
Social (in)security and social policy for gig workers in South Asia
Over the last decade, digital worker platforms and the digital economy have become integral parts of labour worldwide, including in South Asian countries. Gig workers often experience job insecurity, low wages, long working hours, and harsh working conditions, which make their living conditions precarious and extremely vulnerable. Further, their vulnerabilities often also result from the informal nature of their employment, poor housing condition…
Repair, Revise and Reuse
,
Can Dalit laugh? Humour as resistance and politics of Dalit-comedy in India
Political science (15 works) · Law (12 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Economics (8 works) · South Asian Studies and Conflicts (8 works) · Politics (7 works) · Caste (6 works) · Social and Economic Development in India (6 works) · South Asian Studies and Diaspora (6 works)