An absent presence
Experiences of the ‘welfare state’ in an Indian Muslimmohallā
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7100320 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Philippa Williams (0000-0002-4885-6700, a Centre of South Asian Studies , University of Cambridge , UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 263-280 |
| Publication date | 2011-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contemporary South Asia (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0958-4935 • E-ISSN: 1469-364X |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09584935.2011.594157 |
| OpenAlex | W1974250679 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 29 |
This paper examines the everyday experiences and perspectives of Muslim Ansāris (weavers) in urban north India with respect to the 'welfare state'. The case of a recent health insurance scheme, initiated by the Indian government, constitutes the paper's focus. Narratives around the scheme expressed by residents in a majority Muslim mohallā (neighbourhood) in Varanasi illustrate the ways in which the state's presence was more often experienced through its perceived absence and inaccessibility. But even whilst such experiences represented broader patterns of neglect, locally interpreted as the upshot of being India's largest religious minority, this community was not stricken by a sense of absolute alienation and nor did individual or collective actions exhibit outright disaffection towards the state. More appropriately, 'defensive agencies' informed by degrees of pragmatism, acceptance and resilience, were articulated in an effort to protect, as well as improve the future capacities and ambitions of the neighbourhood residents where the state had seemingly failed. The paper concludes however with a word of caution about celebrating such agency, and reflects on the potential for transformative politics by Muslims in urban India
Agency (philosophy · Alienation · Anomie · Government (linguistics · Indigenous · Narrative · Neglect · Neighbourhood (mathematics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Poverty · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science · Welfare · Welfare state · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Law · Psychology · Social and Economic Development in India · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies
Development Within a Religious Ontology? The Argument from Islamic Dharma
Reproducing Everyday Peace in North India
Identity, Industry, and Perceptions of Climate Futures
The Teacher, the Activist, and the Maulvi
From Our Side Rules Are Followed
Autonomous care? Muslim transnational giving networks and perceptions of welfare responsibilities in India
Gendering the everyday state
India's Muslims, lived secularism and realising citizenship
Performed Conviviality
Hindu Nationalism
Timepass
The Politics of the Urban Poor in Early Twentieth-Century India
The Politics of Recognition
Anthropology in the margins of the state
The Construction of Communalism in Colonial North India
The Politics of Recognition
Weapons of the Weak
Insurgent Citizenship
The Production of Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India
Citizenship
Religious Nationalism
Wahabi’ sectarianism among muslims of Banaras
The Politics of Secularism and the Recovery of Religious Tolerance
The Gujarat Carnage
Dominance and Dissent
States of Imagination
Stating the Difference
Secularism in Its Place
Agency and Experience
Marginality, Agency and Power
Politics Mainly Indian
Legacy of a Divided Nation
Blurred Boundaries
The Politics of the Governed
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,64 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2025 (14) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |