Beyond Mnemonic Security
The Paradox of Title Deeds vis-á-vis Landlessness in Select Cases of Irulas in Attappady
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8131209 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Manisha Madhu (Kannur University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 195-220 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-10 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Developing Societies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0169-796X • E-ISSN: 1568-5225 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0169796x261424980 |
| OpenAlex | W7135028964 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 12 |
The Adivasis’ deprival of the primary need of life, land, has rendered them categorically insecure in India. Acknowledging Kerala in general and Attappady in particular as one of the focal points of tension and contention, this article delineates four trajectories. First, it underscores the mnemonic security of the state in a crisis, wherein the memories and narratives of important events are mediated by the state to uphold its version. Second, it highlights the epistemic violence—the willful negation of agency and knowledge—perpetrated by the state and the participatory subjectivity—passive acceptance of the subject -position—concurrently embodied by the Irulas. Third, it looks at how memorialized security—providing security by cinching transactions through physical commemoration practices—in the form of title deeds for uncultivable land reifies or accentuates the landlessness of the Irulas. Fourth, it throws light on the central problems of the Irulas with respect to land-awarding initiatives and offers recommended solutions put forward by them to induce desired policy changes
Agency (philosophy · Embodied cognition · Insider · Mnemonic · Narrative · State (computer science · Subject (documents · Land Rights and Reforms · Social and Economic Development in India · South Asian Studies and Diaspora
From class struggle to class compromise
Weaving the algorithm
Mnemonic Security Dilemma. Memory as Casus Belli
Memory must be defended’
Integration or Exclusion? Locating Indigenous Peoples in the Development Process of Kerala, South India
Militant memocracy in International Relations
Kerala Development and the Attapadi Adivasi
Between Decentralized Planning and Neo‐liberalism
The Persistent Adivasi Demand for Land Rights and the Forest Rights Act 2006 in Kerala, India
| Highly cited | No |
|---|