This paper asks how, in Pakistan, a lesser-known community of Hindu untouchables and fortune-tellers continues their divination among Muslims. And how their particular type of divination is at the junction of two religions of Hinduism and Islam. Divinatory practices are a ubiquitous part of Pakistani society. In major cities like Karachi, various cartomancers and snake-charming […]
Papers
Myth as Critique: Buddhist Perspectives on Divination in the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthānasūtra
Divination holds an ambiguous position within the Buddhist tradition. On the one hand, in early Indian Buddhism, it is downplayed as a “worldly art” (tiracchānavijjā), which Buddhist monastics were prohibited from engaging in. On the other hand, numerous Buddhist divination texts – such as the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna – have been transmitted and remain available for research today. Moreover, […]
Locating Aṅgavijjā: Prognostication in Jaina Tradition (c. First Century BCE – SixthCentury CE)
Prognostication or fortune-telling is a fascinating esoteric tradition that was widely popular inancient India. A text that can be useful in understanding the prognostic institutions of the earlycenturies CE is the Jaina Aṅgavijjā (lit. ‘knowledge from/ of the body’). Three major aspects canbe gleaned from a contextual and content analysis of the text – the […]
Faces in Smoke’ The Indigenous Divination Practices: An Immersive Field Study of Shamans of Northern Pakistan
I held a sheer gaze of admiration for him, standing tall and steady in front of lofty mountains of Karakoram, at the door of a strangely designed building, I look at the picture taken in early 1990’s, adding more to an enigma it captivatingly held in each minutiae detail. ‘So Baba, where was this?’, instead […]
Between Faith and Power: The Construction of Saint Alphonsa in Bharananganam
Christianity is a religion which conceives and celebrates saints. The process ofcanonisation began to take a formal turn in the catholic church around the 10thcentury. However, the veneration of saints dates back much earlier in the historyof Christianity. This research explores the intersection of prophecy, sacredness,and institutional power in the canonisation of St. Alphonsa, India’s […]
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The Political Economy of Campaign Costs: A Comparative Study of Elections Across India
Expensive election campaigns undermine democratic processes by fostering corruption and political inequality through the disproportionate influence of wealthy donors. Yet, due to methodological limitations and Western-centric research, we still know little about the extent and causes of campaign expenditure variation. Our study addresses this gap by examining the determinants of such variation in four Indian […]
Bovines, Beef, and the Political Economy of Modi’s India
This paper analyses India’s bovine sector as a means of understanding the political economy underpinning Narendra Modi’s authoritarian populist rule. India’s bovine sector under Modi constitutes a sphere of political-economic activity that throws up an illuminating paradox: On the one hand, an entrenched and aggressive Hindu nationalist cultural politics is engaged in violently protecting the […]
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Emerging Business-Elite Leadership and Vote-Buying Strategies in Telangana’s Electoral Politics: Implications for Democratic Accountability
Vote buying has persistently shaped the contours of India’s electoral politics, underscoring deeper socio-economic disparities within its democratic processes. This study offers a focused examination of vote-buying practices in Telangana—a state undergoing rapid political and economic shifts—by investigating the rise of a new cohort of business-oriented political leaders. Building on Lehoucq’s (2007) conceptualization of vote […]
From ‘Aam’ to ‘Khaas’: The AAP’s Paradox of Anti-Corruption, Politics as Business and Public Service Provision in Delhi
This chapter examines the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, exploring its evolution from an anti-corruption movement to a platform for public service reform and political entrepreneurship. Initially celebrated for its grassroots approach, the AAP had initially created windows of opportunity for individuals from marginalised backgrounds—often lacking material or social capital—to enter politics. However, holding […]
MONEY, CASTE & ACCESS: THE WORKINGS OF A BUSINESS-DOMINATED POLITICAL ORDER IN AN INDIAN CITY
The rising power and presence of business in India’s economic and political life since the 1990s is evident in the increasing number of businesspersons entering politics, particularly in Parliament and state legislatures. While scholars have noted this trend, detailed, biographical accounts of such political actors and their interventions in local politics remain under-researched. Who are […]
