Social Exclusion and Policies of Inclusion : Issues and Perspectives Across the Globe

This book brings together cross-cultural perspectives on political economy of social exclusion and a critical view of policies of inclusion. The themes covered are political economy of social exclusion; inclusionary policy outcomes; persistent challenges to social exclusion and rethinking social exclusion and inclusion. The contexts are located in varied geographies including India, South East Asia, USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Papua New Guinea. The book throws light on how, historically, social inclusion of various excluded communities has always been a part of nation building with varying results. Furthermore, it highlights how the terrain of social exclusion is becoming increasingly complex today. It provides the space to reimagine issues of inclusion and exclusion within the social policy landscape of a country. It provides ways to rethink policies of inclusion such that dialogue between the excluded and the state is enhanced, and the systems of seeking justice for a dignified life, peace and freedom are improved. It appeals to policy makers, academicians and practitioners of development and social policy studies, planning and governance in both developing and developed countries. Foreword Preface Contents Editors and Contributors Abbreviations List of Figures List of Tables List of Boxes 1 Introduction: The Reality of Social Exclusion and Policy of Inclusion 1 The Political Economy of Social Exclusion 2 Inclusionary Policy Outcomes 3 Persistent Challenges to Social Inclusion 4 Rethinking Social Exclusion and Inclusion References Part I Political Economy of Social Exclusion 2 From Self-governance of Forest to Illegal Occupants: The Creation of Exclusion Through Dispossession 1 Introduction: The Setting 1.1 Social Exclusion as Historical Process 1.2 Adverse Inclusion 2 Forest as Aspect of Existential Dependence 2.1 Forest Resource as Source of Food 2.2 Forest and Material Culture 2.3 Forest as Source of Medicinal Plants 2.4 Forest as Source of Monetary Income 2.5 Forest and Slash and Burn Cultivation 3 Political Economy of Forest and Tribes 3.1 Colonial Setting 3.2 Post-independence India 4 Exclusion, Violence and Restoration References 3 Triple Oppression and Exclusion: Muslim Refugee Women in the USA 1 Introduction 2 San Diego Refugees and Refugee Policy 3 Islamophobia 4 Gendered Experiences of Muslim Refugees 5 Refugee Women’s Experiences: Fallout of Exclusionary Policies 6 Domestic Violence 7 Mothering in the Diaspora 8 Economic Disparities 9 Concluding Remarks References 4 The Everyday Fault Lines of Inclusion and Exclusion in Delhi: Of Othering, Counter Voices and a Politics of Belonging 1 Introduction and a Reflection: Is this Really the Delhi, that ‘I Thought I Knew’? 1.1 Vignette: A ‘Heart to Heart’ with a West African Family in Delhi (May, 1993)—Lasting Memories 1.2 Vignette II: Listening to Students from North-East and a Train Journey to Delhi (December 1993)–Newer Bonds 2 Themes, Concepts and Methodology 2.1 Themes 2.2 Concepts 2.3 Methodology 3 Migration as a Context for ‘Defensive and Offensive Othering’ 4 West Africans and People from the North-East India in Delhi: Why the Difference? 4.1 Comparative Ethnography and the Field: Delhi 5 Concluding Thoughts References 5 Globalisation and Social Polarisation: Spatial Repercussions of Global Labour Flows of Domestic Workers in Singapore 1 Introduction 2 The Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) Phenomenon 2.1 Regulating Overcrowding or Discrimination by Stereotyping? 2.2 Claiming the Right to the City? 3 Filipino FDWs—Domestic Workers Par Excellence 3.1 Migrant Labour Export from the Philippines to Singapore 3.2 Positive Role Played by FDWs 4 Globalisation and International Division of Reproductive Labour 4.1 Regulating Global Labour Flows of Domestic Workers 4.2 Globalisation and Polarisation—A Neoliberalistic Perspective 4.3 Joining the Low-Skilled Contract Workforce 5 Limited Legal Protection and Human Rights 5.1 Limited Scope for Defiance 5.2 Live-In Requirement and Reluctance to Legislate Within Home Workplace 6 Spatial Demands of Intimate Labour in a Global City 6.1 Why not Adopt ‘Right to the City’? 6.2 Social Production of Space 6.3 An Urban Development Agenda to Facilitate Globalisation? 6.4 What is a Third Place? 6.5 Doubling up of First and Second Places 7 Concluding Remarks 7.1 When ‘Home’ Becomes the ‘Workplace’ 7.2 An Urban Planning Challenge References 6 Witch Hunts in India: The Nexus with Forms of Exclusion 1 Introduction 2 Witch Hunts as Exclusionary Practices 3 Methodology 4 Overall Pattern of Violence Against Supposed Witches 5 Forms of Exclusion in Witch Persecution and Hunting 5.1 Supposed Reasons for Exclusion: Illness and Misfortune 5.2 Seizing Land 5.3 Levelling Through Witch Hunts 5.4 Exclusion: Strangers as Better Off 6 Exclusion from Spiritual Knowledge 6.1 Political Exclusion: Women’s Agency/Assertion of Rights 6.2 The Outcome of Exclusion Through Witch Hunts: Living as Social Outcasts 6.3 Murder: The Final Exclusion 7 Men as Witches 8 Dealing with Exclusion: Role of Law 9 Police and Administration 10 Court Cases 11 Curbing Influence of Witch Finders 12 The Path Forward: How Do We End Witch Hunts? References Part II Inclusionary Policy Outcomes 7 MGNREGS in Odisha: Social Inclusion and Exclusion Challenges 1 Introduction 2 MGNREGS, Social Protection and Social Exclusion 2.1 MGNREGS in Odisha 3 Analytical Framework 3.1 Economic Context and Exclusion 3.2 Socio-Cultural Context and Exclusion 3.3 Political Context and Exclusion 3.4 Institutional Context and Exclusion 4 Social Exclusion, Distress Migration and Inclusion 5 Concluding Observations References 8 Tragedy to the Commons and Outcomes of Blue Growth: Comparative Study on the Politicised Environment of Aquaculture 1 Introduction 2 Theoretical Framing and Research Design 2.1 The Forms of Capital and Its Relevance to Aquaculture 2.2 (Re)Framing Commons as Economic Capital to Commons as Social Capital 3 Methodology 4 Stories of Power, Control and Resistances 4.1 Background: The History, Geography and the Local Context of the Study Villages Before Aquaculture 4.2 The Effect of Changing Climate Conditions 4.3 Caste, Access, Power and Control—Contrasting Social Structure of the Villages 4.4 Onset of Aquaculture: Lineage of Multilateral and State Interventions, Appropriation of Land and Loss of Control 5 Discussion 6 Conclusion References 9 When Welfare Goes Hand in Hand with Social and Economic Exclusion in Québec, Canada 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 3 Context: Off Social Assistance, Out of Poverty? 4 Testimonies: From Welfare to Work 5 Conclusion References Part III Persistent Challenges to Social Inclusion 10 Encountering and Engaging with Modernity: Vulnerability and Exclusion of Youth in Odisha 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 3 Conceptual Underpinnings 4 Vulnerability and Exclusion Among Slum Dwellers 5 Female Workers in Garment Factories 6 Village Returnees 7 Concluding Remarks References 11 Exclusion of Widows and State Welfare Policies: Some Insights from Odisha 1 Introduction 2 Conceptual Connections 2.1 Widowhood and Social Exclusion 3 State Provisions for Widows: Ideal vs Reality 3.1 Widows in Rural Areas and the State Employment Scheme 3.2 Widows in and Around the Jagannath Temple 4 Swadhar Home—Pain and Panacea 5 Discussion 6 Concluding Remarks References 12 Social Exclusion of the Hijra During COVID-19 Pandemic in Odisha: Vulnerability and Precarity Dimensions 1 Introduction 2 Hijra and Social Exclusion 3 COVID-19 and the Hijra Livelihoods 4 Coping with the Pandemic 5 Living in Precarity—Discussion 6 Concluding Remarks References 13 Social Exclusion of the Elderly in India 1 Introduction 2 Ethnographic Study of the Elderly and Old-Age Homes 3 Conceptual Underpinnings 3.1 Who is Considered Old? Cultural Ways of Ageing 3.2 The Indian Perspective: Growing Old and Importance of Seva 3.3 Hindu View of Life: Joint Family and Intergenerational Reciprocity 4 Rise of Old-Age Homes in India 5 Social Exclusion of the Elderly 5.1 Exclusion Tied to Health 5.2 Gender-Based Exclusion 6 Old-Age Home as a Taboo 6.1 The Emergence of In-Home Health Care 6.2 The Lonely Living of the Elderly in the Cities 6.3 Policies and Laws for the Protection of the Elderly in India 6.4 SenCiCare Service in Odisha 7 Concluding Observations References 14 Oil Exploitation and Socio-economic Vulnerability in Mexico 1 Introduction 2 The Geology and Richness of the Subsoil 3 The Village of Emiliano Zapata and the Oil Boom 3.1 Different Forms of Pollution 3.2 Health Impacts on Local Communities 3.3 Community Response to Health 3.4 Agriculture Production 4 From Socio-economic Vulnerability to Social Exclusion 5 Concluding Remarks References Part IV Rethinking Social Exclusion and Inclusion 15 How (Not) to Exclude...? Against Totalising and Colonising Delusions of Inclusion 1 Introduction 2 The Language of In/Exclusion and Its Assumptions 3 So What is at Stake When Discussing Inclusion...? 4 Inclusive Diversity and Diverse Inclusivity: A Necessary but Impossible Dream? 5 Inclusive Diversity Must Lovingly Include the Non-human... References 16 Living Between the West and the Pacific—Papua New Guinea and the Question of Social Inclusion/Exclusion 1 In the Field 2 The Questions Through the Elders 3 What then, of This Exchange? 4 The Critical Reflexive Turn 5 Locating the Notion of Social Inclusion and Exclusion 6 The Notion of the ‘Excluded’ Subject in Papua New Guinea 7 Conclusion References Afterword Reflections on Social Inclusion and Inclusiveness References