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Scholars of disaster politics debate how far natural hazards cause or catalyse political change. This paper builds on recent scholarship on tipping points and social contracts to argue that two case studies of historical earthquakes in 1930s British‐colonised India invite a focus on the dynamics of cooperation and conflict between state and non‐state actors. Officials of the colonial state and its nationalist rivals cooperated after one earthquake even though they otherwise bitterly opposed each other. Cooperation broke down after the second event, just one year later. Yet, in both cases, officials and nationalist leaders shared a broad vision for Indian society, which pushed both sides actively to seek to recover the social and economic status quo ante, preventing potential tipping points from crystallising. These case studies reveal how and why highly fraught social contracts can survive major disasters. The colonial state's transient and reactive approach to disaster governance continued to impact on post‐independence India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does male out‐migration impact women's experience of post‐disaster reconstruction? This paper employs survey data collected by Nepal's Housing Recovery Reconstruction Platform in 2018 to establish robust associations between male out‐migration and three indicators of women's participation in rebuilding their private houses after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake: (i) knowing where to consult for information; (ii) visiting a local government official by oneself; and (iii) signing a rebuilding agreement with the local government. Twenty‐six semi‐structured interviews conducted in 2022 further revealed that women whose husbands were abroad undertook roles that they would not have performed had their spouse been present, including in relation to management and decision‐making. However, the interviews also highlighted challenges that women had to overcome, such as a lack of knowledge of procuring materials and difficulties leading the process as a woman. This study advances the literature by establishing a relationship between male out‐migration and variation in women's post‐earthquake rebuilding experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Asia, a sub‐region with nearly a third of the world's population living in extreme poverty and hunger, has been affected by the COVID‐19 pandemic in an unprecedented way. The pandemic has undermined the progress achieved by the subregion towards attaining sustainable development goals. This study argues that fostering environmental sustainability in the South Asian region is crucial to "Building Back Better" while taking cognisance of future climate‐related risks. With the low level of preparedness, the collapse of global supply chains, and restrictive regional integration, the individual country in the region lacks the fiscal and technical capacity to implement sustainable development goals effectively. Therefore, based on the analytical approach to regional integration, this paper explores the potential role of regional integration in ensuring environmental sustainability in South Asia. Additionally, this study illustrates how the COVID‐19 pandemic has affected several environmental aspects at the regional level, such as clean energy, disaster risk reduction, and waste management, and shows how regional cooperation can address these challenges post pandemic. While previous studies mainly focus on regional integration in the European Union, this study targets the crucial importance of regional cooperation in South Asia in achieving environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) are highly threatened by fisheries, there are few studies that examine gear and fishery effects on catch composition and abundance across India, one of the top elasmobranch fishing nations globally. We assessed elasmobranch diversity, abundance, catch rates and fishery characteristics using landing surveys in Malvan on the central‐western coast of India, a major multi‐gear, multi‐species fishing centre, over three sampling periods from February 2018 to March 2020. We sampled 3145 fishing trips and recorded 27 elasmobranch species, of which nearly half are categorised as "Threatened" by the IUCN. In addition, we documented historical records by compiling information from identification guides, research papers, articles and reports. During the study period, the catch was dominated by small‐sized coastal species like the spadenose shark (Scoliodon laticaudus) and the scaly whipray (Brevitrygon walga). Trawlers accounted for 64.9% of the catch, highest by number, and captured smaller‐sized individuals. Nonetheless, artisanal and gillnet fisheries had higher catch per unit effort (CPUE) for rays (5.1 ± 1.0) and sharks (10 ± 1.0), respectively, and captured significantly larger‐sized individuals. Through generalised linear models, we found seasonal, gear and fishery effects on the abundance and size of commonly caught species. The presence of neonates and gravid females of multiple species also suggests nursery grounds in this region. Historically, 141 species have been recorded in this region, and a comparison with current catch suggests a shift in elasmobranch community structure and potential mesopredator release. This study emphasises the importance of gear and species‐specific research for conservation planning at the local level and suggests the need for management strategies with fisher cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition (NEON) study is a multiphase project that aims to optimize feeding, care and dental hygiene practices in South Asian children <2 years in East London, United Kingdom. The multiphase project uses a participatory learning and action (PLA) approach facilitated by a multilingual community facilitator. In this paper, we elaborate on the process and results of the Intervention Development Phase in the context of the wider NEON programme. Methods: Qualitative community‐based participatory intervention codevelopment and adaptation. Setting: Community centres in East London and online (Zoom) meetings and workshops. Participants: In total, 32 participants registered to participate in the Intervention Development Phase. Four Intervention Development workshops were held, attended by 25, 17, 20 and 20 participants, respectively. Results: Collaboratively, a culturally sensitive NEON intervention package was developed consisting of (1) PLA group facilitator manual, (2) picture cards detailing recommended and nonrecommended feeding, care and dental hygiene practices with facilitators/barriers to uptake as well as solutions to address these, (3) healthy infant cultural recipes, (4) participatory Community Asset Maps and (5) list of resources and services supporting infant feeding, care and dental hygiene practices. Conclusion: The Intervention Development Phase of the NEON programme demonstrates the value of a collaborative approach between researchers, community facilitators and the target population when developing public health interventions. We recommend that interventions to promote infant feeding, care and dental hygiene practices should be codeveloped with communities. Recognizing and taking into account both social and cultural norms may be of particular value for infants from ethnically diverse communities to develop interventions that are both effective in and accepted by these communities. Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement: Considerable efforts were placed on Patient/Participant and Public Involvement and Engagement. Five community facilitators were identified, each of which represented one ethnic/language group: (i) Bangladeshi/Bengali and Sylheti, (ii) Pakistani/Urdu, (iii) Indian/Gujrati, (iv) Indian/Punjabi and (v) Sri Lankan/Tamil. The community facilitators were engaged in every step of the study, from the initial drafting of the protocol and study design to the Intervention Development and refinement of the NEON toolkit, as well as the publication and dissemination of the study findings. More specifically, their role in the Intervention Development Phase of the NEON programme was to: 1.Support the development of the study protocol, information sheets and ethics application.2.Ensure any documents intended for community members are clear, appropriate and sensitively worded.3.Develop strategies to troubleshoot any logistical challenges of project delivery, for example, recruitment shortfalls.4.Contribute to the writing of academic papers, in particular reviewing and revising drafts.5.Develop plain language summaries and assist in dissemination activities, for example, updates on relevant websites.6.Contribute to the development of the NEON intervention toolkit and recruitment of the community members.7.Attend and contribute to Intervention Development workshops, ensuring the participant's voices were the focus of the discussion and workshop outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four years of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology lightning location network lightning observation data are used to determine the seasonal and spatial (over different geographical locations) distribution of the ratio of intra‐cloud (IC) lightning to cloud‐to‐ground (CG) lightning in thunderstorms over the Indian subcontinent. The ratio is high (6–10) in the northwestern parts and low (0.5–3.5) in the northeastern parts. No prominent latitudinal variation of the IC to CG ratio exists, but a climatological seasonal variability exists over all regions. In the pre‐monsoon season (March–May), the mean ratio is observed to be 3.81 with a standard deviation of 0.79, and during the monsoon season (June–September), a value of 3.04 with a standard deviation of 0.50. Although convective available potential energy is the regulating factor, little dependency has been found between the ratio of IC to CG lightning (IC:CG ratio) and the total flash rate (f), as well as with cold cloud depths. The ratio is observed to be proportional to the total flash rate as f0.61. The cold cloud depth is most prominently linked with the regional and seasonal IC:CG ratio. The implication of these observed results has the importance of separating CG lightning flash from total and can be used in numerical models to give a proper prediction of CG lightning in hazard mitigation. Plain Language Summary: Pre‐monsoon thunderstorms exhibit more intra‐cloud (IC) discharge than monsoonal thunderstorms; hence, the IC:cloud‐to‐ground (CG) ratio is also high in pre‐monsoon. In this paper, we have shown that CG lightning is approximately 20% of total lightning in pre‐monsoon whereas 25% of total lightning in monsoon all over the Indian region. A stronger vertical updraft associated with high convective available potential energy enhances the cold cloud depth. It may expand the mixed phase region, which can broaden and uplift the size of the upper positive charge center inside a thunderstorm. In contrast, the middle negative charge center remains at the same temperature level. Therefore, this process may enhance IC discharge between the upper positive charge center and the middle negative charge center, increasing the IC:CG ratio of a thunderstorm. Key Points: The mean intra‐cloud:cloud‐to‐ground (IC:CG) ratio remains high in the Pre‐monsoon season compared to the Monsoon season over the Indian land massThe high cold cloud depth associated with stronger updrafts expand the mixed‐phase region and increases the IC flash rate and IC:CG ratioHigh flash rate associated with high IC flash occurrences is also responsible for a high IC:CG ratio [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current account deficit poses a serious threat for a country's macroeconomic stability despite the fast economic growth. The primary objective of this paper is to explain and critically examine the determinants of current account deficit across seven South Asian countries using yearly data for 1980–2016 period. This paper employed several econometric techniques such as cross‐sectional dependence to see if shocks that occur in one country affect another, panel unit root test to check the stationary of the data and Panel cointegration test to check long‐run relationship among the variables. This study also implemented Continuously Updated estimation procedure given to estimate long‐run coefficients. The findings suggest that an appreciation of real effective exchange rate leads to a reduction in current account deficit, contrary to popular belief. The analysis also reveals that financial development, trade openness, fiscal balance and population growth have positive and significant relationship with current account deficit in South Asia but net foreign asset negatively affects current account deficit. This study, therefore, has several policy implications for South Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores experiences of Nepalese children of seasonal migrant workers in brick kilns and the particular vulnerabilities they face, as child labourers, as unpaid workers engaging informally in brick production or household work to the support family economy, or as children left behind in poor communities with varying support. The review provides a thematic analysis from child labour and migration literature from Nepal and South Asia from 2010–2020 to explore issues that affect children of families who internally migrate within Nepal to work in brick kilns. Two key themes and eight subthemes consistently emerged across the papers: Seasonal in‐country migration to brick kilns and impacts on children (reasons for children to enter into migrant work; left‐behind children; remittances; the role of gender on work and education) and the situation of children working in Nepalese brick kilns (living conditions; working conditions and occupational ill‐health; psychosocial distress; child protection). The review found that literature on Nepalese children from brick kiln working families is subsumed into wider studies on migration with impacts on children's lives often reported as outcomes of findings rather than a main focus of studies. Furthermore, there is minimal recent empirical research with such families and children. This may be due to ethical dilemmas of doing research with children and difficulties in maintaining contact with families that move frequently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian Sign Language (ISL) is an alternate to written and direct communication language used in India and Indian subcontinent. It is commonly used by deaf and mute people who cannot speak and hear. The ISL is a new sign language as compared to other sign languages used in developed countries. There is a need for automatic recognition of any sign language including ISL due to its application aspects in current times. The automation of ISL will helpful to both communities (those who can interact only through ISL and those who do not know ISL at all), because in many places the unblessed people facing difficulty in communicating like at airports, railway stations, banks, hospitals, and other places. In this paper, the authors have tried to develop an automatic conversion from ISL signs to text in the domain of digits. The system requires a digital camera to capture the ISL signs and the underlying software will interpret the meaning of the image. To develop such a system, pattern recognition concept including image processing techniques have been used. Important features from the ISL signs are extracted using Histogram Oriented Gradient (HOG) technique. To classify the input images, two classification techniques have been used in the experiments namely Tree Bagger and Fit Ensemble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concepts of decentralization and devolution are not new phenomena to Sri Lanka. Since Independence (1948), the processes of decentralization and devolution have taken place at a varying pace to address changes in local socio‐economic and political conditions. Nevertheless, effective decentralization, delegation, and devolution of political and administrative authority and responsibility have not yet evolved in Sri Lanka due to lack of political will and bureaucratic support, the dominance of central institutions, inadequate fiscal and human resources devolution, and political clientelism. In turn, lobbying groups and political leaders in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka continuously agitate for more powers through a federal system of government. This paper examines the federal system of government internationally with a focus on its implementation in the South Asia region. This paper argues that in a developing country context, federalism has not produced autonomous state governments and effective governance as expected by various lobbying groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a methodological response to the challenge of decolonizing geographical knowledge. It mobilizes post‐ and de‐colonial critiques of geographical knowledge production and conceptual work, suggesting how such work unwittingly disfigures the precise contours of the places and socio‐spatial formations on which geographers work, drawing them into implicit and reductive forms of comparison. Drawing on research and sources from South Asia, the paper moves instead toward more uncertain engagements with, and dispositions to, the production of geographical knowledge; ones attuned to the poetics of planetary difference. The paper speculates on five intellectual and methodological resources, or tactics, aimed toward producing geographical scholarship attuned to the tableaux of heterogeneous and incomparable singularities at large across the world: theory and reading; friction and fragments; translation/untranslatability; abiding by; and poetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid‐19 epidemic is a public health emergency of international concern. It poses a massive risk for the human race across the planet, calling for the need to take measures at the local, regional, national, and global levels. South Asian countries stand more vulnerable to the pandemic due to their dense population, poor infrastructure, and low surveillance system. This paper aims to understand the challenges from the Covid‐19 pandemic for South Asia; and investigates the strategic and operational responses to this pandemic by policymakers and healthcare professionals, respectively, in South Asia. The study uses interviews and opinions of policymakers and doctors, from the South Asian region, involved in tackling the Covid‐19 crisis. The qualitative analysis is performed on these interviews and opinions by using NVivo 12 software. The findings indicate that policymakers and healthcare providers across South Asia have been showing efficient teamwork while dealing with this pandemic. The healthcare administrators being at the operational level, convey the challenges they face to the policymakers who then respond to them at a strategic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the highest summer monsoon rainfall in South Asia falls on the windward slopes of the Western Ghats mountains on India's west coast and offshore over the eastern Arabian Sea. Understanding of the processes determining the spatial distribution and temporal variability of this region remains incomplete. In this paper, new Interaction of Convective Organization and Monsoon Precipitation, Atmosphere, Surface and Sea (INCOMPASS) aircraft and ground‐based measurements of the summer monsoon over the Western Ghats and upstream of them are presented and placed within the context of remote‐sensing observations and reanalysis. The transition from widespread rainfall over the eastern Arabian Sea to rainfall over the Western Ghats is documented in high spatial and temporal resolution. Heavy rainfall offshore during the campaign was associated primarily with mid‐tropospheric humidity, secondarily with sea surface temperature, and only weakly with orographic blocking. A mid‐tropospheric dry intrusion suppressed deep convection offshore in the latter half of the campaign, allowing the build‐up of low‐level humidity in the onshore flow and enhancing rainfall over the mountains. Rainfall on the lee side of the Western Ghats occurred during the latter half of the campaign in association with enhanced mesoscale easterly upslope flow. Diurnal cycles in rainfall offshore (maximum in the morning) and on the mountains (maximum in the afternoon) were observed. Considerable zonal and temporal variability was seen in the offshore boundary layer, suggesting the presence of convective downdraughts and cold pools. Persistent drying of the subcloud mixed layer several hundred kilometres off the coast was observed, suggesting strong mixing between the boundary layer and the free troposphere. These observations provide quantitative targets to test models and suggest hypotheses on the physical mechanisms determining the distribution and variability in rainfall in the Western Ghats region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Pattern of kidney diseases varies across geographies due to multiple factors. There is a paucity of information from South Asia due to the absence of nationwide/regional biopsy registries. This study aimed to delineate the spectrum of renal parenchymal diseases in our region. Methods: Records of kidney biopsies done in our nephrology department between 2006 and 2016 were analysed. Clinico‐pathological correlation was done from the available records. Results: Of the 3275 biopsy evaluated, 61.9% were males, and mean age was 33.2 ± 14.2 years. 6.2% patients were elderly (age ≥ 60 years). Nephrotic syndrome (60.3%) was the commonest indication for biopsy. On histology, 73.0% patients had primary glomerulonephritis (GN), 15.5% secondary GN, 5.3% tubulo‐interstitial and 3.7% vascular disease. Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) was the commonest primary GN accounting for 18.2% of all GNs, followed by minimal change disease (16.8%), membranous nephropathy (MN) (16.0%) and IgA nephropathy (10.4%). Lupus nephritis (10.6%) and amyloidosis (3.7%) were the commonest secondary GN. The commonest cause of nephrotic syndrome was minimal change disease (22.9%), acute nephritic syndrome was lupus nephritis (30.6%), rapidly progressive renal failure was pauci‐immune crescentic GN (24.5%). IgA nephropathy was the commonest etiology of asymptomatic urinary abnormalities (26.3%) and gross haematuria (50%). About 60.9% patients of undetermined chronic kidney disease had glomerular diseases, and 13.6% had chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis. Lupus nephritis and acute cortical necrosis were significantly more common in females compared with males. Conclusion: This is one of the largest cohorts of kidney biopsies from India, and it delineates the unique features and differences in the pattern of kidney disease in our population. SUMMARY AT A GLANCE: This paper documents biopsy‐proven glomerulonephritis in a metropolitan centre in Northern India. The majority of cases were <40 years old, with nephrotic syndrome being the commonest indication for biopsy. Over 50% of the cases were due to FSGS, minimal change disease or membranous nephropathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than one billion South Asians are affected by water scarcity. Pressure on water resources is likely to grow as a result of population growth, urban expansion, and climate change. This paper assesses the impacts of these effects on the historical hydrological baseline, with particular focus on irrigation. A geospatial water balance model was developed for this purpose based on geo‐referenced information available in scientific public domain databases. Annual water supply and demand for a baseline period 1950–2000 were calculated and projected to 2050 using (1) outputs from 19 Global Circulation Models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 for a Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5; (2) population projections to 2050; and (3) historical land‐use patterns at the country level. Improvements in water use efficiency and storage capacity were analyzed using the Modified Water Scarcity Index of the baseline and the projected water balance in 2050 at the watershed scale. Research Impact Statement: Identifying watersheds that could face water scarcity by 2050. Analyzing which basins will have higher water savings when improvements in water use efficiency and storage capacity are applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the intra- and inter-state usage of biometrics as a 'new' technology of development and neoliberal security in South Asia. We view developmental use of biometrics as a tool for integrating the vast majority of poor and marginalized people as visible and calculable economic subjects. We examine the ways in which biometrics translates people into data for the purposes of state, security, and economic legibility. In this paper, we explore biometrics at the intersection of geopolitics, biopolitics, and development to highlight the promise and pitfalls of 'technological progress' as a new development strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT It has been observed (Nihalani et al. 1979; Yadurajan 2001) that Indian English differs from other varieties of English in that it allows 'intrusive as' in complex-transitive constructions, especially with the verbs call, name and term. However, the construction is not restricted to Indian English, but represents a pan-South Asian feature that is gaining ground in the written language across South Asian varieties of English. This paper will provide a corpus-based analysis of the forms, functions and distribution of 'intrusive as'-constructions in South Asian Englishes, and consider possible motivations for this innovation in verb complementation patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tsunami that struck the coasts of India on 26 December 2004 resulted in the large-scale destruction of fisher habitations. The post-tsunami rehabilitation effort in Tamil Nadu was directed towards relocating fisher settlements in the interior. This paper discusses the outcomes of a study on the social effects of relocation in a sample of nine communities along the Coromandel Coast. It concludes that, although the participation of fishing communities in house design and in allocation procedures has been limited, many fisher households are satisfied with the quality of the facilities. The distance of the new settlements to the shore, however, is regarded as an impediment to engaging in the fishing profession, and many fishers are actually moving back to their old locations. This raises questions as to the direction of coastal zone policy in India, as well as to the weight accorded to safety (and other coastal development interests) vis-à-vis the livelihood needs of fishers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The range of Yamuna Kachru's publications is tremendously broad, ranging from language pedagogy, to South Asian - especially Hindi - syntax and syntactic typology, to discourse in South Asian and other languages, to the broader issue of South Asia and world Englishes. This paper focuses on a number of those aspects of her work that have stimulated my own work on several facets of South Asian linguistics, and presents a personal perspective on Professor Kachru's work in this arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we present examples from four research projects in India that were influenced by the values and ethics of decolonized and participatory research, and shaped by engendered perspectives. Each project built on earlier experiences that forced us to critically examine the ways we engaged with participants, crafted our field identities, and formed relationships. Using insights from linguistic anthropology and attending to intersectional inequalities and the construction of epistemic authority, we showcase how conducting an ethnography of communication and employing tactics of intersubjectivity influenced archaeological outcomes. We argue that close attention to context of communication, identity expression, and intersectional inequality enhances intersubjectivity, a necessary ingredient for successful participatory archaeology projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India being the second largest populated nation has always been energy deficit. In the run, several alternate sources of energy have been tested and utilized to compensate the energy deficiency; these sources include solar, wind, nuclear, hydro, and bioenergy. This paper focuses on the technical, social, and economic aspects of biodiesels produced from various nonpopular sources available in India, which at present are not been practiced on the commercial scale, but their viability has been tested successfully. The study has been made on biodiesels from neem oil, rubber seed oil, karanja seed oil, sal seed oil, kusum oil, simarauba oil, mahua oil, thumba oil, tobacco seed oil, cherua oil, pilu oil, jojoba wax, and tung oil. The paper also discusses the future and setbacks of biodiesel keeping Indian subcontinent in the vision and even throws light on various biofuel policies being implemented by the government. As the study concludes, we have identified that India's diverse flora, as well as agriculture pattern, has potential to boost the discovery, production process, technology transfer, and usage of various unsung nonedible oil‐based biodiesels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]