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In a federal political system like India, the role of the federal units bordering the neighboring countries becomes crucial in foreign policy-making toward neighboring countries. It is expected that when similar political parties or coalition partners remain in power in both the center and the states, federal politics does not hinder policy-making toward neighboring countries. Moreover, foreign policy being a central subject, federal units any way reflect passive tendencies, especially in the case of governments with the same party affiliations. Both these simplifications are contested in this paper by citing instances of the role of West Bengal and Tripura, India's two federal units bordering the neighboring country of Bangladesh, at different historical junctures, in which similar political parties in the center and the state resulted in more friction than when different political parties were in office in matters of India's foreign policy-making toward Bangladesh. The paper argues that instead of federalization of foreign policy, where federal units have an influential role, this particular experience suggests an externalization of federalism, where an external variable (Bangladesh) influences internal federal dynamics to the extent that domestic electoral politics force the political parties of the two federal units to give importance to the neighboring country in taking positions on foreign policy-making. The immediate context of fifty years of the India-Bangladesh relationship and question about over-centralization during the latest phase of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime in India push the authors to take up Bangladesh as a case to contest the given of Indian federalism in foreign policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies in the United Kingdom have shown distinctions in intergenerational co-residency between UK-born and foreign-born individuals, however, little research has examined how factors such as immigrant incorporation, economic adaptation, and kin availability shape household formation patterns among immigrants. This paper uses data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2009–2010) to explore differences in the likelihood of UK-born and foreign-born working-aged adults to co-reside with at least one parent, highlighting distinctions by life stage (age) at migration and gender. Results show that, regardless of life stage at migration, foreign-born women and men are less likely to co-reside with parents than UK-born, however, intergenerational co-residency is high among some second-generation immigrant groups, particularly UK-born Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi individuals. These findings challenge cultural assumptions about household formation patterns and point to the need for additional research on how economic inequality, kin availability, and gender norms shape immigrant household composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research article examines the contest between indigenous forest-dwelling communities and settler colonial policy in post-Partition central India. According to official estimates, from 1961–71 the population of indigenous communities declined by nearly 50% in Dandakaranya within central India even as overall the population grew by a large margin during the same period. Despite perceptions of India as a post-colony committed to decolonization, this article examines how this state project, one of the earliest acts of governmentality, was deeply implicated in a settler colonial logic of elimination. Following the mass migration of Partition refugees in 1947 across newly demarcated borders, the Indian government earmarked Dandakaranya Forest as the site of a refugee resettlement project for lower-caste Partition refugees from East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Drawing on Lorenzo Veracini's notion of 'probationary settlers' as exogenous others without prior claims to land, refugees are understood within this argument as probationary settlers reliant on the state for their survival. Rather than narrating the biography of the state through its various experts and institutions, this paper foregrounds the perspective of the marginalized on their environment: displaced forest-dwelling indigenous communities and lower-caste (Dalit) refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically reviews and reflects on the processes for providing Assistive Technology (AT) services to Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The aim is to investigate the AT service delivery systems in these countries and suggest improvements where weaknesses are identified. We carried out a descriptive qualitative exploratory study in Bangladesh, India and Nepal by conducting key informant interviews with policymakers (5), AT service providers (22) and mobility and hearing related AT service users (21). We used a directed content analysis approach guided by a seven-point AT service delivery process model to thematically analyse the existing processes for AT service delivery, from first contact through to follow-up and maintenance. AT service delivery processes are sub-optimal in all three countries, and improvements are needed. No common AT service delivery process was found, although there are common features. In general, it is easier for PWDs in India and Nepal to access AT than for those in Bangladesh, but all three countries are failing to live up to their commitments to uphold the human rights of PWDs. Although good elements of AT service delivery processes can be identified, the systems in all three countries are fragmented and generally weak. A more holistic approach of looking at the process of AT service delivery, from first contact right through to follow-up and device maintenance, with a single door service delivery system, free of cost at the point of service is recommended in these countries. Although we found significant weaknesses in AT delivery in all three countries, there are some good AT service delivery practices and opportunities for these countries to learn from one another. A systematic and stepwise approach to assessing current AT service delivery processes in the three countries – examining the delivery system as a whole, from initiation to repair and management – can help identify opportunities to improve the process for (prospective) AT users. A more coherent single door system of AT service delivery will increase the quality and efficiency of the fragmented AT service delivery practices in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]