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Knowledge systems characterised by classification, categorisation, and data collection underlie efforts to govern. This paper critically examines knowledge collected by central governing entities in India about waste in an urban local body – specifically through the National Cleanliness Survey or Swachh Survekshan. Relying extensively on field work in Rajpur (2018–2019), one of the highest ranked urban areas in the survey, we reflect on the process of knowledge creation. We find that, even as we come to know, understand, and treat waste, existing hierarchies of race, class, caste, and gender find ways of re-expressing themselves. Intimately tied to its preoccupation with the occupation of physical space, the state's (and by consequence, the dominant) gaze at waste is primarily a visual one with the central project stripping the knowledge of sensory aspects in efforts to enhance claims of 'scientific' knowledge. Much like the mechanisms of the state, formal processes of research too have privileged ways of seeing and hearing (through photographs, writings, and presentations) as opposed to other sensory means of learning like smell and touch. Smell and touch that shape knowledge systems intimately and are the fundamental organising principle of several social norms, like caste, in South Asia are rather difficult to capture. Drawing on a bricolage of methods – including primary field work, document analysis, and visual data, this paper explores waste as entangled in gender, caste, and colonial histories. Further, it lays a pathway for a multi-sensorial understanding of (in)visibilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Earth's atmosphere, greenhouse gases (GHGs) and reactive trace gases are essential components of chemistry–climate interactions. These trace gases are emitted from both natural and anthropogenic sources over terrestrial and marine regions. Air–sea exchange is the dominant process controlling the distribution of several important trace gases over remote marine regions. Although the ocean–atmosphere interface covers ~70% of the Earth's surface, the quantitative air–sea exchange of reactive trace gases is estimated over the limited oceanic regions. The production and air–sea exchange of trace gases are controlled by physical conditions at both sides of the interface and ocean biogeochemistry. The northern Indian Ocean (NIO) experiences strong seasonal monsoon winds and intense tropical cyclones. Consisting of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, it is one of the most biologically productive regimes of the world ocean and home to the intense oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) of the Arabian Sea with dissolved oxygen concentrations. Thus, the NIO offers a unique system to investigate the air–sea exchange processes of reactive trace gases. So far, most of the studies of air–sea exchange of trace gases is focused on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, while studies over the northern Indian Ocean are very limited and reported mainly for CH4, CO2 and N2O. Although progress has been made in recent years, studies of air–sea exchange of reactive trace gases such as non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHCs), oxygen-, sulfur- and halogen-containing hydrocarbons remain scarce. This paper addresses the current understanding of air–sea exchange processes and fluxes of reactive trace gases, including NMHCs, dimethyl sulfide (DMS), oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs), halocarbons, carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O3) in the northern Indian Ocean. This review summarizes the studies on the air–sea exchange of trace gases over the northern Indian Ocean and common parametrization approaches used to estimate the air–sea flux of gases. Flux range for ethene (3–10.35 µmol m–2 d–1), isoprene (0.215–0.172 µmol m–2 d–1), acetaldehyde (–6.75–11.35 µmol m–2 d–1), acetone (–9–9 µmol m–2 d–1), DMS (0.03–41.4 µmol m–2 d–1) and CO (1.4–5.4 µmol m–2 d–1) over the NIO were summarized from various in-situ and modelling studies. The paper addresses the importance of the northern Indian Ocean apropos the production and exchange of reactive trace gases, the knowledge gaps and the future scientific scope. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for a multidisciplinary study of oceanic reactive trace gas cycling and its impact on regional atmospheric chemistry over the northern Indian Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pictorialism emerged in the last quarter of the nineteenth century as a global aesthetic movement that argued for photography's artistic status on par with other plastic arts more powerfully than ever. Archives from South Asia demonstrate the movement's thriving life in the subcontinent with Calcutta emerging as a centre and its bilingual amateur photographer-writers as major participants simultaneously engaging in globally circulating specialist discourses on pictorialism and popular discussions of their practice aimed at public pedagogy. By looking into Bangla periodical press this paper investigates how Bengali pictorialists used popular Bangla magazines in the early twentieth century to establish their distinct voice regarding what counted as artistic photography as they engaged with a non-specialist mass readership. Mass-circulated Bangla articles were not vernacular translations of knowledge and practices produced in metropolitan locations and disseminated in transregional languages like English. Vernacular was an extension of Bengali amateur photographers' participation in global photography, as they remained grounded in their historical specificity. These amateur photographers were bilingual intellectuals who wrote in English for a global public and in Bangla for a Bangla-reading publics and refraining from translating culture as they moved across languages. Indeed, articulations in vernacular didn't mean a venularization of practice; they indicate plurality of belonging and affiliation that crafted the pictorialist aesthetic of the Bengali amateurs. By unpacking this intellectual history, this paper decenters the Euro-US-centric history of pictorialism towards writing an interconnected history of the artistic movement, while also complicating the category of modern Indian art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1985, Rick Asher and G.S. Gai, jointly edited a volume published by the American Institute for Indian Studies that was titled Indian Epigraphy. Its Bearing on the History of Art. The volume carried 50 papers, short, succinct, but truly important for art historians – the result of a conference held at Varanasi in 1979. My review for the Journal of Asian Studies ended with the comment that this was a book that would find itself on the shelf of any library interested in South Asia. My paper today is a tribute to Rick and his unerring sense of areas of significance in the field in which we have all involved ourselves over the years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of digital technology, particularly virtual reality, is proving to be a pivotal tool in preserving and sharing the rich cultural heritage found within Cave art sites. This article deliberates on the use and application of digital technology in the field of cave painting conservation that provides an authentic and effective method of Cave art preservation for the future. Employing advanced techniques of photogrammetry, terrestrial laser scanning, structured light scanning, and high-resolution photography can digitally preserve the intricate details of Cave art, while the utilization of humidity, temperature, and CO2 sensors may provide a comprehensive digital monitoring system to track the condition of Cave art over time. This paper deals with the evolving landscape of technologies and their application to safeguard Cave art from environmental degradation and anthropogenic factors. The digitization of cave art has the potential to accurately conserve a site if used in an effective manner while also allowing visitors to experience this art form in ways never before feasible. The application of advanced digital technology in cave art conservation is not merely a choice but a necessity, considering the impermanent nature of these paintings in their natural environment. This paper underscores the urgency and significance of leveraging digital tools to ensure the enduring legacy of Cave art, an example of how digital technologies, as they evolve, will play an increasingly essential role in the conservation and dissemination of our world's extraordinary cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has been widely recognised as an affordable and effective mass transport system that can solve various mobility issues in countries that are unable to afford rail-based mass transit options. However, it is extremely challenging to predict the demand for the first BRT service in a city of a developing country with a weak public transport system using aggregate models, given the radical difference in the level of service between the BRT and the existing modes. Further, there can be substantial changes in the activity and travel patterns in a city after the introduction of the BRT which simpler disaggregate level analysis tools are unable to predict. Agent-based simulation tools, which are the state-of-the-art tools for simulating complex travel behaviour, are hence more appropriate for predicting the network conditions after the introduction of a new BRT system. But the application of such simulation tools has been primarily limited to developed countries where the transport landscape and the travel behaviour are very different from the developing countries. To address this gap, this paper presents a demand forecasting model for BRT and integrates it into an activity-based micro-simulation tool in the context of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and one of the fastest growing megacities in the world. The model was developed based on an existing multi-agent, activity-based, travel demand simulator (MATSim). The MATSim implementation in the context of Dhaka focused on two aspects: (1) implementing behaviour models in MATSim to reflect the mode choice in the presence of the proposed BRT (2) integrating multiple data sources (including stated-preference data) for calibrating the mode choice and other components of MATSim to realistically mimic the travel behaviour in the city. Once calibrated, different access scenarios for BRT were simulated using MATSim, and the sensitivity of the outputs to different modelling assumptions is tested. Results from the simulation showed that the marginal utility of travel time, travel cost, and pricing structure of BRT significantly influenced BRT travel demands. Also, BRT demand was found to be the highest (25% of the total trips) in the scenario with multi-modal access/egress connections. While such direct model outputs presented in this paper will be useful for the planners to maximise the ridership of the proposed BRT, the calibrated simulator will be also useful for the evaluation of other innovative transport modes in the context of Dhaka in the future. • Behavioural models are integrated with agent-based microsimulation approach to predict BRT demand in the context of Dhaka, Bangladesh. • The demand for BRT is found to be notably influenced by both the fare structure and multimodal connectivity. • Simulation outputs demonstrate that BRT demand can vary between 0.7% and 25% depending on the adopted policies. • Policy measures to maximise BRT demand include making motorcycles less attractive and ensuring intermodal connectivity. • Customised services, incentives, and targeted planning, including gender-sensitive strategies, are vital for improving BRT ridership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper reviews existing literature on South Asian ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) and identifies how community participation can be used to plan and implement ecosystem-based DRR approaches. Design/methodology/approach: The literature review methodology involved several stages. Firstly, the research objective was determined. Secondly keywords for the literature search were determined. Scopus, Google Scholar, JSTOR and AUT online library were utilized for the literature search. After the search, the literature was screened. The study design, methodology, results and limitations were identified and documented. After data extraction, the literature was analyzed. The patterns, trends and inconsistencies in the literature were identified based on the research question. Later the gaps, controversies and future research needs were identified. Then, a comprehensive and structured literature review that summarizes the relevant literature, synthesizes the findings and provides a critical evaluation of the literature was documented. After writing the document, it was reviewed and edited to ensure its clarity, accuracy and coherence. Findings: The paper identifies four different themes recurrently emerging in literature on the importance of community participation in ecosystem-based DRR in South Asia. The themes are local community participation in ecosystem-based DRR governance, knowledge production, livelihood enhancement and increased public acceptance. Originality/value: The paper also illustrates the challenges in integrating community participation with the dominant physical scientific approaches ecosystem-based DRR and proposes a five-element framework to facilitate the integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple estimates exist of global monetary and multidimensional poverty, but populations at risk of social exclusion still lack a worldwide estimate. This paper fills this gap by providing the first estimates of the share and number of populations at risk of social exclusion worldwide. The paper contributes to the literature in three important respects. First, it develops a conceptual framework of social exclusion that emphasizes the relative, multidimensional, and dynamic features of exclusion. Second, it proposes a macro-counting methodology that allows measuring populations at risk of exclusion based on identity, circumstances, and socioeconomic conditions, while advancing a protocol to avoid double counting of individuals at risk of social exclusion. Third, the empirical strategy provides to the best of our knowledge, the first estimates of populations at risk of social exclusion by dimensions of exclusion on a global and regional scale. Overall, we estimate that between 2.33 and 2.43 billion people—roughly 32 per cent of the global population—are at risk of social exclusion. The South Asia and East Asia and Pacific regions contain 1.3 billion such people, with India and China alone home to 840 million of them. Meanwhile, 52 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa's population is vulnerable to exclusion, the greatest share of any region. Our findings have important policy implications. While antipoverty policies can support household consumption and smooth its volatility among the poor, they are unlikely to address social exclusion stemming from ethnic, racial, or gender discrimination. Therefore, addressing exclusion necessitates a suite of multiple interventions tailored to distinct groups and sustained over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper envisages how the concept of 'Inequality' has been perceived by the Trade Unionists in late colonial Bengal. Informed by the ideology of Communism, these activists penned down a myriad of insightful analytical tracts, primarily in vernaculars, ranging from propaganda pamphlets to articles in the party organs. Their critique of Imperialism, and how it precipitates economic and socio-political inequalities was grafted in the ethos of class struggle. Through delineating their stark ideological differences with Gandhian mass politics, and by focusing on their intellectual endeavours concerning various structural inequalities of class, religion, caste, and gender it aims at charting out the indigenous response to the global doctrine of Communism. Often overlooked as conventional intellectuals, their literature brings to fore an alternative discourse on anti-colonialism in South Asia, overwhelmed by the theme of Nationalism. This paper is a methodological probe in doing intellectual history from below, adding to the edifice of the existing scholarship on Decolonisation, Communism, and Inequality in the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the framework of 'city drafting' used in this Special Feature to highlight the inscriptive and documentary processes underpinning property making in South Asia. It considers two senses of drafting: as provisional and iterative writing process that sees texts as objects in motion, and as the technical art of drawing, notation, and inscriptional verification. It argues that the papers in this Special Feature, through their focus on city drafting, demonstrate the continuity of what Raman [2012. Document Raj: Writing and Scribes in Early Colonial South India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press] calls 'document raj,' or a colonial bureaucratic system that grounds the logic of property in documentary possession and that administers property through specific dispositions to writing. How property is known and hence possessed rests on a certain grammatology of the state, which can be understood through three ethnographic objects: scripts, or the historically specific orthographic and inscriptive rules for how property is written; scribes, or the bureaucrats and associated technical experts whose graphical and grammatalogical knowledges shape how property is made and unmade; and scribbles, or the notations, jottings, and markings that indexically draw land and documents into different relations. This Special Feature's ethnographic focus on these three objects reveals the embeddedness of contemporary property and city making mechanisms in colonial documentary practices, thereby showing the epistemological limits of private property both in global metropolitan theory and as fungible economic form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the question as to whether Pakistan's fertility transition is stalling. The paper reviews the trajectories of fertility and its various determinants and compares Pakistan's trends with those of India and Bangladesh. Countries in the South Asia region share features such as cultural similarities (e.g. the low status of women and son preference) and high poverty levels. However, while Bangladesh and India are near replacement fertility today with modern contraceptive prevalence rates well above 50 per cent, Pakistan still has one of the highest fertility and lowest contraceptive prevalence levels in Asia. Our main conclusion is that Pakistan's fertility transition is close to stalling in mid-transition. The key causes of this stall are a high and unchanging desired family size, stalling demand for contraception and relatively low satisfaction of this demand. These are important obstacles to future decline in fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age gap between spouses has important implications for a range of outcomes—from fertility and longevity, to gender relationships, marital quality, and stability. This paper examines the age gap between spouses in 12 countries in South and Southeast Asia. The average age difference (husband's minus wife's age) is positive in all countries and ranges from 2.7 in Myanmar to 8.4 in Bangladesh. Age homogamous marriages accounted for 5% of all marriages in Bangladesh to close to half of all marriages in Thailand. The proportion of age hypogamous marriages was uniformly low in all the countries except for Myanmar where it reaches close to 10%. Men's marriage age has a stronger effect in determining the age gap. In general, the age gap for women with lower education was larger than for those with higher education. However, much of this effect was explained by the difference in marriage timing across educational groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most ancient and attractive tourism destinations in the Middle East and South Asia, Iran seeks to maximize its competitive identity to compete more effectively at international level. This study examines the major factors influencing Iran's competitive identity as a tourism destination from a supply-side perspective. The paper is divided into two phases using qualitative and quantitative techniques. First, we determined Iran's major competitiveness factors using thematic content analysis. Second, we examined the relationships between the identified factors, Iran's competitive identity, and its international tourism market development. The findings of this study suggest that factors including information technology, politics, products and services, spatial and infrastructure, structure and organization, economic and sociocultural factors significantly impact the destination's competitive identity. This paper also outlines the key theoretical and practical implications of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a special section comprising eight papers that delve into complex geographies of communal identities in modern South Asia. It situates these papers at a significant intersection of spatial histories and historical geographies of the region, with a focus on exploring the intricate relationship between community and religious identity on the one hand, and space and scale on the other. We take a broad view of communal geographies, reconsidering spatiality through community histories that encompass diverse contexts such as local mohallas and national statistics, rural and urban settings, and secular and religious spaces. It illustrates how religious communities have mapped their identities onto everyday arenas like borders, gurdwaras, homes, markets, mosques, shops, streets and temples. Drawing from various disciplinary and theoretical perspectives and employing methodologies ranging from archival research to oral history and ethnography, this special section expands our understanding of how social practices and religious interactions leave their footprints on geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early modern period, Persian scholars deliberated on the complexities in the Islamic doctrines in distinct ways. Several Sufis and scholars engaged in intellectual debates regarding ideal Muslim conduct. This paper focuses on 'Abd al-Haqq Muhaddis Dehlawi (1551–1642)—a polymath with specialised training in the Ḥadīs̤ and Sufism—to situate his ideas within the larger intellectual discourse about Islam in South Asia. On account of his training and scholastic approach, an a priori label of orthodoxy and revivalism is associated with 'Abd al-Haqq. However, his letters to Mughal courtiers and his Sufi taz̠kirāt showcase his complex pedagogy as a scholar of Islamic praxis and Sufism. This paper delineates his lucid approach in underlining Islamic tenets and the history of the Sufis in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is becoming a defining factor for communities in South Asia. Forming one-fifth of the world population, the region increasingly faces climate-induced disasters such as floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones etc. This region also has one of the world's poorest people who struggle to cope with the rapidly changing climatic conditions. Agriculture still employs many people in the region, one of the worst-hit sectors. Agriculture will become untenable in some parts of the region due to climate change. Monsoon patterns have changed, and agriculture does not guarantee sustainable income for the vast majority. Many climate change adaptations have been initiated in the region in response to the threat of climate change. Scholars and practitioners feel that these adaptations must be transformative to be effective. In this paper, we examine eight such adaptations from three South Asian Countries – Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, from the lens of transformative adaptation. We found that no single adaptation initiative meets all the criteria for sustainable socio-ecological transformations. However, there is a significant overlap between different typologies of transformation as envisaged in the paper and literature. We conclude that the concept of socio-ecological transformation is new for South Asia, so integrating it into the programmes and policies is the need of the hour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the challenges and opportunities for green energy and environment transition in South Asia, a region that faces the dilemma of meeting its growing energy demand while reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and environmental vulnerability. The region has rich renewable energy sources and potential for energy efficiency improvement, but it also relies heavily on fossil fuels and suffers from various barriers and constraints that hinder its green energy development. The region needs policies that can achieve economic growth, social welfare, and environmental sustainability coherently and effectively. Utilizing the thematic literature review approach, this paper examines the literature on four main topics: (1) the estimation of green energy resources potential and scenarios in South Asia; (2) the comparison of green energy targets and policies in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries; (3) the evaluation of green energy deployment and performance in different sectors; and (4) the identification of green energy transition challenges and opportunities in South Asia. This paper fills some research gaps in the literature by providing a comprehensive, comparative, holistic, and integrated analysis of green energy and environment policies in South Asia, using various data sources, methods, frameworks, criteria, indicators, scenarios, impacts, trade-offs, drivers, barriers, best practices, lessons learned, and policy recommendations. This paper also develops a conceptual model for the green energy transition in South Asia, which consists of five key variables: green energy potential, green energy policies, green energy deployment, green energy performance, and green energy transition. The main findings and implications of this paper are that South Asia has a huge opportunity to pursue a green energy and environment transition that can address its multiple challenges and aspirations, but this requires overcoming various obstacles and constraints that hinder its progress. This paper suggests some policy options and strategies to enhance the green energy and environment policies in South Asia, such as developing a clear and consistent policy framework, enhancing regional cooperation and collaboration, leveraging information technology and data analytics, emphasizing sustainability and resilience, and engaging with other stakeholders and partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between conflict trajectories and years of schooling in India for girls and boys. It adopts propensity score matching methods on panel data from the India Human Development Survey (2004/05-2011/12) merged with conflict data from the South Asia Terrorism Portal. Conflict is measured according to the dynamic trajectory of Naxal violence-related fatalities at the district level, distinguishing areas of chronic conflict with those experiencing dynamism in conflict intensity over time. ATT estimates indicate that conflict is associated with a reduction in years of schooling for both genders, though relatively high for girls (by a quarter of a year for girls and by 0.16 of a year for boys), driven by large reductions in school accumulation for girls living in areas of chronic conflict. Results are consistent when adopting different methods, alternative measures of conflict fatalities, and accounting for other conflicts and selective migration. Examining transmission mechanisms suggest that household spending on girls' education may be de-prioritised amidst conflict, while conflict may also weaken or destroy school infrastructure. Results suggest that policy responses should prioritise girls' education in areas of chronic conflict, not only in 'fragile states' but in countries where conflict remains a subnational concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to assess and evaluate the condition of existing bridges adequately and accurately is a critical aspect of bridge maintenance and management, which involves condition assessments. Multiple hazards can affect existing bridges, making them vulnerable or risky, and any decision support concerning their management requires special attention. A rational and systematic framework for making practical decisions about the hazards present in a region and the appropriate level of risk is presented in this paper. An analytical hierarchy process (AHP) framework is proposed to rank hazards in hierarchical order based on a region's characteristics and a suitable analysis range, which provides the degree of risk that could jeopardise bridges. The proposed method can assist decision makers in selecting appropriate strategies for improving existing bridges. As a result, bridge inspection costs can be significantly reduced, maintenance and repair funds can be more effectively allocated and the safety, mobility, longevity and reliability of highway transportation assets can be improved. The approach was used in a case study of existing reinforced concrete (RC) bridges in the Barak Valley region in Assam, India. Such an approach is novel to the Indian subcontinent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This conversation highlights the need to rethink how we approach disaster risk reduction in different South Asian contexts. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on the webinar held as part of Asia Week at the University of Copenhagen which was organised by Asian Dynamics Initiative and Copenhagen Centre for Disaster Research on the September 12, 2023. Findings: The prominent themes emerging from this conversation represents hybridity, self-rule and self-recovery. Along with this we suggest a fundamental turn to ensuring hope, solidarity and empathy is part of a post-colonial future. Originality/value: The conversation contributes to the ongoing discussions on moving away from colonial practices in disaster risk reduction and disaster studies broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tecoma stans is a widely distributed tall ornamental shrub in the plains of Indian subcontinent and is considered an invasive species across Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Pacific Islands and tropical regions of Asia. Besides having an ornamental significance, T. stans has been extensively investigated for its pharmaceutical applications as a source of bioactive compounds. In addition, the shrub is cultivated commercially as a potted flowering plant. We believe that T. stans, being a hardy, invasive and aggressively growing species, holds a considerable potential and a promising solution for re-greening waste and degraded lands outside its invasive range, due to its wider adaptability and drought tolerant characteristics. The shrub is an excellent source of pollen and nectar, that attracts diverse insect-pollinators and several species of birds. The prudent plantation of this shrub has the potential to restore the ecology of barren landscapes, that can change its perspective of 'being invasive' to 'being ecologically healthy' across the tropical, semi-arid and subtropical regions worldwide. This paper reviews the current updates on ecology, life cycle including morphology, plant growth characteristics, flowering phenology, reproductive biology, breeding system and fruiting of T. stans. In addition, details on insect-pollinator diversity and natural regeneration potential have also been discussed, besides highlighting its therapeutic and landscape use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a rich body of empowerment literature in development studies, our understanding of how empowerment influences health outcomes such as nutrition remains limited to the pathways depicted in dominant frameworks. Given the inconsistent results of programs based on such frameworks, this paper engages with a recent scholarly argument that deeper engagement with critical nutrition concepts may help practitioners design frameworks that achieve greater and more equitable success. This article tests embodiment as a critical approach to understanding the biosocial dynamics of empowerment and nutrition in three communities of Central Nepal. We used a participatory visual method to explore food practices and health outcomes tied to experiences of low, intermediate, and high levels of empowerment. In addition to demonstrating how empowerment is truly an embodied sensation, our findings reveal that development messaging around empowerment may be contributing to local understandings that compromise positive nutrition outcomes in these communities, particularly among women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Languages are at the centre of nationalistic discourses across South Asia since they have played a historically and politically significant role in defining nationhood and both uniting and dividing countries throughout the British Empire. Despite multilingualism and multiculturalism, and vast differences in individual access to, and command of, mother tongue, national and official languages, paradoxically a collective language is always considered as an important imagined marker of 'national' identity. It is this latter point I explore by drawing on ethnographic fieldwork amongst Bangladeshi youths from indigenous ethnic communities who are designated as ethnic minority groups in Bangladesh. Positioning the paper at the nexus of multilingual ecology, I thereby investigate how youths from the indigenous ethnic communities perceive themselves with reference to their mother tongue, national language, and foreign language, and what impact their relationships, their preferences, and use have on the maintenance and sustainability of their mother tongue in the multilingual ecology. A qualitative content analysis of the data demonstrates that it is only by taking the varying potential scopes of language into account that we can fully appreciate these complex Asian multilingual ecologies, where the mother tongues, indigenous ethnic languages, national languages, and English have specific historical, political, and sociocultural significances. The discursive claims of Bangladeshi ethnic youth participants indicate that the presence of the 'mother-tongue' and 'national language' in these contexts is ideologically infused, layered, value-laden, relational, and paradoxical at the microlevel – as these languages are practiced and nurtured by the linguistically minoritized subjects themselves. They negotiate their relationship with these languages, strictly keeping in consideration the existence of other languages and their social, cultural, economic significance in the multilingual ecology. It is via the paradoxical role of these languages in contexts that the paper aims to identify the socio-psychological reasons behind language loss in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative rattled the South Asian security environment vigorously as it involved strong territorial sensitivities of India, which found itself engaged on two fronts with Pakistan and China. The BRI has been the geoeconomic drive projecting China's peaceful rise. It has been welcomed with hope and suspicion as Western powers are equally interested in containing China in the Asian order. This paper examines BRI as a source of external transformation to the regional security complex model devised by Buzan. South Asia's inadequacies in bringing internal transformation, as envisioned by Buzan, allow the BRI to be a source of cold peace in the region. The BRI looks at decentered region-building with an appeal of great power overlay. This tier is relevant in diluting the South Asia geopolitical polarities. The paper claims that BRI influences South Asian geopolitics, where India and Pakistan are no longer locked into bipolarities. The smaller states are bandwagoning with China, and that calibrates the South Asian regional security complex. The cold peace laced with geoeconomic transformation can render a regional transformation to the security complex such that the South Asian regional security complex might dissipate into two or more mini-complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What value does a leading historian of modern South Asia ascribe to bhasa literature? Meant as an introduction to a volume of papers dedicated to Dipesh Chakrabarty, this essay proposes to read through some of his work and draw out a couple of general responses to this central question. The first one concerns Chakrabarty's larger philosophical engagement with the condition of colonial modernity in India. In his treatment, bhasa literary corpus is a site of difference as well as belonging. He searches for the difference that marks Indian experience of colonial modernity in the literary. The value of bhasa, in this instance, lies in its ability to provide a ground for resistance to the uniform march of enlightenment and capitalist modernity. And, bhasa enables an awareness of historical difference precisely because it provides a sense of belonging. This sense of belongingness is closely tied to a place, a particular location as well as to a sense of everyday intimacy. As the hybrid site of difference as well as belonging, bhasa is then the constitutive cradle of what Chakrabarty calls 'History 2s'. The second one concerns Chakrabarty's more specific analysis of the evolution of history as an academic discipline in modern India. He delineates a sharp devaluation in the political worth of the literary that the rise of rational-scientific history writing brought about in the middle decades of the twentieth-century. As he studies the intellectual careers of particular historians, part of his intent is to elaborate on this process of devaluation. The essay situates this reading of Chakrabarty in a larger discursive context. It briefly looks at the work of some other scholars of modern South Asia who share these intellectual concerns, and seeks to create, as it were, a dialogue between Chakrabarty and others. The essay concludes by briefly introducing the papers in the volume. In different ways, they extend Chakrabarty's preoccupation with the relationship between history and literature, and with the subject of modernity in India at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a significant challenge to countries worldwide, and South Asia has not been an exception. The region is home to over 1.8 billion people and some of the world's largest cities, making it a potential hotspot for the virus's spread. This paper presents case studies from three South Asian countries: India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, analyzing their response to the pandemic and the measures taken to contain its spread. The paper analyzes India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka's healthcare infrastructures, their strengths and weaknesses, and the measures taken by these governments to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the economy and society. Overall, the paper provides insights into the response to the pandemic in South Asia, highlighting the successes and challenges faced by the countries analyzed. The case studies offer valuable lessons on the importance of preparedness, effective communication, and coordinated responses to pandemics. They also underscore the need for greater investment in healthcare infrastructure and the importance of addressing socioeconomic disparities to effectively combat pandemics in the region. This paper also brings together the recent publications on the current pandemic to help understand the recent works in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autistic children are at increased risk of experiencing a range of mental health difficulties, including anxiety. A number of intervention programmes are now available in high-income countries to support autistic children. However, to date there are no evidence-based interventions to support families of such children in South Asia. Based on consultations with clinicians, researchers and parents in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, we developed a culturally tailored two-session skills-based group programme for parents whose autistic children present with anxiety. This paper describes the process of creating this programme, to be delivered by mental health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses grave challenges to global peace and stability. Nowhere is the relation between the climate crisis and the increased threat of nuclear war clearer than in South Asia, where approximately 700 million people in India, Pakistan, China, and Bangladesh depend on the shared waters of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra river basins. These river systems, fed by Himalayan glaciers, are diminishing markedly due to climate change. As geopolitical tensions in the region intensify, it becomes even more crucial to address and eliminate the two intertwined existential threats of water scarcity (caused by climate change) and the risk of nuclear war. This paper analyses the Indus River conflict and the Brahmaputra conflict in turn and offers effective strategies and recommendations for dealing with the threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of green intellectual capital in fostering societal sustainability. Also, this study investigated how co-creational customer capital mediates the relationship between green intellectual capital and societal sustainability. The paper draws attention to co-creating customer capital and understanding its impact on societal sustainability in high-contact service startups. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from responses from 376 high-contact service startup firms headquartered in the Indian subcontinent, particularly emerging markets. The proposed conceptual model was analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach. The analysis is based on primary data obtained from strategic-level employees. Findings: The results highlight the impact of co-creational customer capital in the Green Intellectual Capital – Societal Sustainability (GICS) model. Green intellectual capital components significantly influence societal sustainability outcomes in the existence of co-created customer values. It establishes customer capital as an essential factor that mediates the relationship between green intellectual capital and societal sustainability. Research limitations/implications: This research provides conceptualization and subsequent investigation of customer value creation in service-led startups. The construct co-creation is more appropriate for the service industry in common. Practical implications: This paper establishes co-created customer capital as an enabler in transforming underlying components of green intellectual capital into societal sustainability measures. Firms may generate higher customer value by pooling green human and relational capital along with active customer response and shared knowledge. This creates an organizational asset termed co-created customer capital specific to service industries. Originality/value: The article proposes a novel way to analyze customer value in service organizations. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no study has looked at how co-creational customer capital could act as a mediator between green intellectual capital and societal sustainability in the service industry context, particularly for SMEs and startups from emerging economies. Co-created customer capital may be used as an instrument to overcome managerial challenges in the context of transforming green intellectual capital into societal capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue brings together five original research papers on chronic conditions in South Asian contexts with a view to rethink dominant discourses of risk, evidence and control surrounding the category of chronic conditions. Focusing on the multiple and contradictory (re)definitions of what counts as illness, specifically in the context of the rising burden of chronic illness, the papers in this issue deal with a range of health care practices from individual patients negotiating with 'healthy diet', to policy questions about the etiology of emerging disease burden and appropriateness of pharmaceutical interventions in 'traditional' sites of healing. While some of the chronic illnesses addressed in this special issue have received considerable attention from anthropologists (e.g. mental illness, diabetes), others, like leucorrhea have rarely been studied by anthropologists, despite the growing literature on 'chronic illnesses'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asks whether and how caste fits into a global history of racial capitalism. The mischaracterisation of caste as custom has long misled analysts and thwarted solidarities. Drawing on the insights of two important bodies of literature, this paper seeks to remedy that misdiagnosis and show that (1) caste abolition must be central to any effective anti-capitalist politics in South Asia, and (2) a focus on 'local' systems of racialisation like caste is necessary in any history of global racial capitalism. The two bodies of literature I engage with to achieve these aims are: scholarship on racial capitalism and scholarship on the Indian transition to capitalism. The result is an expanding of the geography of racial capitalism and the centring of caste-based unfreedoms as central to the history of capitalism in the Indian subcontinent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on the researcher's work at a shelter home with the runaway "street child." In the Indian subcontinent where religion, gender, family and caste dominate identity structures, within the confines of a "home" exist children unnamed, born out of the social order. Through a clinical presentation and tracing the construction of childhood in Kakar and Nandy, this paper is an attempt to figure this forgotten child in psychoanalytic thought. With this reimagination of a clinic at the gates of homeless homes, psychoanalysis is looked at anew. The aim is to note urban homelessness as not merely a systemic failure, but also an exile from western developmental theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the South Asian economy swiftly integrating into global markets, the restaurant industry in India and Bangladesh has thrived, providing a wide range of global cuisines. Along with other foreign restaurants, Japanese restaurants have gained traction in recent years. This paper seeks to delve into the Japanese culinary industry in South Asia, aiming to comprehend the factors influencing consumer choice and formulate an effective market development strategy. Employing the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the study explores the determinants of Indian and Bangladeshi consumers' intentions to choose Japanese restaurants. Utilizing qualitative research methods, 36 in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted, with 20 Indian and 16 Bangladeshi respondents. A semi-structured questionnaire covering demographics, attitudes, subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioral control and other factors including price concern, food authenticity and religion was employed. Analysis of interview transcripts using NVivo 10 software revealed that participants generally had an average economic condition. Notably, religion emerged as a significant factor influencing purchase intentions in Bangladesh, while attitude and perceived behavioral control are the most significant contributors to Indian consumers' perceptions. Additionally, the study found that both Indian and Bangladeshi consumers' perceptions were significantly influenced by the authenticity of Japanese cuisine and food prices positively and negatively. The findings offer valuable insights into the Japanese culinary industry promotion in India and Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asian Palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer L.) is an economically important tree widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The multifaceted uses of the Palmyra palm fruit as food, wood, and medicine, make it a viable industrial crop. It is among the most beneficial species that have economic and medicinal value. It is found to posses antiinflammatory, anti-arthritic, cytotoxic, antibacterial, analgesic, antipyretic, hypoglycemic, and anti-oxidant properties. The plant has a very close connection with the rural livelihood, and cottage and agro-based industries of Indian economy. Unfortunately, over 60% of the annual fruit yield is often lost within ten days after harvesting due to rot in storage. The value of Palmyra fruit is not yet materialized, as no Palmyra products are commercialized so far. Even though Palmyra is an economically important palm for its nutritional aspects, it is underutilized and has not received proper attention in agricultural research, since it is a very slowly growing palm and is mostly found in the wild state. Hence, this paper attempts to give a view on Palmyra fruit's historical importance, chemistry, nutritional properties, medicinal properties, and commercialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Background In 2015, the UK government established the Fleming Fund with the aim to address critical gaps in surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa. Among a large portfolio of grants, the Capturing Data on Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns and Trends in Use in Regions of Asia (CAPTURA) project was awarded with the specific objective of expanding the volume of historical data on AMR, consumption (AMC), and use (AMU) in the human healthcare sector across 12 countries in South and Southeast Asia. Methods Starting in early 2019, the CAPTURA consortium began working with local governments and >100 relevant data-holding facilities across the region to identify, assess for quality, prioritize, and subsequently retrieve data on AMR, AMC, and AMU. Relevant and shared data were collated and analyzed to provide local overviews for national stakeholders as well as regional context, wherever possible. Results From the vast information resource generated on current surveillance capacity and data availability, the project has highlighted gaps and areas for quality improvement and supported comprehensive capacity-building activities to optimize local data-collection and -management practices. Conclusions The project has paved the way for expansion of surveillance networks to include both the academic and private sector in several countries and has actively engaged in discussions to promote data sharing at the local, national, and regional levels. This paper describes the overarching approach to, and emerging lessons from, the CAPTURA project, and how it contributes to other ongoing efforts to strengthen national AMR surveillance in the region and globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Capturing Data on Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns and Trends in Use in Regions of Asia (CAPTURA) project worked with microbiology laboratories, pharmacies, and local governments in South Asia and Southeast Asia to expand the volume of historical and current data available on AMR and antimicrobial use and to identify gaps in data and areas for quality improvement. When the CAPTURA project completed its country-level engagement in the first half of 2022, the consortium brought together local, regional, and global AMR stakeholders for a virtual regional workshop to review data outputs from the project and share strategies to inform national and regional efforts to combat AMR. This paper summarizes the main topics presented in the workshop held from 28 to 30 June 2022. As such, it highlights lessons learned from the project and strategies to fight AMR. Although CAPTURA has been invaluable to countries and information from the project is already being used, barriers concerning data quality and sharing remain. Regional-level initiatives should continue to build on the momentum gained from the CAPTURA project in supporting national-level surveillance and data quality improvements to inform critical decisions around planning, policies, and clinical care. Project findings have highlighted that issues with antimicrobial resistance and use are wide ranging across countries. Going forward, building on the current foundations and tailoring approaches to meet local needs and capacities will be fundamental in combatting AMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing trends in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continue to pose a significant threat to human health, with grave consequences in low- and middle-income countries. In collaboration with local governments and microbiology laboratories in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, the Capturing Data on Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns and Trends in Use in Regions of Asia (CAPTURA) project worked to identify gaps and expand the volume of existing AMR data to inform decision-makers on how to best strengthen their national AMR surveillance capacity. This article describes overall project management processes and the strategies implemented to address the disruptive impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the project activities across diverse contexts in different countries. Also, it assesses in-country team's feedback on the conduct of activities and their overall impact on project completion. The strategies employed were tailored to the specific context of each country and included increased communication and collaboration among consortium partners and in-country teams, as well as hiring of additional in-country team members. This paper highlights the importance of local representation and capacities as well as real-time (virtual) engagement with stakeholders, ensuring close monitoring of the local situation and ability to tailor context-specific mitigation strategies to continue project implementation during disruptive external circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Tobacco use, in both smoking and smokeless forms, is highly prevalent among South Asian adults. The aims of the study were twofold: (1) describe patterns of SLT and combustible tobacco product use in four South Asian countries stratified by country and sex, and (2) assess the relationships between SLT and smoking intensity, smoking quit attempts, and smoking cessation among South Asian men. Methods: Data were obtained from South Asia Biobank Study, collected between 2018 and 2022 from 148,944 men and women aged 18 years and above, living in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. Mixed effects multivariable logistic and linear regression were used to quantify the associations of SLT use with quit attempt, cessation, and intensity. Results: Among the four South Asian countries, Bangladesh has the highest rates of current smoking (39.9% for male, 0.4% for female) and current SLT use (24.7% for male and 23.4% for female). Among male adults, ever SLT use was associated with a higher odds of smoking cessation in Bangladesh (OR, 2.88; 95% CI, 2.65, 3.13), India (OR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.63, 2.50), and Sri Lanka (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.14, 1.62). Ever SLT use and current SLT use was associated with lower smoking intensity in all countries. Conclusions: In this large population-based study of South Asian adults, rates of smoking and SLT use vary widely by country and gender. Men who use SLT products are more likely to abstain from smoking compared with those who do not. What this paper adds?: • Tobacco use remains a leading risk factor of chronic disease in South Asia. Smokeless tobacco use is particularly popular in this region, even among adult women. Evidence on smokeless tobacco use and smoking cessation are inconclusive and may be dependent on specific cultural and historical factors. • Contemporaneous data on smokeless and combustible tobacco use patterns in South Asia are limited. Little is known whether SLT use is associated with smoking cessation in South Asia where the vast majority of the world's SLT users reside. • This study provided information on patterns of SLT use and smoking in four South Asia countries using a large population-based sample of 148,944 adults collected between 2018 and 2022. We observed that SLT use was associated with higher smoking cessation and lower smoking intensity among men. Strengthening SLT product regulation may have important population health implications with the changing tobacco use landscape in South Asia. [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]

Background: Little is known about the effectiveness and implementation of psychosocial interventions for psychosis in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In South Asia, specialist psychiatric resources are scarce. Support for psychosis often falls on the family or caregiver which can increase feelings of burden, impact caregivers' wellbeing, and increase mental health stigma. Psychosocial interventions are increasingly used for psychosis in South Asia and could reduce relapse and symptoms, reduce caregiver burden, conserve cost and resources. The aim of this review was to appraise the effectiveness and implementation readiness of psychosocial interventions for people with psychosis in South Asia. Method: A systematic search was conducted on MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Global Health, and Web of Science. The review was prospectively registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022329254). Studies were rated on two scales assessing quality and implementation readiness. Results: Twenty-six papers were included, nine intervention-types including community-based interventions/assertive outreach; CaCBTp; FAP; psychoeducation; cognitive retraining/rehabilitation; social cognition/skills; family/ caregiver intervention; telehealth intervention; yoga-based intervention in six South Asian countries. Findings suggest a multicomponent community-based intervention (MCBI) was the most implementation ready due to its standardisation, good clinical outcomes for patients and caregivers, and training and cost evaluations. Conclusion: Of the included studies, MCBI and community-based outreach interventions utilising lay health workers appear to be the most implementation ready and are suggested to best address the treatment gap in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main theme of this paper is to investigate the socio-economic impacts of climate change and adaptation; by comparing the losses with and without land reallocation for major staple foods as a key strategy of climate change adaptation in the farming system. In doing so, a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for Nepal has been developed, incorporating the allocation of land for several agricultural crops, including the major staple foods, with specification of a nested set of constant elasticity of transformation (CET) functional forms. The set of land transformation elasticities facilitates switching from one crop to another; based on their agronomic characteristics and degree of climate change impacts. Using Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) data and Living Standard Survey (LSS) data, a social accounting matrix (SAM) for Nepal is developed and used to simulate three scenarios of climate change and land reallocation. The simulation results in the long run depict farmers as more likely to use land for crops that are comparatively less impacted by climate change, such as paddy. The results further show that land reallocation reduces the income inequality and poverty among rural and urban households by significantly controlling the income losses of marginal farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are typically monogenic. Data from the Indian subcontinent are relatively scarce. This paper evaluates IEI diagnosed in Sri Lanka. Methods: Data of patients diagnosed with IEI from 2010 to 2022 at the Department of Immunology, Medical Research Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka, were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Two hundred and six patients were diagnosed with IEI, with a prevalence of 0.94 per 100,000. The onset of disease was below 12 years in 84.9%, whereas in 10.9%, it was after 18 years. The male: female ratio was 1.78:1. Consanguinity was identified in 26.6%. IEI were found in all but one (bone marrow failure) of the 10 IUIS categories. Predominantly antibody deficiencies were the most common category among the nine identified (30.1%), followed by combined immune deficiencies with syndromic features (21.3%), immunodeficiencies affecting cellular and humoral immunity (19.9%), congenital defects of phagocyte number or function (13.1%), and defects in intrinsic and innate immunity (8.2%). Severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) was the commonest disease (14.6%), followed by chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) (10.6%) and X linked agammaglobulinemia (8.7%). Of the patients with a known outcome (n = 184), 51 died (27.7%). Mortality rates were high in SCID (83.3%), Omenn syndrome (OS) (100%), and CGD (31.8%) patients. Conclusion: IEI in Sri Lanka are diagnosed mainly in childhood. The low diagnosis rates suggest a need for educating clinicians regarding IEI in adulthood. The high mortality rates associated with some IEI indicate the need of transplant services in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The colonial period of Christian expansion was plagued by practices and systems that exploited non-European indigenous populations for the endgame interests of enriching the treasuries of European imperial powers and promoting Eurocentrism. Anderson Jeremiah has written an important paper that explains how the concepts of race and the caste system in South Asia functioned in the context of colonial Christian expansion, and argues that postcolonial Christian actors should prioritise intentionally replacing dehumanising forms of missional activity with the four ethically decolonising paradigms of radical resistance, solidarity, hospitality, and joy in service of promoting racial justice in future global society. My response focuses on Jeremiah's ethical paradigm of hospitality, and engages with the challenge of applying this paradigm. In order for this hospitality paradigm to be applied in ways that lead to optimal missional outcomes, it must answer several questions, especially those linked to the existence of contesting hospitality-focussed frameworks and sociocultural attitudes endorsed by contemporary Christian agents and communities whose norms of hospitality appear radically different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral cavity cancers contribute to a majority of cancers in India. Clinical examination alone cannot determine the deeper extent of the disease; therefore, need for cross-sectional imaging including computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging becomes indispensable for pre-treatment evaluation to decide optimal plan of management. Oral cavity squamous cell cancers (OSCC) can be treated with surgery alone, whereas deep muscle, neurovascular, osseous, or nodal involvement on imaging suggests advanced disease that requires a combination of surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy. Because of the complex anatomy of the oral cavity and its surrounding structures, imaging is crucial for locoregional staging and early detection of distant metastases. Imaging plays indispensable role not only in diagnosis but also in planning the management. An optimal guideline paper for developing countries like India is lacking that not only helps standardize the management but will also assist oncologists make reasonable decisions and reduce the unnecessary imaging. This imaging guideline paper will discuss the optimal imaging in diagnosis and management OSCC for Indian subcontinent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The VET sector can be located as one that sits within the intersections of the racial and spatial in addition to the classed; the traditional focus of research concerns. There is a direct correlation between towns and cities with high levels of deprivation and the recruitment of racialised and other marginalised groups into general further education colleges. This paper considers the intertwined nature of the racial and spatial and its implications for South Asian Muslim women students in VET spaces in terms of identity construction and possible futures. This paper critiques how geographical location and educational settings highlight the complex factors encountered by diasporic communities; patterns of historical migration; the educational space as a third space); the role of teachers as mentors. These factors contributed to students developing fluid and dynamic identities rooted in a critical self-awareness whilst resisting Western-centric notions of success. Whilst this created a self-realised agency in the narratives of South Asian Muslim women, it also created a cultural hauntology in the absence of a third space. This has various implications for future VET research in terms of how students from ethnically diverse groups, create or engage with a third space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) are traditionally believed to provide assured second-strike capability and stabilize deterrence. This paper contests this classical assumption in South Asia's context and argues that SSBN capability to become secure and credible deterrent depends upon doctrinal issues, command and communication systems, and operational readiness of SSBN force. In a dyad, if both countries have invulnerable second strike capability, there is less incentive to strike first. Whereas invulnerability of one country incentivizes first strike. In South Asian strategic situation, an assured sea-based second-strike capability may contribute to India's aggressive nuclear posture. This paper evaluates New Delhi's induction of SSBNs in light of its stated notion of minimalism, as declared in its nuclear doctrine, and discusses in the context of traditional stability theory associated with the development of SSBN force. This paper primarily considers deterrence stability and crisis stability as two dependent variables to study how India's sea-based nuclear capability affects strategic stability in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]