Browsing by Subject "social stigma"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Open Access
On the Margins: A Tale of the Pandemic and the Funeral Workers in Benares
(University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Kumari, Sarita
Caste is one of the core markers of Hindu society. Many castes still continue with their hereditary traditional occupations across India; burning of the funeral pyre is such an unrecognized occupation performed by the Doms. Outbreak of any infectious disease often adds to the burden of a work, which is already challenging. The pandemic COVID-19 unfolded a series of events in the lives of funeral workers in Benares, as they had to negotiate the transition from normal to pathological conditions while carrying on with their occupation. The stigma attached to their work of dealing with death and their caste identity played a pivotal part in undermining their efforts both by the State and the caste-based society at large.
Open Access
Pandemic and the Social Fabric: Reflections on India
(Granthamitra, 2022-05) Chakraborty, Ranjita; Ghosh, Gour Chandra
The outbreak of corona virus disease 2019 hit a totally unprepared world. And it brought with it a realization, there is no magic bullet, there is no magic vaccine nor a date for its final recession. The governments amidst this conundrum responded through certain measures like lockdown, social distancing etc. whereas people utterly confused responded by fear, doubts, unnatural responses etc. The paper attempts to cast a light on first, the kind of governmental response in India that wasn't same across the states in India; second, the differential impact felt across the different stratum of society; third, the lessons we have learnt and the legacies left behind. Government responded through an unprepared hurried call for nationwide lockdown and a total confusion. The impact was experienced differently by different stratum of society. Vulnerabilities increased on the one hand combined with incidents of lawlessness, vulnerabilities and exclusions. At the same time there emerged a new hope amidst the gloomy realities. Social distancing was countered by social solidarity of a new kind as individuals and civil society organizations stepped out to extend their hands as partners to the government in managing the crisis.
Open Access
Self as an Interpreter of Stigma: The Everyday Life Agony of the Hijras of North Bengal
(University of North Bengal, 2024-03-31) Dukpa, Lhamu Tshering; Sachdeva, Swati Akshay
Social stigma is ubiquitous and characteristic of almost all human societies. Any supposed “anomalous” behaviour is often deemed as socially “reprehensible” eliciting in the process, social proscriptions to impose conformity and enforce consensus. The hijras of India constitute one such stigmatised ilk wherein they routinely experience social opprobrium and censure for irregularities vis-a-vis their gender and sexual identities that diverges from the heteronormative straitjackets normalised by society. Centring on “social stigma”, the present paper attempts to qualitatively apprehend the meanings that arise as and when the hijras interact/encounter “normal” in mainstream or hijra household settings. Drawing on the life story method and Goffman’s work on stigma, the paper seeks to foreground individuals as interpreters of stigma who consciously formulate meanings in their everyday lived social and interactional contexts.