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Item Open Access Participatory democracy and grassroots governance in India : a study of the nature of people's participation in gram sansads in Paschim Medinipur District, West Bengal(University of North Bengal, 2023) Lama, Budh Bahadur; Chakrabarti, DyutisDissatisfaction results from representatives acting more in accordance with party choices than with the will of the people, rather than from a lack of consistency between public aspirations and deeds. Such situations have led to the demand of popular participation in the decision making and gained a popular acceptance. Jn this context 'participatory democracy' has emerged in an attempt to recapture people's power to determine their own fate and to correct the inadequacies of representative democracy. From this point view, paticipation is democracy. The idea of participatory democracy bas been encouraged in India by guaranteeing a constitutional status (73rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1992) to the local level institutions including Gram Sabha. One of the most important provisions of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment is setting up of Gram Sabha in the lower tier of Panchayats, known as Gram Panchayat with the adult citizens of concerned areas to ensure direct participation of ordinary rural people in local governance. Therefore, the title of the study is 'Participatory Democracy and Grassroots Governance in India: A Study of the Nature of People's Participation in Gram Sansads of Paschim Medinipur District, West Bengal' divided into seven following Gram Sansads of Paschim Medinipur District, West Bengal' divided into seven following chapters: Chapter I: Introduction This chapter consists of the statement of the problem, review of literature, objectives of the study, research questions, methodological premises, chapterisation and rationale of the study. tudy. Statement of the problem West Bengal is one of the pioneer states in India to experiment the pancbayats as governing bodies at the village level since independence and particularly after 1977. West Bengal has tried invariably to extend the process of democratic decentralisation beyond the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA). So, it has taken a step forward by making the provision for Gram Sansad apart from Gram Sabha. Gram Sabha is constituted at Gram Panchayat level and Gram Sansad at each electoral constituency or 'booth' level with all voters of the concerned constituency. By introducing Gram Sansad, it is assumed that, unlike a huge Gram Sabha with a large size population, this relatively smaUer unit will enhance the prospect of people's participation and create a truly decentralised local governing body. Ln fact, Gram Sansad is the lowest unit of the entire system of rural local self-government in West Bengal. It is the 'real soul' of village democracy. Tt is a system where all the villagers themselves are collectively their own local affairs. So, Gram Sansad is the centre of democratic power in the village and is the centre of developmental activity. It not only strengthens the process of participatory governance but also facilitates empowerment of ordinary rural people and brings the elements of transparency, accountability and social control over panchayats. It is a platform based entirely on people's voice. It has the potential to change the noise of the people into the voice of the people. However, without active and popular participation, Gram Sansads will not be able to play its real role as designed by the policy makers in the state of West Bengal. So, the potentiality of Gram Sansad is conditioned by its length of uses in the given rural environment. Therefore, the inclusive and participatory grassroots governance is still remaining a distance dream for the ordinary villagers. At the same time, tbe usefulness of this unique structure of Gram Sansad as an effective instrument to ensure decentralized decision making and participatory local government has been questioned. It has been argued that common people are not interested in the meetings/deliberations of Gram Sansads. Majority does not attend or participate in deliberations. Often people participate in meetings only to satisfy local leaders and to increase numbers. They do not raise issues. The Sansads are actuaUy guided and controlled by a small group of local leaders or a local oligarchy. fn this context, it is necessary to examine the actual functioning of Gram Sansads to capture the nature of participatory institutions oflndia's Panchayati Raj system. Whether the institutions and structures created to ensure decentralised decisions and participatory democracy, are gradually becoming only theoretical or procedural and instruments in the hands oflocal elites, is a matter that needs attention. Therefore, to probe this point, the focus of present study is on nature of participation in Gram Sansads in West Bengal, in this case particularly, Paschim Medinipur district. Objectives of the Study The chief objective of the study has been to investigate the basic issue: How far have the Gram Sansads been able to emerge at the local (village) level as an effective arrangement that ensure participatory government in villages? Or are the Sansads just another ornamental arrangement? The point is investigated in Paschim Medinipur district. There are some specific objectives or sub-objectives which try to realise main objective: 1. To study how far the objectives of Gram Panchayats as laid down by the West Bengal Panchayat (Amendment) Acts 1994 and 2003, have been implemented and achieved in Paschim Medinipur; and to examine the powers and functions of Gram Sansad in Paschirn Medinipur district. 2. To explore the nature of people's participation in Gram Sansads in Paschim Medinipur with regard to decision-making and deliberation. 3. To examine the roles of political parties in strengthening the process of people's participation in Gram Sansads in Paschim Medinipur district. Research questions There are few major research questions which are as follows. 1. ls Gram Sansad strong enough to raise the voice of the ordinary rural people in Paschim Medinipur district? 2. Do all the people fully participate in the process of governance at the Sansad level in Paschim Medinipur district? 3. Are the Gram Sabhas/Gram Sansads decision-making bodies in Paschim Medinipur district? 4. Whether Gram Panchayats are politically biased in Paschim Medinipur district? Study area and Research methods The study focuses on the Gram Sansads of the Paschim Medinipur district which is situated in tbe south-west comer of West Bengal and is adjacent to the State of Odisha in its south-west. Paschim Medinipur district was created in 2002 by bifurcating the erstwhile Midnapore district. Later, in 2017 a new Jhargram district has been created out of the western part of Paschim Medinipur district. The present work which was started before 2017, however, includes one block from the newly created Jhargram district. As per the Government of West Bengal report 2011, Paschim Medinipur district consists of 4 Subdivisions, 29 Blocks, 29 Panchayat Samitis, 290 Gram Pancbayats and 3086 Gram Sansads. But at present the district has only 3 Subdivisions. The present study being theoretical and empirical in nature has followed the review of literatures and survey methods. So, keeping in mind a fair representation of people, 20 Gram Sansads have been selected for the field study on the basis of following criteria. (i) advanced Gram Sansads and backward Gram Sansads based on poverty and human development; (ii) Gram Sansads dominated by general caste, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and Women; (iii) one party dominated Gram Sansads by Ruling party or Opposition, Gram Sansads changing hands (competitive), and Gram Sansads with no clear domination (fragmented); (iv) Gram Sansads which achieved targets and failed to achieve targets. In addition, 400 hundred villager respondents, 40 elected panchayat members, 20 party leaders from different political parties and 5 government officials including Block Development Officer (BOO) have been interviewed during the field visit. Chapter Tl: Towards Participatory Governance in India: The Evolution of Panchayati Raj Institutions Jt outlines the history of evolution of PRls in pre-independent and post-independent India. The local government may be understood as an institutional arrangement to create locally elected democratic bodies essentially accountable to the local people. The term 'participatory governance' refers to a system which includes a set of grassroots organisations such as local self-government, civil society organisations, local functional groups, and even influential individuals. Therefore, the form of grassroots democracy in India refers primarily to the constitutional provisions of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act and the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act and the emerging role of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRls) and Nagar Palika Institutions (NPls). Panchayati Raj is a system and process of governance at the village level. Local government is not a new phenomenon in India. Panchayat acted as a mechanism to administer justice, to settle down disputes, and to solve the day-to-day problem. It was regarded as the fundamental unit of administration and justice. The system existed in the Vedic period and is still continuing to function on the principles of decentralisation and people's participation in the decision making at the local level even after having facing lot of challenges. History of evolution of Panchayati Raj Institutions tells us that panchayats in India had to go through difficulties and complexities to reach the level where it is accepted as one of the vibrant democratic local governments in the history of grassroots governance. Gram pancbayats are the doorstep government of the people. It is really a people's government. Gram Sabha as a plate form for participation ensures people's participation in the process of decision-making and formulation of development plan at the grassroots level. People of the villages can directly participate in the system of governance. Chapter III: Gram Panchayats in West Bengal: Historical Evolution and People's Participation This chapter provides a detail about the experiments and experiences ofrural local selfgovernment in West Bengal. The chapter starts with a brief profile of West Bengal followed by the discussion on Gram Panchayats and people's participation in West Bengal with a time framework ( 1870- 1977). The chapter also contains analysis oft he feanires of tbe West Bengal Pancbayat Act of 1973 and highlights the importance of the Act of 1973 in the following stages of the rural governance in West Bengal. The chapter also discusses about the role of Gram Panchayats and the nature of People's Participation in local affairs during the Left Front regime in West Bengal; describes the position of Gram Sabha/Gram Sansad in the post-73rd Constitutional Amendment scenario; discusses the power and functions of Gram Panchayat and the natme of People's Panicipation in West Bengal in the context of present Scenario; highlights the Participatory [nitiatives and Innovations in Panchayat System in West Bengal. Chapter IV: Rural Local Self-Government in Paschim Medinipur district during Left Front Goverome-nt: Structure, Functions and people' participation Jt covers the nature of policies, institutional structures, strategies and process of people's participation in PRis under Left Front government in Paschim MedinipU1· district. The chapter begins with a brief introduction of the district undertaken for the study and it also includes the analytical aspects on the role of Rural Local Self-Government during the Left Front regime; discusses the Strnctures of the Gram Panchayats in Paschim Medinipur Ojstrict; shows the Functional difficulties and bureaucratic supremacy faced by Gram Panchayats during the Left Regime; discusses the Dominance of Party in the three-tiers of Panchayat System; examines the nature of People's Participation in the Activities of Gram Panchayats and a brief profile of Paschim Medinipur District Today. Chapter V: Nature and Extent of People's Participation in the Gram Sansads in Paschim M edinipur district This chapter contains the various tables of data. collected from the field along with data analyses. This chapter also contains the determinants of people's participation in village governance in Pasch.im Medinipur district and the characterisation of the concept of people's participation on the basis of attending meetings, raising voices on various local issues and providing comments and contributions being made by the ordinary rural people in the context local affairs. The chapter includes the socio-economic and political level of consciousness of 400 vii !age respondents (200 male and 200 female); 40 elected members of Gram Panchayats; 20 local political leaders f om different parties; and 05 government officials including BDO. Chapter VI: Power to the Gram Sansad: Awareness of Elected Panchayat Members, Local Party Leaders and Government Officials It explores the views of all the stakeholders towards whether the Gram Sansad as a participatory institution at the grassroots level in Pascbim Medinipur district or not. The chapter also includes various questions and responses of all the respondents that detennine their perceptions and awareness of the potentiality of the Gram Sansads in the district. Power to people and its enemies seems to be relatively true in connection to enabling Gram Sansads in the district. Similarly, the roles played by the elected members, local pary leaders and government officials are not encouraging in regard to evolve the Gram Sansad as a real decision-making body, participatory and deliberative village assembly in Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal. Chapter VII: Conclusion It figures out the major findings of the research work and recommends Gram Sansad as a direct participatory democratic grassroots institution in Paschim Medinipur district in particular and in the state of West Bengal in general. Major Findings It must be mentioned that the institution of Gram Sansad provides the way of direct participation lo the villagers in the affairs of Panchayat. Gram Sansad has provided the scope for participation of ordinary rnral people in the decision-making process. Gram Sansad at the constituency level gives sufficient opportunity to the villagers to empower themselves through participation. The ideas of villagers are partly reproduced in the actions of Gram Panchayat. However, Gram Sansad is able to decrease the traditional 'patron-client relationshjp' at the village level. But in reality, Gram Sansad has been made to go about as a remote-controlled establishment by the ruling elites. This all-inescapable controlling demeanour is an impediment to develop the participatory political culture in rural society of Paschirn Medinipur. The study found that the majority of villagers do not attend Panchayat meetings and do not participate -in decisionmaking process and in the process of implementation of development programmes even at the Gram Sansad level. Few villagers who have attended the Sansad meetings with no voice or the participate the meetings as a proxy and take all the decisions. It is also found that most of these elected members are not having any knowledge about the Gram Panchayat manuals, their rights, their responsibilities. development work, old Panchayat Acts, 73rd Amendment Act and State Panchayat Act and the others due to many reasons like poor economic background, guided by party leaders. lack of proper education, lack of exposure to the world outside, lack of proper training for doing panchayat activities, lack of capacity building programmes, etc. Large number of villagers have not attended the Gram Sansad meetings. Villagers remain silent and submissive to the ruling party as they know their opinions are hardly be accepted in themeetings. No free and friendly environment for the ordinary villagers in the Gram Sansad meetings. A fear-psychosis continues in their minds if they stand for anti-ruling elites. It is found that Gram Sansad is not strong enough to raise the voices of the ordinary villagers and it is not a real decision-making body at the Sansad level. The villagers believed that Gram Sansad does not have the sufficient autonomy to take the decisions of its own due to inadequate devolution of freedom, funds, functions and functionaries. These limitations have curtailed the vertical and horizontal potential expansion of Gram Sansad as a self-governing grassroots unit at the Sansad level. So. it is unable to function as a participatory decentralized body at the Sansad level. The list of recipients of development schemes is prepared before the Gram Sansad meetings by the rural dominants. And these lists of recipients are brought by them in the Gram Sansad meetings for approval only. Indeed, negligible individuals' involvement in the Sansad 's decision-making process is not so helpful lo bring about revolutionary changes in the existing hierarchical power structure. There is no such advancement in the process of people's participation in Gram Sansad affairs and no breakthrough in the process of power devolution to Gram Sansad even after the shift in power in the State in 2011 and subsequently in the district in 2013. Rather the Grassroots self-governing institutions like Gram Sansad and Gram Unnayan Samiti are becoming weak in the areas of 4Fs (Fund, Functions, Functionaries and Freedom) under this new regime. So, as a maner of fact, the importance of institution is getting declined. People have already started attending party called meeting instead of attending Sansad meetings. The present government of West Bengal is more focused on increasing the power of rural bureaucracy instead of strengthening the elected Panchayat members capable to delivery services to the people at the village level. So, villagers are being pushed on by the State to become dependent entities on rural bureaucrats. Here villagers have to depend upon two power elites - bureaucrats and party leaders. This culture of dependency has further weakened people's body even at the Sansad level. However, villagers are still having confidence that Gram Sansad has the power to enable the villagers to fi-ame their lives as per their desires. In fact, Gram Sansad has enonnous prospect in escalating the human abilities in local self-government in Paschim Medinipur district. To conclude, Gram Sansad has the ability to emerge at the village level as an effective arrangement that ensure participatory government in villages. This can be a reality only wheo each villagers including the poorest of the poor will be recognised with dignity and given the equal share of influential engagement in Sansad affairs. And Gram Sansads should be kept free from all kinds of restraints like political, social, economy, cultural, religious, etc. Otherwise, the Gram Sansad continues to be an ornamental arrangement in the political landscape of rural Bengal. The study also recommends that lhere should be least intervention of the political party in the effective and efficient functioning of the Gram Sansads in West Bengal particularly in Paschim Medinipur district. The role of party cannot be totally ignored in the existing system of electoral politics. fn fact, the political pa1iy can play a role catalyst to bring all the villagers including poorest of the poor into a common platform in which the culture of collectivism, belief on communal harmony, respect to diversity, community development. social justice, social responsibility, etc. may get the extra mileage. The sense of belonging to community rule with multi-cultural values at the Sansad level may lead to devalue the role of rural party oligarchy in the decision-making process and deliberative democratic system in West Bengal particularly in Paschim Medinipur.IndiaItem Open Access Ethno-medicinal and molecular profiling of fermented beverages consumed by different tribes in North Bengal, India(University of North Bengal, 2024) Bhattacharjee, Soumita; Sen, Arnab; Ghosh, ChandraThe widespread adoption of preserving food through natural fermentation has ancient origins, primarily stemming from the ancestral wisdom of Tribal communities. Ethnic foods and beverages are described as culinary offerings that have their roots in the heritage and culture of a particular ethnic group, drawing upon their understanding of locally sourced plant and animal ingredients. India houses a multitude of tribal communities spread across diverse geographical regions. Among these communities, alcoholic beverages hold considerable popularity among the tribal population. As a preservation technique, the ancestral practice of natural fermentation has endured through the indigenous knowledge transmitted by ancestors within these tribes. The mildly alcoholic, sweet-flavoured beverages are regarded more as food than alcoholic drinks due to their highcalorie content, vitamins, and beneficial lactic acid bacteria and yeast. Traditionally prepared alcoholic beverages are cereals such as rice, wheat, maize, or ragi, which have been the substrate of choice for their preparation, depending on the habitat of the tribal population. For generations, alcoholic beverages have been consumed at diverse cultural, social, and religious events. Most fermented drinks predominantly use cereals as a base, incorporating many plants and fruits as the primary raw materials. This combination contributes to a distinct and unique taste in the beverage. Numerous traditional ethnic practices have been ignored, resulting in insufficient documentation for scientific analysis. Therefore, the present investigation was conducted to evaluate the appropriate scientific examination of select tribal beverages in North Bengal, India. Initially, various areas inhabited by tribal communities were selected to gather their respective traditional beverages, used plant parts and the starter culture. The initial screening was based on the alcohol content of the beverages. Eu, a millet-based drink utilized by the Toto tribe in North Bengal, Chokot, a ricebased drink consumed by the Rabha tribe in North Bengal, Harchur raksi, and Timboor raksi, traditional medicinal plant-based drinks used by the tribal community in the highaltitude region in Darjeeling Himalaya, and Haria, a rice-based drink consumed by the Orao and Santal communities in North Bengal, were selected for further study. The injection of starter cultures, serving as the source of ethnic microbiota to induce the fermentation process, was also included in the present study. In vitro, the antioxidant study was also conducted to evaluate the most potent among those, as mentioned earlier, low-alcoholic ethnic drinks. The study results show that Eu is the most potent beverage among the other tribal drinks. The Harchur raksi (HR) is a lesserknown beverage consumed by the indigenous people residing in the high -altitude regions of the entire Himalayan range. HR is unique in its traditional processing method, an indigenous knowledge held by the Darjeeling-Himalayan tribal community. This knowledge should be meticulously documented to preserve its uniqueness. Although HR is considered an anti-inflammatory brew with various ethnomedicinal claims by the local inhabitants, there has been no scientific evaluation thus far. A comprehensive survey was conducted across the Darjeeling Himalayan region to unearth the ethnobotanical knowledge related to HR. HR was identified and collected in collaboration with a local expert. This work aims to assess the physical, biochemical, and metabolite profiling of HR using different biochemical tests and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) experiments. To get a deeper understanding of the medicinal properties of HR, in silico molecular docking studies were conducted. The analysis revealed that HR, with a notably low alcohol content (around 6–8%), exhibits high antioxidant activity. GC–MS analysis of the brew identified 27 bioactive compounds, which were further subjected to bioinformatics analysis. Molecular docking analysis demonstrated the inhibitory activity of most of these compounds against oxidative stress, inflammation, and specific potent viral proteins related to their pathogenicity. Timbur raksi is a distilled fermented alcoholic beverage from the highaltitude region of Darjeeling Himalaya. The methanolic extract of the sample exhibited 60% inhibition at a higher concentration (200μg/ml). The GC-MS evaluation of the sample revealed the presence of 43 bioactive compounds, which have potential applications as scavengers for reactive oxygen species, anti-inflammatory agents, and anticancer compounds. 'Choko'/'Chokot' is a rice-based beverage consumed by the ethnic tribal community 'Rabha' in North Bengal and Assam, India. While rice is the main ingredient in this fermented product, introducing the starter culture, popularly known as 'Bakhor or phap,' brings variation to its composition. 'Choko'/'Chokot' constitutes a significant portion of the daily caloric intake for the Rabha tribe. Metabolite profiling was examined through GC-MS analysis. Additionally, the Metagenomic analysis was employed to assess the total microbial load of the starter culture (Bakhor). Reverse ecology analysis delved into the interaction between the microbes present in the brew and humans. The results indicated that the compounds in this beverage mostly exhibit antimicrobial and antifungal effects despite its relatively higher alcohol content than other tribal ethnic drinks. The metagenomic analysis identified several dominant bacterial genera, including Bacillus, Arthrobacter, Lactobacillus, Ilyobacter, Clostridium, and Lactococcus. Haria is a fermented rice beverage crafted using a starter culture (Ranu dabai) to boiled rice grains. It is a casual drink in daily life and is also utilized to alleviate ailments such as fever, headache, and nausea. Including herbal plants in the starter culture enhances the beverage, providing it with beneficial organoleptic and therapeutic properties. While extensive research has been conducted on Haria, we have not included Haria in our analysis. However, our study does encompass an examination of the plants used in the starter culture of Haria, an area where comprehensive research still needs to be done. The plant-derived phytocompounds demonstrated significant antioxidant activity, suggesting their capacity to reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) generated during oxidative stress. Consuming the beverage may help overcome the growth of cancerous cells and slow the ageing process. Additionally, the herbal plants exhibit active antimicrobial properties, indicating a therapeutic role in inhibiting the growth of humanpathogenic bacteria and protecting the body from severe infections. "Eu" is a traditional mild alcoholic beverage made from millet and consumed by the Toto tribe in West Bengal. The preparation of Eu involves millet fermentation with the locally cultivated starter culture known as "Moaa." Ethnobotanical data and samples were collected through semi-structured interviews. Qualitative assays, such as acute toxicity, antioxidant analysis, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), in vitro anti-inflammatory assay, molecular docking, and physiochemical assessments (pH and alcohol content), were conducted. The findings indicate that Eu has a low alcohol content (approximately 1-3%) and a high antioxidant capacity. GCMS analysis identified thirteen bioactive compounds. The starter culture employed in this brew comprises a diverse microflora. Identifying these microbes will enhance our comprehension of the brew and allow us to quantify its effects on the human system postconsumption. Leveraging advancements in Illumina sequencing technology, meta-profiling of the 16S rRNA (V3–V4 region) has become a valuable resource for scrutinizing the microbiome of various samples. We have utilized this tool to investigate the microbiome population of Eu. The microbial diversity found in the brew primarily consisted of probiotic and fermenting bacteria. Nutrient profiling of Eu assessed the levels of protein, carbohydrates, free amino acids, and free fatty acids. The nutritional content in the brew likely supports the growth of probiotic microflora. Reverse ecology-based network analysis unveiled substantial complementary interactions between humans and the microflora in the Eu. GC–MS analysis identified thirteen potent compounds in Eu, and an extensive network pharmacological study on these compounds revealed the anticancer properties of Eu, particularly against gastrointestinal malignancies. This was achieved by reducing the proliferation of malignant cells and forming pro-inflammatory cytokines. The probiotic microflora and the Eukaryotic Yeast also play a crucial role in fermentation. Several yeast cells were isolated from the starter culture, and from the isolated cultures based on biochemical screening, three strains were selected for identification. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on ITS region (ITS1 and ITS4) sequencing of these three yeast isolates showing similarity with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The MTT assay against the ACHN human renal adenocarcinoma cell line determined the cytotoxicity of Eu. The brew showed no cytotoxic effect. Whole metagenomic sequencing, or WMS, is particularly valuable in studying complex microbial ecosystems, where diverse microbial communities coexist. Whole metagenomic sequencing was done on the starter culture of Eu; the result showed .42% of Archaea, 60.80% of Bacteria, 22.84% of fungi, 11.95% of protozoa and 2.95% of Viruses within the sample. In vivo, acute and sub-acute oral administration toxicity study was conducted to show the efficacy of the drink Eu on a rat model. In the acute toxicity study, female and male Wistar rats received oral administrations of Eu of doses 250 and 500 mg/kg over 28 days following OECD Guidelines 425. In the sub-acute study, no significant reduction or gain of weight was observed when compared with the control group. The haematological and histopathological study also showed no significant alteration of the parameters when compared with the control. The spleen weight of both males and females was changed slightly compared to the standard, but this change is not dose-dependent. The result of sub-acute toxicity showed that an adequate amount of the drink.Item Open Access A study of the status of women in religious laws of the SAARC Nations(University of North Bengal, 2023) Kejriwal, Shruti; Chakraborty, GangotriEquality for women has been a dynamic topic for centuries. Gender inequality is rooted in the societal practices, culture and custom of personal laws of all the SAARC nations. All the major religions of the SAARC countries are influenced by the patriarchal set up. The underlying basis of all personal laws, regardless of religion is, ‘Men and Women are not equal’. There exists discrimination in the personal laws relating to marriage, divorce, maintenance, inheritance, adoption and guardianship in the SAARC nations. All major religions have deep influences upon the people that follow them and, in the countries, where they are dominant or where they are proclaimed as state religion. In the recent past, personal laws have witnessed advances with the constantly changing nature of human relations. In such a scenario, it is an impediment to hold onto the age- old beliefs and traditions of the personal laws, which were adhered to during those times but are a hindrance to today’s growth and betterment. Therefore, there is a duty on the legislature of every SAARC nation to reform the conservative personal laws that are biased against the women. The Judiciary has also through its pragmatic judicial pronouncements and judicial creativity developed and reformed the draconian gender unjust personal laws to meet the dynamisms of the society. Therefore, the need of the hour is to legislate progressive laws to mitigate every inequality that exists in the personal laws of the various religions. This mitigation shall gradually lead to the equality of personal laws for men and women in every religion. Every SAARC nation has a multi-cultural and multi-religious population. In this backdrop, to have a universal secular law for all the SAARC nations is presently a distant dream. However, every SAARC nation may obliterate the gender unjust personal laws by framing progressive laws for the women of each religion. Thus, a parity will inevitably be achieved for the women of every SAARC nation. The title of this thesis is A STUDY OF THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN RELIGIOUS LAWS OF THE SAARC NATIONS. The title of Chapter I is ‘Theoretical and Conceptual Framework of Religious Laws’. The chapter states the interpretation of the religious laws to be synonyms to the personal laws. It examines the nature of personal laws such as private laws, public laws, group rights or individual rights. The chapter also discusses the evolution of personal laws and the views of legal philosophers in context to the personal laws. The title of Chapter 2 is ‘Politics of Personal Laws’. The chapter explains the politics of personal laws in the British era. The chapter further elaborates on the democratic politics behind enacting the laws to regulate the personal laws in India during the 1950s and 1980s. The discussion on the recent politics involved in the Triple Talaq Case and the Sabrimala Case also finds place in the chapter. The two prime jurisprudential theories, centrist and pluralist, relating to the topic has also been examined in the chapter. The chapter also discusses the unpleasant politics behind the righteous policies framed in India. The title of Chapter 3 is ‘Personal Laws and the issues of Gender Inequality’. The chapter examines the personal laws prevailing in India and highlights the issues of gender inequality in them. The laws on marriage, nullity of marriage, maintenance, restitution of conjugal rights, divorce, judicial separation, inheritance, guardianship and adoption applicable to the Hindus, Christians, Parsis and Muslims in India have been critically examined on the basis of gender inequality. The title of Chapter 4 is ‘Judicial Opinion whether Personal Law is a ‘Law’ Under Article 13 of the Constitution of India’. The chapter has recorded the evolution of ‘Personal Laws’ in India starting from the neutrality of British towards the Hindu and Muslim law and then the gradual legislations passed by the Britishers. The chapter discusses the debates held in the Constitution Assembly in relation to the personal laws. The chapter analyses the interpretation of various judicial pronouncements on whether the Personal Laws are ‘Laws’ under Article 13 of the Constitution of India. The title of Chapter 5 is ‘Comparative Study of the Personal Laws of the SAARC nations’. The chapter provides with the interface of law and life lived by the women of the SAARC nations while being governed by the personal laws applicable to them. It examines the status of personal laws in the Constitution of every SAARC nation. The chapter critically examines the laws governing the aspects of marriage, maintenance, divorce, inheritance and guardianship of the SAARC nations on the basis of its application to the women. The title of Chapter 6 is ‘International Instruments relating to Gender Equality’. The universally accepted concept and meaning of ‘gender’, ‘sex’ ‘gender equality’ and ‘stereotypes’ has been discussed in the chapter. The chapter extensively elaborates on the gender inequality issues dealt by the various international instruments of the United Nations. The chapter also incorporates the agendas relating to the rights of the women discussed in the various SAARC summit. The Beijing Declaration and the follow-up action across the world, the UNDP Gender Equality Strategy 2018-2021 and the Sustainable Development Goals also finds the place of discussion in the chapter. The title of Chapter 7 is ‘Scope, Ambit and Applicability of Secular laws in the SAARC Nations’. The chapter elaborates on the concept of secularism imbibed in the Constitution of all the SAARC nations. The chapter also provides with the gap in the metanarratives of secularism and the real time experiences of people belonging to the different religions in the same nation. The chapter also examines the shift in the conceptual meaning of secular laws as explained in different countries and the politics behind it. It studies the government and the societal respect for religious freedom in every SAARC nation. To substantiate, the recent occurrences relating to religious affairs have been incorporated in the chapter. In Chapter 8 the researcher has concluded the entire research work by providing a detailed description of each chapter. The chapter also incorporates suggestions and recommendations to ensure gender just personal laws. Therefore, this research work is carried out with an objective to study the status of the women in the SAARC nations and examine the major religions of the SAARC countries namely: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. The researcher has drawn out the understandings and inferences of the teachings of these religion to bring out the correct and favourable conditions for the women of the SAARC nations.Item Open Access Biological Evaluation of Indigenous Medicinal Plants from Darjeeling Himalayan Region of West Bengal for Natural Compound(s) As Inhibitor of Cancer Cell Proliferation and Studies on their Molecular Mechanism(University of North Bengal, 2023) Rai, Vijeta; Ghosh, Shilpi; Kumar, AnoopCancer remains one of the major world health issue after cardiovascular diseases. The area of cancer research is continually expanding with better understanding of molecular mechanism of progression of the disease, which has resulted in development of new drug targets for more efficient cancer therapy. In addition, the search for new anticancer lead compounds is a great challenge due to the development of drug resistance, deleterious side effects and unaffordable cost of current chemotherapeutic drugs. The enormous success of plant based natural products as anticancer agent represents medicinal plants as an important pool for the identification of novel drug. Darjeeling Himalayan region has a rich diversity of therapeutic plants that can be utilized for development of novel drugs. In this study some ethnomedicinally important plants of the Darjeeling Himalayan region, such as Astilbe rivularis, Tupistra nutans, Zanthoxylum oxyphyllum, Bergenia ciliata, Artemesia vulgaris and Eupatorium cannabium were screened for various phytochemicals, and antioxidant, antimicrobial activities, and cytotoxic potential against cancer cell lines, and finally, Astilbe rivularis was selected futher studies on isolation of active compound with anti-cancer potential. A steroid ester compound, spectrometrically characterized as Stigmasta-5(6), 22(23)-dien-3-beta–yl acetate, designated as A11, was isolated for the first time from the plant rhizome in a bioassay guided approach. The catalytic inhibition and structural alteration of human dihydrofolate reductase (hDHFR) by A11 was evaluated using methotrexate (MTX), a DHFR inhibitor anticancer drug as a reference. The compound was found to inhibit the in vitro activity of hDHFR) with IC50 values of 1.20 μM. A11 interacted with hDHFR as revealed by concentration dependent quenching of the tryptophan fluorescence of the enzyme suggesting its effect on structural alteration of the enzyme. Molecular docking of A11 on crystal structure of hDHFR revealed significant interaction with free energy of binding and Ki values of -10.86 kcal mol-1 and 11 nM, respectively. Subsequent in vitro studies at cellular level showed a relatively greater cytotoxic effect of A11 against human kidney (ACHN, IC50 60 μM) and liver (HepG2, IC50 70 μM) cancer cells than their respective normal cells (HEK-293, IC50 350 μM and WRL-68, IC50 520 μM). Scanning electron microscopy of A11 treated cells revealed the morphological feature of apoptosis, like cell rounding and surface detachment, membrane blebbing, loss of cilia and increased number of pores of decreased sizes. A11 mediated apoptosis of cancer cells was found to be correlated with induction of intracellular of reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and fragmentation of genomic DNA, which is a hallmark of apoptosis. A11 mediated induction of apoptotic feature of ACHN cells was found to be correlated with increased accumulation of cleaved active form of the pro-apoptotic proteins, like caspase 3, caspase 7, caspase 9 and PARP1. The cleaving of caspace 3 and caspase 7 was further confirmed by western blot analysis. The results thus provide an insight into the anti-tumorigenic potential of A11. The function of A11 in both inhibition of hDHFR and induction of apoptosis suggest that the compound could act via diverse signaling pathways of cancer cells without affecting normal cells. However, a possible link between hDHFR inhibition and cell cycle regulation needs to be illustrated in future studies. The outcomes of this research contribute to the growing field of natural product-based drug discovery and highlight the significance of traditional medicinal knowledge in the context of cancer treatment.Item Open Access A study of the legal framework for accountability of individuals for crimer against humanity and the role of the international law enforcement agencies.(University of North Bengal, 2014) Ghosh, Satarupa; Chakraborty, GangotriThe principle that individuals are and can be held criminally accountable for violations of the laws of war dates back to many years. However, it was only after World War II and the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, set up to judge those German and Japanese military leaders accused of serious crimes during the war, that the idea of individual criminal responsibility for serious breaches of international law gained ground. In this thesis an attempt has made to trace the evolution of individual’s responsibility for crime against humanity, the present legal framework in national and international level and the role of various law enforcement agencies to deal with the problem. Evolution of the Problem: History is witness to the fact that wherever an individual or groups of individuals have become powerful, they have flagrantly tortured the weak and the defenseless. Even where power is legitimated and turned into a legally valid authority, abuse of power and torture of the weak and the defenseless has continued. In this back drop considerable legal mechanism has developed for the exercise of such raw power. An international crime has been broadly defined as “an act universally recognized as criminal, that is, an act that is considered a grave matter of international concern and for some valid reason cannot be left within the exclusive jurisdiction of the state that would have control over it under ordinary circumstances”. Crimes against humanity now are established as jus cogens norms and are implicitly recognized as such in the preamble of the Hague Convention, which served to codify the customary law of armed conflict. Unfortunately, despite several attempts for fixing liability to the individuals who have committed crime against humanity and subjecting them to trials like Nuremberg trials and Tokyo trials the legal framework for fixing liability to individuals guilty of the act of committing crime against humanity to this day remains obscure and vague and ad hoc mechanisms are used to settle such cases. In the face of recent developments in countries like Libya, Egypt, Iraq the lack of legal framework to deal with such matters has become a cause for international concern. The main thrust of this work is to study the existing legal framework for determination of individual’s accountability for the crime against humanity and to propose changes into the existing framework. Hypothesis There is insufficient legal framework for the control and regulation and for fixing liability on the individual for committing crime against humanity and the present mechanism works through international ad hoc tribunals internationalized or mixed tribunals, the International Criminal Court as well as national courts, military tribunals and ordinary courts which allows any state to try alleged perpetrators, even in the absence of any link between the accused and the state exercising jurisdiction which leads to miscarriage of justice on one hand and multiple trials on the same cause of action on the other hand. Research Questions 1. What is the genesis for global movement for accountability? 2. What are the shortcomings of the present legal framework for accountability of international crime? 3. What is the role of the International Law Enforcement Agencies to provide proper justice to the victims? 4. What are the shortcomings of the institutional mechanisms to prevent the growth and spread of the international crime? 5. What is the concept of global movement towards accountability and what is the scope of its growth? Methodology Having selected the above topic for this research, the work will perforce be based on theoretical doctrinal research. The methodology followed is traditional non-empirical research. Chapter Summary Chapter I: “ACCOUNTIBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS FOR CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK”. The jurisprudential rooting of the present research work is discussed under this chapter. This chapter also explains the concepts used in this research and international legal theories. Chapter-II: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE CONCERN FOR CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY AND FIXING OF ACCOUNTABILITY: This chapter discuss about the preliminary concepts of international crimes, such as aggression, genocide, war Crimes and crime against humanity and the historical evolution of crime against humanity, this is also an attempt to establish individual criminal liability for the crime against. Chapter-III: CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY BY INDIVIDUALS: PRE 1945 SPECTRUM: This chapter deals with the scenario of crime against humanity by individuals before 1945. Chapter-IV: CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY BY INDIVIDUALS: A POST 1945 SPECTRUM: This chapter describes the scenario of the framework of the trials of individuals for crime against humanity after World War II (1939-1945). Chapter V: “A ROADMAP OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES FOR DEALING WITH INDIVIDUALS ACCUSED OF CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY”. In this chapter the matter of discussion is about various international law enforcement agencies like International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice, Ad Hoc Tribunals and Hybrid Tribunals. Chapter-VI: “A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE INTERNATIONAL AND INDIAN LEGAL FRAMEWORK RELATING TO CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY BY INDIVIDUALS”. This chapter mainly deals with the Indian legal framework and also the various Indian incidents regarding the crime against humanity in comparison with international framework for accountability of individuals for crime against humanity. Chapter-VII: “A STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL PRINCIPLES REGARDING LIABILITY OF INDIVIDUALS FOR CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY IN SELECTED NATIONAL JURISDICTIONS”. The subject matter of this chapter is about the various national laws to combat crime against humanity and the implementation of those laws by the nation states. Chapter-VIII: “INDIVIDUAL LEADER’S LIABLE FOR CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY: A COLLAGE”. In this chapter I have discussed about various specific instances of individual leader’s liability. It is a narrative chapter. Chapter IX: SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUDING REMARKS: In conclusion it can be summed up that the hypothesis that legal framework for the control and regulation and for fixing liability on the individual for committing crime against humanity is insufficient, has been proved and in this regard certain suggestion has been put in the thesis.Item Open Access Sports and sports policy in India since 1982 : Transformations and impact(University of North Bengal, 2023) Sharma, Shakti; De, SoumitraItem Open Access Challenges to social security : a study on the management of crisis in the tea gardens of Dooars in North Bengal(University of North Bengal, 2023) Biswakarma, Biki; Chakraborty, RanjitItem Open Access Evolution of Legal Principles Through Judicial Process of Suprene Court on India : Balancing the Doctrine of Stare Decisis and Overruling(University of North Bengal, 2023) Bandyopadhyay, Suparna; Chakraborty, GangotriItem Open Access “STATE, NGO’s and Ecotourism: A Study of Select Ecotourism Projects of Sikkim(University of North Bengal, 2022) Tamang lama, Nisha; Chakraborty, RanjitaThe present study seeks to address the understanding of community-based ecotourism projects in Sikkim associated with how community-based ecotourism has been able to promote sustainable tourism and at the same time understand what has been the nature of interlinkages between the state, NGOs, and the local community in the promotion of sustainable ecotourism in the region under focus. The study also seeks to look into the degree of freedom given to the communities in planning and managing ecotourism in the context of hegemonic state-market relations in the area under focus. The present study focused on the Ecotourism Policy and the nature of the linkage between the government of Sikkim, the local NGOs, and the local community of the Ecotourism destination. We would probe the successes as well as the weaknesses of the projects and in the process address the question of how to promote and sustain community-based ecotourism. A major success has been the emergence of a community-based Non-Government Organization. NGOs have a potentially valuable role in supporting and building the capacity of local communities to participate in ecotourism programs, especially in defining the zoning and designing interpretation materials and facilities. Many NGOs have been participating in the tourism industry based on their different aims, but their major involvement has occurred within the area where tourism is linked with the local Community and environment; "community-based ecotourism''. Field trips were undertaken to study the ET projects in Sikkim. No study has focused on the conditions of the operation as well as the outcome of these projects. The present study seeks to examine Sikkim's Ecotourism Policy establishing the state as an ultimate and unique ecotourism destination offering memorable and high-quality learning experiences to visitors while contributing towards poverty alleviation and promotion of nature conservation. In Sikkim, though ecotourism projects are in operation, studies have focused on community participation and promoting conservation and sustainable developmentItem Open Access Online shopping attributes and its influence on customers satisfaction, trust and behavioural intention : an empirical study(University of North Bengal, 2023) Prasad, Narayan; Bhattacharya, DebasisShopping is an integral part of one’s daily life routine. In online shopping, buying and selling goods and services is done on a virtual platform (here, e-stores of retailers) with the help of the Internet. Online shopping helps retailers to get connected with their customers 24x7. Similarly, it allows buyers to place desired orders on the retailers’ e-stores (or web stores) anywhere and anytime. However, customers cannot interact face-to-face with retailers in online shopping. Moreover, they can only physically evaluate goods and services (such as touch, smell or test) once they receive and use them. Therefore, it is challenging to satisfy and build trust among online shoppers towards online shopping compared to traditional shopping. Consequently, it is necessary to evaluate (or a research gap) how e-retailers are satisfying customers and building trust among customers to adopt online shopping platforms. Moreover, it also needs to be checked that if the customers are satisfied with the online shopping platform and the online sellers successfully build trust, do they adopt online shopping into their behavioural intention? This study conducts empirical research to answer the above questions and bridge this gap in the body of knowledge. Based on previous research and theories in the areas of online shopping, the study identified the relevant online shopping dimensions (e.g., product reviews, perceived risk, website interface quality, perceived security, customer trust, customer satisfaction, and customer purchase behavioural intention) that influence customers’ buying behavioural intention on online shopping platforms. The study developed a structured questionnaire to measure the identified online shopping dimensions and analyze the online buyers’ demographic profiles. The study uses a five-point Likert scale to measure the items/questions of various online shopping parameters. In this five-point Likert scale, five represents “strongly agree”, four represents “agree”, three represents “undecided/neutral”, two represents “disagree”, and one represents “strongly disagree”. The target population of this study is college and university-going students who buy goods and services online. The study applied convenience sampling {as suggested by Gopinath (2021), Sunitha & Gnanadhas (2014), and Dani (2017)} to select institutions, departments, and centres. After that, the study used systematic random sampling techniques {as suggested by Alwan & Alshurideh (2022), Farzin et al. (2022), and Ariansyah et al. (2021)} to collect the responses from online shoppers. The study takes the help of Cochran’s formula (1977) to determine the sample size for an infinite population. The study took a sample of 576 online shoppers to explain the purchase behaviour intention of customers in online shopping platforms. The study considers parameters such as gender (Slyke et al., 2002), age (Khare et al., 2012), educational qualification (Susskind, 2004) and income (Mahmood et al., 2004) to analyse online customer demographic profiles. In addition, the study takes two new variables, called “payment method” and “time spent on the Internet” (suggested by Brown et al., 2003), to gauge consumers’ payment method preferences and Internet experience. The study used Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method to extract the underlying dimensions of online shopping that influence customer buying behavioural intention on online shopping platforms. Furthermore, the study used varimax rotation with Kaiser normalisation to obtain the Rotated Component Matrix (RCM). The univariate normality of the data is checked with descriptive statistics, such as mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis. The study takes the help of Mardia’s coefficient test (1970) to test the multivariate normality of the data of online shopping parameters. The study examined the internal consistency in scale items or reliability of the online shopping construct with the help of “Cronbach alpha (α)” and “Composite reliability (CR)”. The validity of an online shopping construct is examined with the help of “discriminant validity” and “convergent validity”. The study established discriminant validity by average variance extracted (AVE) and convergent validity by the Fornell-Larcker test. The study develops an online shopping behaviour intention measurement model, structural model and respecified structural model of customers with the help of a rotated component matrix using statistical software (AMOS). The study established the fit indices of these models with the help of various specified model fit indices, such as the overall fit index (i.e., CMIN), absolute fit index (i.e., GFI, RMSEA, RMR, SRMR, and Normed chi-square), incremental fit index (i.e., NFI, CFI, and RFI) and parsimony fit index (i.e., AGFI and PNFI). The study found that women (57.5 per cent) are more inclined towards online shopping than men (42.5 per cent). Compared to shoppers in other age groups (such as up to 20, 26 to 30 and over 30), shoppers aged 20 to 25 are more interested in online shopping (40.8 per cent). Of the 576 online shoppers, 53.5 per cent are pursuing graduate programs. The study reveals that 33.9 per cent of online shoppers have a household income between Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. Furthermore, the study shows that 46.5 per cent of online shoppers prefer the cash-on-delivery (COD) option payment method, and 50.2 per cent surf the Internet for 2 to 4 hours per day. The statistical results of this study show that perceived security (PSEC), product review (PRV), and perceived risk (PRK) affect both customer satisfaction (CSAT) and trust (CTRT). Web interface quality (WIQ) affects customer trust (CTRT) but does not affect customer satisfaction (SAT). Customer satisfaction (CSAT) is influenced by customer trust (CTRT) in the online shopping platform. Furthermore, the study shows that the behavioural intention (BI) of customers in online shopping platforms is directly influenced by customer satisfaction (CSAT) and trust (CTRT) and, indirectly, by perceived security (PSEC), product reviews (PRV), perceived risk. (PRK), and Web Interface Quality (WIQ). The square multiple correlations (R2) of customer satisfaction (CSAT) and customer trust (CTRT) in the online shopping platform are 0.43 and 0.38, respectively. This means that the proposed model (i.e., a model for estimating customer’s purchase behaviour intention in online shopping platforms) explains 49 and 38 per cent variation in customer satisfaction (CSAT) and customer trust (CTRT), respectively, with the help of taking online shopping factors in this study. The square multiple correlations (R2) of customer behavioural intention (BI) in the online shopping platform is 0.32. This means that the proposed model explains a 32 per cent variation in customer purchase behaviour intention (BI) with the help of taking online shopping factors in this study. There are some research limitations of this study. This study does not consider the responses of other online shoppers (such as housewives, senior citizens and professional online shoppers). This study proposed a customer purchase behaviour model on online shopping platforms considering relevant dimensions (such as product reviews, perceived risk, perceived security, website interface quality, customer trust, customer satisfaction and customer behavioural intentions). However, these online shopping dimensions are only indicative lists and not exhaustive lists of online shopping dimensions. Since online shopping uses technology and the Internet, it can be a new dimension if any technological innovation is adopted to make online shopping convenient. Hence, online shopping dimensions are dynamic as technological innovations are dynamic. Thus, assessing customers’ buying behaviour on online shopping platforms is dynamic and continuous, and the research on online shopping is considered a never-ending process.