Journal of Society in Kashmir

Sociology

University of Kashmir

ISSN: 2249-667X

The article presents a small piece of research, namely the observation of teaching and learning in the classroom, and students of various grades from kindergarten to post-graduate. Almost half of the article (p. 2-5) is a critique/discussion of the observation as method, social-semioticsas tools and presentation of indicators of trust in close relationships. Indicators of trust/confidence are safer to talk about than to claim that one has proven trust. The five sections of critique/discussion have gotten almost as much space as the sections on actual empirical data. A portion of the article is therefore a meta-text, text about the text that follows (the empiric part). In terms of social semiotics, I use both separate and complex utterances to document indicators of trust. There are expressions/utterances that show relationships, teamwork, respect, responsibility, honesty, openness, and more. These are factors that tell something about the quality of reciprocity between pupils/students and teachers. The study documents that positive reciprocity is important building blocks for a great atmosphere, and both reciprocity and atmosphere are compelling indicator of confidence.

Neo-Marxism is a Marxist school of thought which encompasses 20th century approaches that amend or extend Marxism and Marxist theory, typically by incorporating elements from other intellectual traditions. The present paper is an attempt to understand the broader framework of Neo-Marxism while addressing such social and political problems that traditional Marxist theory was unable to sufficiently address.

The established disciplines of social sciences distinguish themselves by obliterating gender concerns from their research agenda. The paradigms based on women and gender as a central variable can transform the existing academic disciplines in a fundamental way by introducing multi- disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary scheme of studies. The academic study of gender has a relatively short history. Its emergence can be dated as recently as the late 1960s, and its development triggered by second wave feminism. Along with developing a critique of gender inequalities, in both personal relationships and in social positioning, second wave feminism began to draw attention to the ways in which academic disciplines and sets of knowledge acted to exclude the experiences, interests and identities of women. Whatever label given to the academic study of gender relations in the twenty-first century, there are a number of features that have endured. This paper attempts to explain the emergence gender studies as a stand-alone academic discipline and examines the Gender studies discipline from an academic perspective.

The COVID 19 outbreak is spoiling education and psychological wellbeing of children worldwide, with the poorest children, including homeless children and children in detention have become the worst sufferers. School closures, social distancing and confinement increase the risk of poor nutrition among children, their exposure to domestic violence, increase their anxiety and stress, and reduce access to vital family care services. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in monumental changes to education and psychological wellbeing throughout the world. The pandemic not only suspended normal childhood activities such as attending school, interacting with extended family and friends, playing outdoors, and exploring nature but also disrupted the consequent socio-emotional benefits that accrue from children’s engagement in these experiences. The children residing in child care institutions suffer more due to the pandemic than those who live in their respective homes. The present study is an attempt to examine the problems faced by the children living in child care homes of Srinagar District.

The present research work attempts to investigate imbalances in nutrition intake, magnitude of malnutrition and related health problems by gender among 4160 sample children (0-14 years) in 60 selected Gujar villages of Great Kashmir Himalayan Range. The area is mountainous in character inhabited by Gujar community (A native ethnic group) with low socio-economic setup. Investigation reveals that the variation in the availability of nutrients and departure of same from standard requirement was more among females than males. The overall prevalence of nutrition deficiency diseases among sample children was 46.15 percent (45.63 % male and 54.37 % female). In this context some suggestions are made to reduce malnutrition among children with focus on gender equality.

Transgender people are a diverse population of individuals who cross or transcend culturally defined categories of gender. Transgender persons are one such group of people who have been marginalized, abused, disdained and callously neglected community in almost every known society. Transgender is often used as an umbrella term to signify individuals who defy rigid, binary gender constructions and who express or present a breaking and blurring of culturally prevalent stereotypically gender roles. Their social exclusion from the mainstream society is being documented in the modern epoch, especially spotlighting social barriers and disabilities in attaining opportunities for a socially productive life. The aim of this article is to provide a sociological narrative of the transgender lives in Kashmir, considering the social aspects of transgender.

This article investigates the role of social networking sites (SNS) in enhancing the student engagement of the degree college students in the Srinagar district of Kashmir, J&K, (India). Data was collected with the aid of a well-designed and structured questionnaire using Google forms. Responses from 770 students were analysed. The results provided empirical evidence which shows that students perceive social networking sites as an effective tool for enhancing student engagement. It was revealed that the majority of the students used social networking sites for engaging in group activities, course content, achievement of popular learning outcomes, learning beyond four walls of classroom and increasing their personal interaction with lecturers and students and making their interactions valuable. However, students have been cautioned to make judicious use of social networking sites.

Educated women in the state of Jammu and Kashmir can play an important role in all round development of the state. The most powerful tool that changes the position of a society and nation is only women’s education with full potential. Women’s education was not given much importance in past but now they have got world attention and every nation tries to give education to its female folk too. Education improves the status of women within the family as well as in society. So we cannot ignore the importance of women’s education in reference to women empowerment in Jammu & Kashmir. For every citizen there is a need of positive attitude towards women’s education. According to the census 2011, the literacy rate of the Ganderbal district was 58.04 percent, out of which male literacy was 68.85 percent and female literacy was 45.71 percent, respectively. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme in the Ganderbal district of the state. The study is based on primary as well as secondary sources.

The Scheduled tribes constitute a small proportion of the total population of the country and they are marginalized from the society in many respects. The status of women in a society depends to a large extent on the social structure and the type of society. The status of any social group is determined by its levels of health-nutrition, literacy education and standard of living. The tribal women, as women in all social groups, are more illiterate than men. The low educational status is reflected in their lower literacy rate, lower enrolment rate and their presence in the school. The tribal women work very hard, in some cases even more than the men. Role of women is not only of importance in economic activities, but her role in non-economic activities is equally important. The Dard tribe women in Jammu and Kashmir district are hardworking than tribal men and they contribute significantly towards their family income, but their income generating sources are limited. Despite the great efforts by the government for the overall development of the scheduled tribes, they are still far behind in almost all the standard measure of development. Mainly due to the high rate of illiteracy, poverty, backwardness, very low status of education and lack of awareness of the various government programmes and policies made for their upliftment the tribal people are not able to participate in the process of development. The present paper aims to examine status of tribal women with special focus on Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir state.

In The Communist Manifesto, Marx analyzed succinctly the globalizing tendencies inherent within capitalism: ‘The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the whole surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connections everywhere’ (Marx & Engels 1967: 83). He described how this process of globalization produced a levelling and loss of distinct local cultures, superseding the claims of parochialism, regionalism and nationalism: ‘The bourgeoisie has through its exploitation of the world-market given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country’ (Ibid.). The founding principle of capitalism in globalization is the pursuit of self-interest which is achieved economically through competition between producers and producers, consumers and consumers. This kind of competition has resulted in further stratifying the societies. The present paper looks into the trends of consumerism in an era of globalization that has created such euphoria in societies which have resulted in reconsidering the views of Marx in terms of stratifying and polarizing the societies in terms of various groups resulting from materialism.

The concept of family planning has raised some concerns regarding its acceptability within Muslim populations. While some Muslim states and organizations have adopted a rather cautious approach to the issue, others have gone to the extent of inviting religious leaders to present religiously sound interpretations on the subject. The ongoing discussion surrounding family planning in the Muslim communities raise legitimate questions. How is family planning perceived within the Muslim community? Does Islam address the issue of family planning? Is it permissible? How should appropriate family planning programmes within Muslim settings be developed and applied? The present paper makes an attempt to understand the perception of family planning in Islam while seeking inferences from the valid secondary sources. It also evaluates the practice of the Muslim population of Kashmir regarding family planning.

Does gender count as legitimate knowledge in the context of the considerable curriculum reform that can be observed, in the past years, at system level and in different fields of studies? Is a gender-inclusive curriculum, one consciously designed to recognize and acknowledge the evidence that males and females are likely to bring in a similar, but also different, cultural baggage to their learning experience and that societies are deeply gendered at micro and macro levels, the norm or the exception in various higher education institutions? Or has even gender been incorporated in the curriculum or not? Such questions are important in any analysis of an educational reform. The present paper aims to understand the significance of studying gender in curriculum by moving beyond the borders of Gender Studies. It further aims have a critical analysis of the gender-inclusive curriculum in the Higher education system with special focus on the curriculum designed by the University of Kashmir.

The study examines continuity, change and new opportunities in the household identity of women and the factors responsible for both continuity and change. The research techniques of interview schedule and focused interviews were used and the data was collected in 2018 from urban and rural districts of Kashmir valley based on four themes: a) Stereotypical gender role; b) early socialization of children; c) the implications of socio cultural forces; and d) women preferences and priorities towards household work. The findings revealed that women in Kashmir not only performed their traditional household roles but also had switched over to modern roles outside their home which has resulted in their role conflict.