Dreams, Dilemmas, Discontent: Youth in Contemporary India

A platform to bring together a diverse group of interdisciplinary Social Science scholars

SSC Poster 11th Feb

The Dreams, Dilemmas, Discontent: Youth in Contemporary India conference aims to interrogate the social construction of the category, differentiated experiences, and challenges to youth aspiration, drawing on insights and provocations from different social science disciplines and methods. 

To read the book of abstracts, click here →

Over this two-day duration, the conference proposes to bring together a diverse group of interdisciplinary Social Science scholars to reflect on the topic at the Azim Premji University, Bangalore Campus. 

Day 1

Venue: Gurudutt Auditorium (unless specified)

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Registration and Introductory Remarks

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Plenary 1: Dilemmas

(Discussant: Nitya Vasudevan, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)

Youth as Conjuncture: Thinking Through Generations by Ritty Lukose, Gallatin School of Individualised Study, New York University, New York.

Youth, Modernity, and Precarious Futures: Re-thinking Youth Studies from a Global South Perspective by Anandini Dar, BML Munjal University, Gurgaon

Suspended Futures: Youth, Politics, and Neo-religiosity by Satendra Kumar, Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich

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Tea Break

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Panel 1: Self and Identity

(Discussant: K. Kalyani, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)

Modern (Mis)fits: Madrasa Youth, Desire, and the Barzakh of Identity by Muhammed Raazi, University of Calicut & World Institute for Research in Advanced Societies, Kozhikode

The Swaero as Veil: Crafting Double Selves and Subaltern Identity in Telangana’s Gurukulams by Shankar Gugoloth, IIT Hyderabad

Youth, Migration, and Elderly Care: Intergenerational Negotiations in Contemporary Kashmir by Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, Independent Researcher, Kashmir

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Venue: Ray Auditorium

Panel 2: Reimagining Education (1)

(Discussant: Gita Chadha, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)

Reimagining Education: Muslim Women’s Participation in Higher Education in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal by Papia Khatun, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

The Weight of a Dream: A Discussion on the Experience of the Student-Youth in the Indian Institute(s) of Technology by Yogita Suresh, Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida

Democratizing Higher Educational Spaces: Experiences of First-Generation Youth from Marginalized Communities in India by Shireesha Chitlapally, Haqdarshak Empowerment, and Asim Siddique, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

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Lunch Break

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Plenary 1: Dreams

(Discussant: Tony Kurian, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)

Mazduri and Naukri: Aspirations in Southern Haryana by Srishti Yadav, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

Aspirations versus Experience by Orlanda Ruthven, Independent Researcher

Dreams, Schemes, and Survival by Snigdha Poonam, Journalist, Writer, Editor

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Tea Break

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Plenary 3: Youth, Work and Aspirations

(Discussant: Paaritosh Nath, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)

Entrepreneurial Aspirations and the Reimagining of ‘Home’: Youth and their Futures in the Darjeeling Hills, India by Lasang Lepcha, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta

Footloose Youth: Joblessness, Micro-Mobilities, and Agentive Capacity in North India by Avishek Jha, University of Melbourne, Melbourne

“Speak Perfect English in 60 Days, Be Set for Life!”: English Coaching Ecosystems, Linguistic Mobility, and Youth Precarity in Neoliberal India by Anshuman Jha, Pavithra P Baiju, and Swastika Patnaik, Delhi School of Economics, New Delhi

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Venue: Ray Auditorium

Plenary 4: Youth Cultures

(Discussant: Rahul De, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)

Between Wellness and Worry: Health Consciousness, Body Politics, and the Paradox of Fitness among Contemporary Indian Youth by Akansha Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Learning to Labour on the Football Ground: Youth Aspirations, Neoliberalism, and the Transformation of Public Space in Bangalore by Srinath S, RV University, Bengaluru

Up the Creek with a Paddle: Examining Class, Community, and Space in Pickleball Sports Culture by Vishal George, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru

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Public Performance

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Conference Dinner

Day 2

Venue: Gurudutt Auditorium (unless specified)

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Panel 5: Youth and Democracy (1)

(Discussant: Khalid Anis Ansari, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)

“On the day of my exam, I was arrested by the police”: Youth Precarity, Education and Politics among Educated Unemployed Young Dalit Local Leaders by Vaishali Khandekar, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad.

Negotiating Democracy: Youth Subjectivities and the Political Imagination in Indian Higher Education by Soumodip Sinha, Alliance University, Bengaluru

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Tea Break

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Panel 6: Youth and Democracy (2)

(Discussant: Adil Hossain, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)

The Colonial Roots of Forced Bachelorhood and Vigilantism in the Agrarian North by Vishal PS Deo, Manipal Institute of Social Science, Humanities and Arts, Manipal

Agrarian Transformation, Rural Youth, and the Reworking of Communal Politics in Contemporary Bihar by Supriy Ranjan, Gitam University, Hyderabad

The Affective Life of Politics: Izzat, Maza, and the Making of Political Youth in Ranchi by Kunal Shahdeo, Azim Premji University, Ranchi

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Venue: Ray Auditorium

Panel 7: Reimagining Education (2)

(Discussant: Sunandan K.N, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)

Beyond Rehabilitation: Education and the Making of Aspirations among Puroik Youth by Vijitha Rajan, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

Learning Rights versus Living Them: Notes on (Un)Encultured Legal Education in India by Prerna, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad

Trajectories of Transition: Understanding the Journeys from Education to Livelihoods for Economically Vulnerable Muslim Youth in Urban Bengaluru by Shraddha NV Sharma & Soumya Mittal, Samvada, Bengaluru

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Lunch Break

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Plenary 3: Discontent

(Discussant: Sharmadip Basu, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)

Gen Z Revolt: Youth, Social Media, and the Politics of Aspirations in Nepal by Jeevan R Sharma, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh

Anger, Resentment and Fear: Burdens of an Interminable Crisis by Sarbani Sharma, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

Mohammed Affan Pasha (aka Pasha Bhai), Multilingual Rapper, Poet, Lyricist, and Singer, Bengaluru

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Vote of Thanks