Learn, Practise, Reflect, Repeat
Field research and experiences of MA Development students
Field Practice forms an integral part of the MA Development programme. It seeks to complement the students’ learnings in the classroom and offers opportunities for engaging with diverse kinds of development action spaces as sites of knowledge, experience, and imagination.
Students are expected to spend extended periods of time in the Field in the form of a Field Immersion, a Summer Field Internship, and a Winter Field Project.
During the Field Internship, they participate as active members of specific development interventions for a period of 6 weeks.
The Winter Field Project is an 8‑week field engagement that is conceptualised and designed by students, under the supervision of faculty mentors. These projects can be field research studies, documentation efforts and pilot interventions.
Glimpses from Field Project Fair 2023, held after students’ return from field projects: Explore now
Students’ publications based on field studies and experiences:
Journal Article
Rhea Kaikobad, in Women & Therapy, discusses an intervention for rehabilitation of female survivors of violence that reconceptualises rehabilitation through a feminist lens: the Sampoornata model of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT), created and being practiced by an NGO called Kolkata Sanved in Kolkata, India.
News Articles
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From the Fields to Kitchen: Journey of Red Chillies
Shraddha Jain, in Point of View, explores the unseen labour that goes into bringing red chillies to our kitchen.
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Lack of support holds back Civil Service aspirants from Tribal Maharashtra
A large number of youth migrate to Pune from rural areas of Maharashtra with dreams. Rushikesh Kasabe, in Round Table India, observes the struggles of the adivasi youth.
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‘Bikes do not Discriminate, Society does’: The Journeys of Women Bikers in India
Shraddha Jain, in Feminism in India (FII), shares diverse voices of female bike riders from Bengaluru and Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh, on bike riding in India.
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Dancing to Abusive Tunes in Bihar
Dipshikha Singh reports the harassment faced by young dancers performing in orchestra events across Bihar and why it is a livelihood they cannot afford to give up.
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Story of The Vishwamitri and C&D
With the generation of large amounts of waste, the proper management of C&D (Construction and Demolition) waste is becoming a growing challenge in a rapidly urbanising city like Vadodara, writes Renuka Kshirsagar, in Medium.
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Red Hot! Thursday at the Kanubari Market
Dnyaneshwar Bhalerao, in PARI (People’s Archive of Rural India), explores the weekly market at Kanubari in Arunachal Pradesh’s Longding district where buyers and sellers flock for trade in red ants, king chillies, and a variety of local meats and vegetables.
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The Dulduli and Dalkhai Artists of Sambalpur
Shakti Sekhar Panigrahi, in PARI (People’s Archive of Rural India), delves into the lives of skilled artists from Dalit, Adivasi and Brahmin communities in western Odisha, India, who play and perform dhole, nishan, tasha, muhuri and khartal.
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The Tall Members of Village Republics
Sital Kumar, in Point of View, through a photo-essay, highlights the centrality of frontier trees to village life and village institutions.
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Traditional Weavers of Guledgudda
Alaka S and Jhelum Mukherjee, in Point of View, present snapshots of the 400-year-old Ilkal saree weavers and explore why the younger generation of weavers are giving up weaving and migrating to the cities.
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Drying out fast: Laundry work in Fort Kochi
The arrival of mechanised laundromats has put the future of the members of the Vannan community — who do the laundry work in Fort Kochi, Kerala — at risk, reports Vibha Satish, in People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI).
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Raika women don’t just herd
Women in the Raika pastoral community play a big role in the care of animals and also do other work. Geetakshi Dixit, in People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), reports Sita Devi’s story.
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Sardine loads are falling in Vadakara
Growing unpredictability in the catch of oil sardines is impacting the lives of people who do daily-wage loading work in Kozhikode district, Kerala, writes Mufeena Nasrin M K, in People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI).
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Delhi’s Kathputli Artists: Puppeteers in Limbo
The kathputli artists of Delhi have been struggling to regain momentum after they were moved out of their homes to a transit camp in 2017, writes Himanshu Pargai, in People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI).
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Silent Mountains of Uttarakhand
Priyanka Minj, in CounterCurrents.org, highlights how the complex religious and caste identities of Uttarakhand affect the population residing in remote villages, especially adolescent girls.
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The challenges before Delhi’s ‘Happiness’ teachers, during COVID and otherwise
Kriti Gupta, in Citizen Matters, highlights what Delhi teachers say about the ‘Happiness Curriculum’, based on her research study to understand the role of teachers in this curriculum and its impact on the students.
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Jaunsari Journeys: Sense of an Ending
In Gorchha, Uttarakhand, the traditional occupations of rearing, herding, and weaving have been rendered financially unfeasible and are experiencing a serious decline in social status, writes Rituja Mitra, in People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI).
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Strict regulation, active citizens can rein in Pune’s infamous water tankers
Harshavardhan Vasanti Mohan highlights in Citizen Matters, how privatisation transfers control and/or ownership from the public realm to private and entity depriving people from access to public resources.
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Delivery Apps, Social Media and Innovation: Three Mantras for Revival of Kochi’s Restaurant Industry
Given the current turmoil, the restaurant industry is likely to now focus on producing safe food and its delivery, writes Ann Mary Biju, in Citizen Matters.
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Ward committees: The missing link that could have made Chennai’s COVID fight stronger
The COVID-19 pandemic has irrevocably changed urban spaces across the world and a decentralised response to the challenges posed by it could be the best way forward, writes Gokhulraj R, in Citizen Matters.
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Ashy hands: Inside Ganjam’s cashew factories
Anushree Goenka, in SRPF India, sheds light on the working conditions of the women employed in the cashew factories of Ganjam, Odisha through her photo essay.
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Why COVID-19 presents the perfect opportunity to make the lives of our household helpers better
With online payments as a beginning, we may slowly move towards action that will ensure long-term social security for this indispensable workforce, writes Sariya Ali, in Citizen Matters.