Institute of Social Anthropology

Excursions

India 2017

The Institute of Social Anthropology at the University of Bern, in collaboration with the Institute of Social Anthropology and Empirical Cultural Science at the University of Zurich, organised an excursion to India for students from January 8th to February 1st, 2017. The excursion began with our participation at the Winter School in Assam, north-east India, which was organised by Dibrugarh University and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences on the theme of ‘Reappraising the “Field” in Social Science Research’. We had the opportunity to go on one-day excursions to various field sites in and around Dibrugarh: we visited the banks of the Brahmaputra and spoke with people whose houses had been destroyed in floods and who struggled to gain support from the government for relocation; we visited two tea plantations and learnt about the production of tea in tea factories as well as life on the plantations; and we visited historical sites as well as a Buddhist village.

Abb. 1: Ausflug zu einer historischen Stätte — Figure 1: Excursion to a Historical Site

In addition to the one-day excursions to the countryside, we participated in public lectures held at Dibrugarh University, met Indian students and scientists, and discussed our own ‘field’ experiences at a round-table with other participants.

Abb. 2: Teilnehmende der Winter School — Figure 2: Winter School Participants

After the Winter School we travelled by overnight train to Guwahati, the capital of Assam, where the international NGO ActionAid took us on a critical tour around town and showed us their work as well as introducing us to some of Guwahati’s neighbourhoods.

Abb.3: Besuch in einem Feuchtgebiet in Guwahati — Figure 3: Visiting Wetlands in Guwahati

We were especially impressed when we met a family in one of Guwahati’s wetlands where the houses of corrugated metal are built on stilts. We were invited in for tea and Assamese sweets.

We also observed court proceedings at Guwahati’s High Court and saw how lawyers in trials at criminal courts slipped into the role of defendants. We visited the Assamese government’s Urban Development Department and discussed work routines, government structures and corruption with its Assistant Director.

In the second part of the excursion we travelled almost 2000 km to the west, to Delhi. In Delhi students had the opportunity to pursue research projects they had prepared in courses during the autumn semester of 2016, and some of the students chose to turn their projects into theses for their Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. These research projects were very diverse and included work on street vendors, fitness gyms, Hindu nationalism, Buddhist nuns, male feminism, micro-credit programmes, and schizophrenia and psychiatry. Initial results of these research projects were presented by students at a final workshop held at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.

A report by Anna-Lena Wolf

The Excursion will take place in January 2017. At the autumn semester we offer a seminar called "Just India: the state, law and aspirations to justice" for more Information.