EPH-International Journal of Humanities and Social Science
Southern Cross Academic Press ISSN: 2208-2174 (Online) EPH-International Journal of Humanities & Social Science (IJHSS) The EPH-International Journal of Humanities & Social Science (IJHSS) is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal providing scholarly publication of articles across the humanities and social sciences. Published by Southern Cross Academic Press, the journal supports research in fields such as anthropology, business studies, economics, and development studies. Journal Profile Established Year 2015 Frequency Quarterly Review Process Double-blind peer review Access Model Open Access Publisher Southern Cross Academic Press Manuscript Submission IJHSS accepts research articles, review articles, and thesis work. Please review our Submission Guidelines before sending your manuscript. Online Submission
FEMININE IDENTITY AND VOICE IN SUJATA BHATT'S POETRY
The study presents a narrative review of the idea of feminine identity and poetic voice in the poems of Sujata Bhatt and the ways of how these two elements are constructed and conveyed through the lens of feminism, postcolonialism, and linguistics. The review recaps the literature available, to explore how the work of Bhatt reflects the subtleties of the diasporic experience where identity is gained in the process of cultural displacement, memory and hybridity. It indicates that feminine identity in her poems is not necessary but moves, it is negotiated in different spaces and cultural and linguistic. The paper also examines the poetic voice as a vehicle of agency and resistance that enables one to speak out against the marginalized experiences and reidentify oneself beyond the patriarchal framework. The role of language as a marker of identity and conflict zone is described as a special one and can be exploited to explain the significance of linguistic choices on belonging and cultural tenacity. This review provides a complete image about the overlapping of identity and voice in the poetry of Bhatt by integrating the views of the theory and thematic analysis. The results play out in a wider field of literature in terms of gender studies, cultural discourse and diasporic literature, where the importance of literary expression to current issues of identity, representation and inclusion can be discussed.
Copyright (c) 2026 EPH-International Journal of Humanities and Social Science
LABOUR CODE REFORMS AND YOUTH WORKFORCE INTEGRATION IN INDIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS IN THE MSME SECTOR
This study examines the transformation of India’s labour regulatory framework through the consolidation of 29 labour laws into four comprehensive codes: the Wage Code (2019), Industrial Relations Code (2020), Social Security Code (2020), and the Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code (2020). This restructuring represents a significant shift toward simplifying labour compliance while aligning with global standards and contemporary workforce needs. The new framework aims to enhance employee welfare, improve workplace safety, and reduce the regulatory burden on businesses. A key focus of this research is the impact of these reforms on youth employment within small and informal enterprises, which continue to dominate India’s labour market. Traditionally characterized by unstructured hiring practices and limited adherence to formal regulations, this sector plays a crucial role in providing employment opportunities for young workers. The study critically compares the pre- and post-reform labour regimes to assess changes in employment patterns, workplace conditions, and social protection mechanisms. Using recent academic literature, policy reports, and government data from the past three years, the research evaluates implementation outcomes and identifies both achievements and challenges. Findings suggest that revised standards have improved workplace safety and expanded access to social security benefits for young employees. Additionally, enhanced coordination between industries has contributed to better workplace dynamics. However, disparities in enforcement across states and persistent informal practices continue to limit the full effectiveness of these reforms. Overall, the study highlights both the progress made and the gaps that must be addressed to ensure inclusive and equitable labour outcomes.
WHEN WORK NEVER ENDS: UNDERSTANDING WORK–FAMILY CONFLICT AMONG WOMEN IN GURUGRAM’S IT SECTOR
The expansion of the Information Technology (IT) sector in urban centres such as Gurugram has significantly enhanced women’s participation in the workforce, positioning the industry as a space of economic mobility and professional advancement. However, alongside these opportunities, the nature of IT work has introduced new challenges that complicate the balance between professional and personal responsibilities. This paper explores the dynamics of work–family conflict among women employed in the IT sector, focusing on how organisational structures intersect with gendered expectations within the household. The study aims to examine the extent to which factors such as extended working hours, global time-zone coordination, performance pressures, and expectations of constant availability contribute to role conflict. It is based on primary data collected from 168 women professionals in Gurugram using a structured questionnaire, supported by qualitative insights. The findings indicate that work–family conflict is largely shaped by structural and cultural features of the workplace rather than individual limitations. Long working hours, unpredictable schedules, and constant connectivity blur boundaries between work and home. These pressures, combined with persistent caregiving expectations, intensify strain among women. The paper highlights the need for organisational reforms that promote realistic workloads, boundary protection, and more inclusive definitions of professional commitment.
REFORMING CORPORATE RESOLUTION: THE 2025 AMENDMENT BILL AND CODIFICATION OF GROUP INSOLVENCY
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), introduced as a framework for resolving insolvency in India, has significantly transformed the corporate restructuring landscape over the past decade. However, the complex economic realities of modern corporate structures which include vast conglomerates, special purpose vehicles, and integrated enterprise groups, have exposed critical legislative gaps in the Code’s original single-entity approach. To rectify these gaps, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was introduced. This article critically examines the approach of group insolvency in India. It highlights the necessity of transitioning from ad hoc judicial interventions to a codified, statutory mechanism, as envisioned by the proposed Chapter VA and Section 59A of the Code. Furthermore, it examines important court decisions in cases like Videocon, Adel Landmarks, Lavasa, and IREO that filled the legal gap before the 2025 Amendment Bill. The article further analysed the other relevant legislations, such as the UNCITRAL Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolvency (MLEGI) 2019, the European Union's EIR Recast 2015, the United States Chapter 11 framework, the German Insolvency Code (InsO), and the Italian Code of Corporate Distress. Finally, this article outlines the optimal regulatory framework to maximise asset value and ensure fair recovery for creditors in complex group insolvencies in a time-bound manner.
INDIA'S BATTLE WITH ADDICTION: BETWEEN LAWS AND LOST SOULS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Drug addiction in India has evolved from a peripheral social concern to a critical public health and criminal justice challenge affecting millions. This comprehensive research paper examines the historical development of India's drug control framework, beginning from the colonial period through contemporary legislative reforms, institutional mechanisms, and policy implementations. The study critically analyses the efficacy of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act), the cornerstone of Indian drug policy, alongside its three landmark amendments (1989, 2001, 2014). India's geographical position between the Golden Triangle (Myanmar-Laos-Thailand) and the Golden Crescent (Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan) has established the nation as both a transit route and increasingly as a consumer market for narcotics. Current epidemiological data from the 2019 National Survey reveals that approximately 16.6 crore Indians consume alcohol, with 5.2% manifesting dependency; cannabis affects 3.1 crore people; and opioid dependence impacts 2.06% of citizens, necessitating professional treatment for approximately 60 lakh individuals. This paper argues that while the NDPS Act demonstrates legal sophistication, it remains inadequately effective due to over-criminalization, institutional implementation gaps, and insufficient integration of public health approaches. The research explores the complex interplay between supply reduction and demand reduction strategies, examines the role of international conventions in shaping Indian legislation, and evaluates contemporary national action plans. Through critical analysis of judicial interpretations, enforcement mechanisms, rehabilitation infrastructure, gender dimensions, youth vulnerabilities, socioeconomic determinants, and mental health comorbidities, this paper proposes a balanced, evidence-based approach combining proportionate criminal enforcement with health-oriented rehabilitation. The findings indicate that meaningful reform requires integration of treatment modalities, capacity building for law enforcement, expansion of de-addiction infrastructure, gender-responsive interventions, socioeconomic support mechanisms, and community-based prevention programs aligned with international best practices and constitutional guarantees of fundamental rights.
THE EVOLUTION AND TRANSFORMATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION: A COMPREHENSIVE GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ANALYSIS OF POLICY, PEDAGOGY, AND DIGITAL INTEGRATION
The architecture of a nation’s development is inextricably linked to the quality of its educational institutions, and at the heart of these institutions lies the teacher. Teacher education is defined as the system designed to equip prospective and practicing educators with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and skills necessary to perform their roles effectively within the classroom, the school, and the broader community.1 Far from being a static training program, teacher education is a continuous process that encompasses the initial preparation of new teachers, their induction into the profession, and their ongoing professional development throughout their careers.2 In the modern era, the role of the teacher has undergone a radical transformation, shifting from a mere disseminator of knowledge to a facilitator of inquiry, creativity, and inclusive learning.2 This evolution reflects a growing recognition that high-quality teaching is the most significant school-based predictor of student achievement and that consecutive years of outstanding instruction can offset the learning deficits of even the most disadvantaged students.
Copyright (c) 2024 EPH-International Journal of Humanities and Social Science
DR BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR: A CHAMPION OF DALIT RIGHTS AND HIS QUEST FOR THE JUSTICE OF THE MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY
As we All know that Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was the Chairman of drafting comittee of the Indian Constitution. He is still respected and remembered by many people. His ideas changed Indian politics and society in a big way. He fought for the rights of Dalits. He wanted them to live with dignity and equal status. For centuries, In India, Dalits were treated unfairly and pushed to the margins of society. Ambedkar’s thinking was shaped by many things. He was influenced by social movements and Western education. But most importantly, his own life shaped him. He was born into a Dalit family on 14 April 1891. From childhood, he faced caste discrimination. Those painful experiences made him stronger and determined to bring change. He was many things at the same time. He was a political thinker and also a politician. He was a sociologist and a social activist too. His ideas did not come only from books. They came from real life experiences. That is why his thoughts are still important today. Even after his death, his ideas continue to grow and stay relevant. During his life, he worked hard to improve the condition of Dalits in India. But he did more than that. He left behind strong political and social ideas. Because of those ideas, Dalits were able to take part in politics. They also gained more respect and a stronger place in society. Dr. Ambedkar believed that real change in a country must start with social and cultural change. He thought this was the base of nation-building. His ideas came from his life experiences. They were also influenced by Buddhism and Western thinking. He studied caste, varna, and religion in a deep and practical way. He looked at them through history and society, not just faith. He believed the caste system stayed strong because it was supported by Hindu religious laws. To end it, he said reforms in religion were needed. He also believed people should change social habits. Inter-caste marriages and changes in food practices were important steps to break the caste system. His message is still relevant today: real progress happens only when society breaks down old barriers, respects everyone’s rights, and allows each person to reach their full potential.
STRUCTURAL RECONFIGURATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF QUALITY INSTRUCTION AND CRITICAL INQUIRY
The contemporary educational imperative, codified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4, seeks to move beyond the rudimentary metrics of school enrollment toward the substantive realization of equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all.1 This transition necessitates a profound re-evaluation of the teaching profession, positioning the educator not merely as a conduit for information but as a primary catalyst for critical consciousness and cognitive development. However, the global educational infrastructure faces an unprecedented crisis characterized by a projected shortage of 44 million primary and secondary teachers required by 2030.3 This deficit is compounded by rising attrition rates, which doubled from 4.62 percent in 2015 to 9.06 percent in 2022, as well as a systemic failure to equip current educators with the pedagogical tools necessary to move beyond rote instruction.3 Consequently, the contribution of teacher education to quality instruction is currently defined by the tension between traditional "banking" models of learning and the emerging requirement for critical, reflective, and inquiry-based pedagogies.
Copyright (c) 2025 EPH-International Journal of Humanities and Social Science
THIRD WAY AS THE APPLIED INTEGRAL HUMANISM:GOING BEYOND THE BINARIES
This paper aims to interpret and analyse Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay’s Integral Humanism and Dattatray Thengdi’s Third Way as the formulation of a path-breaking breakthrough in India. The paper investigates the efficacy of the culturally relevant frameworks of Integral Humanism and Third Way (IH-TW) in the wake of enterprise culture and neoliberalism whose thought processes did not require a groundwork in the form of any pre-existing ideology (Mukherjee, 2018). ‘Scholastic textualisation’ of the socio-cultural values in India is not a ‘priori’ but a ‘posteriori’ for IH-TW (Chatterjee, 1993). It also aims to briefly analyse the reconstructions of Marxism in Europe by Marxist thinkers who undertook the deconstruction of Marxist theory (Lukács, 1971; Gramsci, 1975). The baggage of the colonial past was the causal condition for deshaj (parallel for culturally responsive) thinking to be undertaken by Deendayal Upadhyay and Dattopant Thengdi (Nandy, 1983). Hence, they took into consideration the ‘trajectories’ of the Marxian model of thinking in Indian consciousness (Banerjee, 2005). The article mainly aims to focus on how Integral Humanism and its applied formulations in Third Way provide insights not only to offer an alternative to ‘Classical Marxism’ of the Old Left, but also to ‘Neo Marxism’ as ‘theorised’ by the New Left (Jameson, 1991; Harvey, 1989).
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: A SOCIO-LEGAL ANALYSIS OF CRIME PREVENTION AND URBAN PLANNING IN INDIA
India’s rapid urban transformation has reshaped the social and institutional contexts within which crime is produced, experienced, and governed. This article examines crime prevention through a socio-legal lens by analysing the interconnections between urban development processes, social vulnerability, criminal justice capacity, and urban planning interventions in India. Drawing on official secondary data from national crime statistics, prison records, urban development programmes, and selected socio-economic indicators, the study adopts a descriptive and contextual analytical approach to interpret urban-relevant crime trends and institutional responses. The findings indicate that while overall recorded crime has declined in recent years, specific offence categories closely associated with urban conditions-most notably cyber crimes and crimes against senior citizens-have increased. The analysis further reveals significant institutional strain within the criminal justice system, reflected in persistent prison overcrowding and a high proportion of undertrial detainees. Large-scale urban planning initiatives implemented under national development programmes provide an important contextual backdrop for rethinking crime prevention beyond enforcement-centric models. The study underscores the need for a more integrated understanding of crime prevention as a component of social development and urban governance in India.
A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION TOWARDS CRIME DETECTION AND PREVENTION
Scientific criminal investigation becomes most relevant when the fundamental question arises: how are criminals to be identified and apprehended? Crime detection remains one of the most complex and demanding responsibilities of the police. Over the past seventy-six years, remarkable advances have occurred across all branches of science. As scientific knowledge has expanded decade by decade, so too have the tools available for the prevention, investigation, and detection of crime. This development has created a paradoxical race between those who apply scientific innovations to enforce the law and those who exploit similar advancements to evade it. Technological progress has significantly transformed the landscape of crime. Cybercrime, digital fraud, organized transnational offences, and technologically facilitated violence illustrate how science has reshaped criminal activity. Simultaneously, crime-control technologies—such as DNA profiling, fingerprint analysis, digital forensics, surveillance systems, and data analytics—have strengthened investigative capacity and improved evidentiary reliability. Scientific tools enhance objectivity, reduce the risk of wrongful convictions, and support stronger prosecutorial outcomes. However, their potential is frequently undermined by systemic challenges, including inadequate forensic infrastructure, delays caused by laboratory backlogs, improper collection and preservation of evidence, and insufficiently trained personnel. Furthermore, the expansion of surveillance technologies and DNA databases raises significant concerns regarding privacy, data protection, and the risk of misuse or overreach. Scientific criminal investigation, therefore, must function within a sound legal and ethical framework that safeguards constitutional rights and maintains public trust. Technological advancement alone cannot guarantee justice. Its effectiveness ultimately depends on institutional accountability, procedural compliance, professional competence, and adherence to the rule of law. This article seeks to critically examine the use of forensic science by the police and assess whether existing forensic methodologies adequately meet the practical investigative needs of contemporary law enforcement agencies.
RITES AND RITUALS OF THE TUTSA TRIBE OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
The Tutsa tribe of Arunachal Pradesh maintains a complex system of rites and rituals that shape its religious worldview, social organization, and ecological relationships. These ritual practices, rooted in indigenous cosmology and agrarian life, regulate interactions between humans, ancestral spirits, and natural forces. Despite their cultural importance, Tutsa rites and rituals have received limited focused scholarly attention, often appearing only marginally in broader ethnographic works on the tribes of Northeast India. This paper presents an extensive critical review of available literature on Tutsa ritual practices, examining agricultural rituals, life-cycle ceremonies, the role of ritual specialists, and recent transformation under Rangfraism and Christianity. By synthesizing ethnographic accounts, historical writings, and contemporary studies, the paper highlights thematic continuities, interpretative gaps, and methodological limitations within existing scholarship. The review demonstrates that Tutsa ritual systems remain under-theorized in existing scholarship and calls for focused, theory-informed and ethnographically grounded future research.
A CRITICAL REVIEW OF YOUTH, DIGITAL NETWORKS, AND CULTURAL NEGOTIATION
Social media has become deeply embedded in the everyday lives of young people, reshaping urban experience, social interaction, and cultural engagement, particularly among college students navigating educational transition and urban relocation. Digitally mediated communication now functions not merely as a tool but as a structuring environment through which identity, belonging, and intercultural adaptation are organised. This article critically reviews interdisciplinary literature on urban sociology, network society theory, symbolic interactionism, cultural power, and intercultural adaptation to examine social media’s role in contemporary urban life. Drawing on Louis Wirth’s conception of urbanism as a way of life, Manuel Castells’ theory of the network society, and Danah Boyd’s concept of networked publics, the review situates social media as constitutive of digital urbanism rather than external to it. Particular attention is given to the Indian–Mizo context, characterised by recent urbanisation, strong communitarian traditions, and increasing exposure to global digital cultures, highlighting how local histories and moral regulation shape social media practices and complicate universalist assumptions derived from Western and metropolitan contexts. The article identifies key conceptual and methodological gaps in existing scholarship and advances the need for a contextual digital urban sociology that is context-sensitive, theoretically grounded, and attentive to regional diversity.
URBANIZATION AND PRIVATE HOSPITALS: A STUDY ON THEIR INTERDEPENDENCE AND SPATIAL IMPLICATIONS WITHIN AIZAWL MUNICIPAL CORPORATION (AMC) AREA
Urbanization in rapidly growing cities has reshaped not only demographic patterns but also the spatial organization of essential urban services, particularly health care infrastructure. In India, the expansion of private hospitals has emerged as a defining feature of urban growth, often responding to the limitations of public health systems while simultaneously transforming urban space. This study examines the interdependence between urbanization and the growth of private hospitals, with specific attention to their spatial implications within the Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) area. Adopting an integrated quantitative–qualitative research design, the study combines demographic analysis, correlational assessment, institutional data, and qualitative insights from private hospital proprietors collected through interview schedules administered via KoboToolBox. Findings indicate that a substantial proportion of Aizawl’s population growth between 2011 and 2026 is attributable to migration-driven urbanization, and that urban population growth exhibits a strong positive association with the expansion of private hospitals. Beyond this demographic relationship, the study reveals significant spatial outcomes, including spatial concentration of hospitals in central urban areas, vertical intensification of land use, and the emergence of health care-led micro-economies comprising pharmacies, food establishments, and informal vendors. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space, Robert K. Merton’s concept of latent functions, and Setha Low’s interpretation of space as socially and culturally produced, the study argues that private hospitals function not merely as health care providers but as influential urban institutions actively shaping spatial practices, land use, and everyday urban life. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for integrated urban and health planning frameworks, particularly in spatially constrained hill cities such as Aizawl.
PARLIAMENTARY SOVEREIGNTY VERSUS JUDICIAL REVIEW – A TUG OF WAR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTIONALISM
India is one of the most successful democracies among the Third World countries. The civilizational values of India and the legacy of anti-colonial struggle are regarded as the perennial source of the ideology of the Indian State. These philosophical foundations are enshrined in the constitution of India. The Indian Constitution contains the provisions which could amend the Constitution from time to time to make it suitable for the new epoch and its emerging demands. In spite of such well-defined ideological and structural arrangements, the Parliament of India and the Supreme Court of India representing popular sovereignty and judicial review respectively engaged in jurisdictional conflicts. In this background, this article explores how these conflicts expose the majoritarian approach held by the dominant political dispensations in India and how the Constitutional structure evolved the doctrine of Basic Structure by reviewing the chronicles of the several amendments since the 1950s up to 1990s.
ELECTION AND ETHNIC POLARIZATION IN NORTH EAST INDIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO TUJS (TRIPURA UPAJATI JUBA SAMITY), AN ETHNO-NATIONALISTIC POLITICAL PARTY IN TRIPURA*
Pluralistic societies like India have multiple ethnic compositions. Election as a democratic exercise should not bother about the existing diversities like religion, caste, lingual identity, ethnic identity etc. But in the field of real politics, these identities affect the electoral participation and outcome. Ethnic, lingual, religious, caste etc. types of identities influence the structure of leadership, decisions taken, type of mobilizations done before, during and after the elections in India. Such extra-democratic mobilizations lead to polarization in politics. Such polarization is more visible in the states of the North Eastern Region of India where division of demography is distinctly visible on ethnic lines. This paper is an attempt to understand the role of ethnic polarization in elections in North East India with special reference to the background in which TUJS, the most influential ethno-nationalistic political party in Tripura in the 1970s to 1990s.
LAND AND FOREST RIGHTS IN NORTH EAST INDIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO TRIPURA
Traditional tribal societies of North East India were symbiotically related to the nature. Indigenous ethnic groups, living in this region of India since the pre-historic period were traditionally dependent upon forest resources. Land was livelihood and common forest was the source of food and sustenance for them. Intervention of modern State could not preserve this symbiotic relationship between the human society and nature, rather the State is held responsible for the destruction of such system. State-induced process of modernization led large scale destruction of forest. The modern land right regime based upon individual entitlement upon land and other natural resources ruined the traditional ethnic life-world of the ethnic communities. Development projects required land and therefore the State occupied common land without proper rehabilitation for the displaced people. In the case of Tripura also, the administration whosoever controls it hardly cares for the tribal people and their life-world. Outsiders have been encouraged to settle down permanently in Tripura for the sake of generating higher revenues. As a result, the indigenous people gradually lost their control upon land and natural resources. In this context, this paper argues that statist interventions upon natural resources are/were responsible for the impoverishment of the indigenous people in North East Region in general and Tripura in particular.
The Renaissance of Bengal: A Convergence between Secular and Sacred Traditions of Indian Thought
Modern Indian is intrinsically connected with the eighteenth-century Renaissance in Bengal. To understand the legacy of Bengal Renaissance, we need to understand its pioneers like Rammohan Roy, Vidyasagar, Swami Dyananda Swaraswati, Swami Vivekananda and others. This paper aims to explore the ideological foundation and inspiration behind Renaissance. Classical Indian Philosophy was the inspiration before the protagonist of the Neo-Vedanta/Practical Vedanta, Swami Vivekananda. On the contrary, the famous humanist reformer of nineteenth-century Bengal, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar preferred to act to resolve humanitarian problems and remained silent on philosophical/spiritual issues. Thus, there was a convergence between spiritual/religious traditions and secular humanitarian outlook in the Renaissance of Bengal.
Copyright (c) 2023 EPH-International Journal of Humanities and Social Science
THE PARADOXES OF VOICING AND SILENCING: RE-READING MITRA PHUKAN’S THE COLLECTOR’S WIFE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CROSSING CLAUSTROPHOBIC BOUNDARIES, CONFINEMENT AND CONTROL
North-east has faced political tensions prevalent in various parts of the enclosed marginalized land. The characters in The Collector’s Wife feel entrapped and a recurrent plot device of confinement (both physical and psychological) is interwoven through the protagonist, Rukmini’s life. In Northeast, expression of ‘voicing’ and ‘silencing’ has undergone major paradoxical positioning because of the politics of language and situation. This paper shall reflect on how Phukan tries to portray Parbatpuri as a place of entrapment, and how the characters are silenced under various circumstances. Even when they try to voice out their problems, they are controlled and confined under the political situation. From the confined and claustrophobic spaces, how the characters try to voice themselves and try to cross the social, political boundaries of society, shall be studied in this paper.
THE TRANSPARENCY- PRIVACY PARADOX IN INDIA: A STUDY OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN RTI AND DATA PROTECTION LAW
The increasing digitisation of governance has intensified the interaction between transparency and data protection, raising complex questions for constitutional democracies. In India, this tension is most visibly manifested in the interface between the Right to Information Act, 2005 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. While both statutes possess independent normative legitimacy, their coexistence has generated institutional and doctrinal uncertainty, particularly following the amendment to Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. This paper examines how statutory design can reshape the practical operation of constitutional rights without formally reordering their hierarchy. Drawing on doctrinal analysis, statutory interpretation, and comparative experience from the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Mexico, the study demonstrates that the DPDP Act reconfigures transparency obligations by displacing the RTI Act’s contextual balancing framework through indirect legislative mechanisms. The paper argues that this shift does not reflect an explicit prioritisation of privacy over transparency, but rather a transformation of institutional incentives that favours categorical exclusion over proportional evaluation. Conceptually, the study advances the idea of information constitutionalism by showing how constitutional values are mediated through legislative architecture and administrative practice. It concludes that the sustainability of democratic accountability in a digital state depends less on abstract rights recognition than on institutionalised mechanisms capable of holding transparency and privacy in principled tension.
A STUDY OF PRACTICES OF JHUM (HUK) CULTIVATION AMONG THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF TRIPURA
This study examines the practice of Jhum cultivation (shifting cultivation) as the foundational socio-cultural and economic pillar of the indigenous Borok (Tipra) communities in Tripura. For tribes like the Debbarma, Reang, and Jamatia, Jhum is an ancestral institution governing their rituals, diet, and social structure. Utilizing a qualitative approach, the research documents traditional practices from site selection to the mixed-cropping of rice, oilseeds, and vegetables. However, the research shows that while Jhum preserves high agrobiodiversity, the modern reduction of the fallow cycle to 2–3 years has caused severe soil degradation and decreased food security. The paper analyses the tension between state-driven rubber plantation transitions and the preservation of tribal heritage. It concludes that a "scientific Jhum" model, integrating indigenous ecological knowledge with modern agroforestry, is essential to sustain the livelihoods and cultural identity of Tripura’s indigenous people in a changing climate.
ACCOUNTING PRACTICES & CHALLENGES: A STUDY OF WHOLESALE & RETAIL BUSINESSES IN INDIA
Wholesale and retail businesses play a vital role in the Indian economy, particularly within the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector. Despite their economic significance, these businesses continue to face numerous accounting-related challenges that affect their operational efficiency and financial sustainability. The study examines accounting practices and challenges among wholesale and retail businesses operating in Delhi. Using a descriptive and analytical research design, the study analyses primary data generated from a sample of 171 businesses. The analysis employs descriptive statistics, mean score analysis, independent sample t-tests, and correlation analysis to evaluate accounting systems, payment practices, and perceived accounting difficulties. The results indicate widespread adoption of computerized accounting systems and digital payment modes. However, businesses experience moderate to high levels of accounting challenges, particularly in GST compliance, working capital management, and cost inflation. Wholesale businesses report higher accounting complexity compared to retail firms, reflecting differences in transaction scale and operational structure. Correlation findings suggest that accounting challenges are interrelated, contributing collectively to overall accounting complexity. The study highlights the need for improved accounting support, compliance simplification, and enhanced financial literacy to strengthen accounting practices in the trade sector. The findings offer useful insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers concerned with accounting issues in emerging market economies.
EMERGENCE OF REGIONAL POLITICAL PARTIES IN MANIPUR AFTER 2002: A STUDY
In the electoral politics of Manipur, regional political parties have been playing a significant role through the formation of governments or through acting as the opposition party by raising political questions and demanding regional political aspirations. The genesis of regional political parties can be traced back to before Indian independence. The Nikhil Manipuri Mahasabha was founded in 1934 with Maharaj Churachand Singh as president and Jananeta Hijam Erabot as vice president. The Mahasabha played an important role in realising democracy and attaining freedom from colonialism, which was eventually manifested in the form of the Independence of India from British colonialism. After Indian independence in 1947, regional political parties of Manipur, such as Manipur United Front (MUF), Manipur People’s Party (MPP), Manipur Hill Union (MHU), Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP), etc., were formed, which eventually came to power. Just after statehood, the Manipur People’s Party (MPP) formed the government in 1972. Notably, Manipur Hill Union(MHU) formed the government with Yangmaso Shaiza as Chief Minister in 1974, and in the subsequent years, the regional political party, the so-called Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP), formed the government with W. Nipamacha Singh as Chief Minister. But after the MSCP coalition government was formed, no regional political party could form the government in the subsequent years. Thus, there has been a rise and the submergence of regional political parties. It rose when people offended National Political Parties on account of their inability to materialise regional political aspirations, and the submergence of regional political parties happened when parties failed to uphold the state people’s political aspirations. Ultimately, a resurgence of regional political parties of Manipur is being witnessed, especially after the outbreak of ethnic conflict in Manipur on 3rd May, 2023.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL AS CORRELATES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL- BEING AMONG BANK EMPLOYEES
This study, carried out in 2024 among bank employees, examined the association between psychological capital and psychological well-being within them, with a spotlight on gender distinctions. The research hypothesized positive correlations between psychological capital and psychological well-being, as well as components of psychological capital (hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism) and psychological well-being. This was a quantitative study with a correlational design. The data was collected through purposive sampling from 80 bank employees (40 males and 40 females) aged between 25-30 years, representing various hierarchical levels within the banking sector. The data was analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results indicated no gender discrepancies in bothpsychological capital and psychological well-being among bank employees. Additionally, psychological capitaldemonstrated a positive correlation with psychological well-being. Components of psychological capital, efficacy,resilience, and optimism showed positive correlations with psychological well-being, while hope displayed a negativecorrelation. These findings underscored the importance of psychological capital in fostering psychological well-beingamong bank employees.
MODERN DEMOCRATIC PRACTICES AND INDIGENOUS POLITICAL TRADITIONS AMONG THE NAGAS
Modern democratic practices, particularly electoral democracy, have shaped the socio-political life of the Nagas in the state of Nagaland. The introduction of competitive elections and modern democratic institutions after statehood in 1963 has significantly altered indigenous democratic practices that were predominantly communitarian rather than individualistic in orientation. While liberal democratic norms focus on individual autonomy, secret ballots and party competition, Naga society has historically prioritised collective decision-making rooted in clan, village and customary authority. Drawing on secondary sources, the study situates Naga political traditions within their historical context of village republics, customary laws and consensus-based governance. The paper highlights how electoral practices such as bloc voting, household voting and the selection of “consensus candidates” reflect local adaptations to modern democracy rather than outright rejection of it. At the same time, the study identifies contemporary challenges such as money politics, erosion of community integration and tensions between constitutional democracy and customary norms. The paper argues for a contextualised understanding of democracy that recognises the plurality of democratic expressions.
GELEPHU MINDFULNESS CITY AND BEYOND: INDIA BHUTAN ECONOMIC SYNERGY IN 2025.
The Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) Project of Bhutan is an innovative urban developmental project. It symbolises a transformative moment in Bhutan’s development trajectory and the broader India–Bhutan partnership. Visualised by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the proposed 1,000 sq. km ambitious city project is in the Sarpang district of southern Bhutan. GMC aims to diversify Bhutan’s economy beyond hydropower while preserving its cultural and ecological integrity. For India, the project provides an opportunity to increase economic synergy through connectivity, digital integration, energy cooperation, and human capital development. This project intends to bring better connectivity through the Kokrajhar - Gelephu rail link, improved cross-border trade, expansion of India’s UPI and RuPay payment systems, and collaboration in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure. Beyond Gelephu, this initiative also reflects a wider convergence in trade, tourism, digital economy, and regional connectivity under India’s Act East Policy. This paper highlights that GMC is not just an urban development plan but a symbol of people-centric, mindfulness and sustainability. It focuses on how India and Bhutan jointly craft a model of growth that balances prosperity with cultural values and ecological stewardship.
DYNAMICS OF FOREST LOSS IN NAGALAND, INDIA, 2000 - 2024: A GOOGLE EARTH ENGINE-BASED ANALYSIS
Forest Cover loss is a crucial driver of environmental degradation. Forest loss has a significant impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Despite being the most forested and biologically diverse regions in India, the forests of Northeast India have experienced significant alteration due to growing human pressures. This study evaluates the spatio-temporal patterns of forest cover loss in Nagaland from 2000 to 2024 using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. Annual forest cover loss was assessed using the Hansen Global Forest Change (GFC) v1.12. Proximate drivers of forest loss were examined using the WRI/Google DeepMind Global Drivers of Forest Loss v1.2 dataset, and results were validated against biennial state-level forest cover estimates from the Indian State of Forest Report. The results reveal a cumulative forest loss of approximately 3,646.97 sq. km over the study period. A distinct shift was observed from relatively steady forest loss during 2001-2010 to accelerated deforestation after 2011. The highest forest loss occurred in 2017 and remained consistently high through 2024. Spatial analysis shows that forest loss is unevenly distributed within the eastern and southeastern Nagaland, experiencing the most extensive and concentrated loss. Driver analysis indicates that shifting cultivation is the dominant driver, which accounts for nearly 77% of driver-attributed forest loss, followed by logging. Strong agreement between Hansen-derived forest loss estimates and Forest cover trends from the India State of Forest Report confirms that the observed decline reflects a persistent transformation in Nagaland’s Forest cover. The findings highlight the need for targeted land-use interventions and sustainable forest management strategies to address anthropogenic forest loss in the region.
Financial Independence and Women’s Decision-Making Power: A Cross-Cultural Sociological Analysis
Financial independence is widely regarded as a crucial component of women’s empowerment; however, its influence on decision-making power is significantly shaped by socio-cultural contexts. This study examines the relationship between financial independence and women’s decision-making power from a sociological perspective, with special reference to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Using a case study approach, the research adopts a mixed-method design that combines primary data collected through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with secondary data from governmental and academic sources. The findings reveal that financially independent women demonstrate increased participation in routine household decisions such as daily expenditure, healthcare, and children’s education. Nonetheless, employment alone does not ensure autonomy. Control over income, marital status, family structure, and prevailing patriarchal norms strongly mediate women’s authority in major financial and life decisions. A cross-cultural comparison indicates that women in Lucknow experience conditional empowerment when compared with women in more gender-egalitarian cultural settings. The study concludes that financial independence, though necessary, is insufficient to ensure full decision-making power without supportive cultural and institutional transformations. By grounding sociological theory in local empirical realities, this research contributes original insights to the discourse on gender, power, and development.
ASYMMETRIC FEDERALISM IN THE NORTHEAST AND THE DEMOCRATIC STRUGGLE FOR SIXTH SCHEDULE IN MANIPUR
The paper examines the unique constitutional arrangements granted to some states in the Northeast with reference to sixth schedule. It explores the democratic struggle of the tribals for the implementation of sixth schedule in Manipur, as they have been left out of the scheme unlike their counterparts in other states of the Northeast. The paper aims to contribute to deeper understanding of asymmetric federalism in India and the quest for democratic empowerment among the tribals in Manipur.
LEXICAL COHESION IN EDUCATIONAL DISCOURSE: EXPLORING APPLIED LINGUISTICS RESEARCH ARTICLES’ ABSTRACTS”OF URUN
The publication of Halliday and Hasan (1976) appealed to the concept of cohesion in writings among discourse analysts. Depiction on this vital study, scholars have been exploring cohesion in both monologic and dialogic discourses of diverse languages (Taboada, 2004; Angermeyer, 2002), genres (Tanskanen, 2006; Hoey, 2005), and registers (Hasan, 1984; Hoey, 1991). The emphasis of this study was to scrutinise lexical cohesion in abstracts of research articles from Applied Linguistics. The study intended to (1) identify the sorts and frequencies of lexical ties employed in the writing of the Applied Linguistics research articles abstracts and (2) scrutinise how the lexical ties applied in the writing of the Applied Linguistics research articles' abstracts donate to the coherence of the abstracts. The research method was quantitative and qualitative, and the abstracts of 50 research articles from Discourse Analysis, Critical Discourse Analysis, Contrastive Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition were experimented with. The researcher culled the information from online databases and had 8,690 words. The study employed Halliday and Hasan's (1976) lexical cohesion framework. The analysis exposed 802 lexical ties intersententially, where Repetition (52%) was the most preeminent, followed by Collocation (15%) and hyponymy (10.9%). The data also established that lexical cohesion underwrites enormously in the propositional expansion of all the move constructions typical of research article abstract as a genre used in Applied Linguistics. To achieve that, the researcher considered the prerequisite for studies of this nature across chastisements.