Articles by Abdul Shaban

The city-building process in the global South is characterised by both the state and corporate-led production of “fast” cities. It is interesting to note that while many cities in the global North are moving towards alternative development regimes under the “slow city” movement, urban production in traditional societies of the global South is being enslaved to “speed.” The analysis of the changes being brought about in these cities reveals how alternative forms of development and social organisation—termed as slow cities, akin to slow food—can lead to more sustainable cities and “eurhythmia” in urban life.

Epistemological issues related to space, which form the core of disciplinary enquiry in geography, remain unresolved. In classical Marxian meta-theory, “space” is not assigned any meaningful role, but is treated as noise or a complicating factor. Many neo-Marxist and cultural geographers have also adopted an ambivalent stance towards the primacy of space in social theory. As such, the lack of a meta-theory, ineffective integration of theories from other social science disciplines, and an inadequate conception of “space” have resulted in the increased marginalisation of geography and geographers in the social sciences.

The question of regional development holds special significance for India, given that the regions are not entirely homogeneous. The high growth rate of the economy as a whole has not led to a similar growth pattern for its regions. An analysis on regional convergence across 15 major states in India suggests that there is divergence of the aggregate economy for the period 1970–71 to 2013–14. The findings therefore do not lend support to the expectations of the neoclassical convergence hypothesis according to which poor regions tend to catch up with the advanced regions in the long run leading to regional convergence.

The State continues to support Urdu medium schools under the constitutional obligation to provide primary education in the child's mother tongue. However, those educated in Urdu find their employment prospects rather bleak. They are also unable to do well at the higher levels of education where the medium of instruction is often English. Since nearly 95% of the students in Urdu schools in Maharashtra belong to a deprived religious minority, it also adversely affects the community's overall representation in the public and private sectors.

Temperatures are rising in Kullu in Himachal Pradesh where farmers are dependent on the rains for agriculture. This article uses meteorological data to provide evidence of gradual climate change in the region that might affect livelihoods.