Vidhu Verma

Jawaharlal Nehru University
Gargi College, Delhi University
  •  1103
    Reinterpreting Buddhism: Ambedkar on the Politics of Social Action.
    Economic and Political Weekly 56-65. 2010.
    B R Ambedkar’s reinterpretation of Buddhism gives us an account of action that is based on democratic politics of contest and resistance. It relies on a reading of the self as a multiple creature that exceeds the constructions of liberal autonomy. Insofar as Buddhist groups do not jeopardise or restrict their members’ capacities and opportunities to make any decision about their own lives, they do not risk violating democratic principles. But to remain socially relevant they must continu…Read more
  •  739
    Public Religions in a Postsecular Era: Habermas and Gandhi on Revisioning the Political
    Telos: Critical Theory of the Contemporary 2014 (167): 49-67. 2014.
    An embedded ideology of the religious-secular binary in its various forms has assumed currency in recent continental and Anglo-American political thought. This ideology highlights the difference between religion under modernization, broadly defined by the secularization thesis, and that of religious revival in a period characterized by postsecularism. It reflects the rise of new epistemologies and the dissolution of the antinomies between faith and reason characteristic of a postsecular culture.…Read more
  •  465
    Colonialism and Liberation: Ambedkar’s Quest for Distributive Justice
    Economic and Political Weekly 34 (39): 2804-2810. 1999.
    Ambedkar denounced caste system for violating the respect and dignity of the individual; yet his critique of caste-ridden society also foregrounds the limits of the theory and practice of citizenship and liberal politics in India. Since membership of a caste group was not a voluntary choice, but determined by birth and hence a coercive association, the liberal view of the self as a totally unencumbered and radically free subject seemed plagued with difficulties. Though the nation state e…Read more
  •  293
    Engendering Development. Limits of Feminist theories and Justice,
    Economic and Political Weekly 34 (49): 5246-5252. 2004.
    Recent feminist critiques of development have questioned some fundamental assumptions of feminist political theory; such critiques have also been successful in subverting long-held assumptions of conventional economic development. Viewed in the context of women’s subordination in third world countries, a redefinition of development must not only be about economic growth, but ensure a redistribution of resources, challenge the gender-based division of labour and also seek to provide for an e…Read more
  •  215
  •  203
    Conceptualising Social Exclusion: New Rhetoric or Transformative Politics?
    Economic and Political Weekly (9): 89-97. 2011.
    The debate on equality and non-discrimination is certainly not a new one, but the way it is incorporated in that on social exclusion leads to several shifts within the discourse on social justice. The term social exclusion is multidimensional although its western use in a selective way about markets promoting equality separates it from the Indian emphasis on social justice as linked to ending discrimination of dalit groups. The concept of social exclusion is inherently problematic as it …Read more
  •  175
    The essays study from different perspectives, the much discussed and crucial topic of social discrimination, and particularly Dalit exploitation. The work is highly interdisciplinary in nature-relevant for several subjects and disciplines such as political science, sociology, Dalit studies, minority studies, women's studies, anthropology, law, economics This work specifically sets out to explore contemporary manifestations of discrimination that persist in our society through institutions and th…Read more
  •  174
    Social Justice is a concept familiar to most Indians but one whose meaning is not always understood as it signifies a variety of government strategies designed to enhance opportunities for underprivileged groups. By tracing the trajectory of social justice from the colonial period to the present, this book examines how it informs ideas, practices and debates on discrimination and disadvantage today. After outlining the historical context for reservations for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes…Read more
  •  31
    A careful and wide-ranging assessment of the notion of justice in the Marxist tradition is provided by this book. Vidhu Verma demonstrates that Marx's analysis of exploitation provides a fruitful starting point to analyze current social conflicts. She examines three main themes: what she calls Marx's "critical non-juridical" concept of justice; different theories about what justice is in the context of social change; and the relevance of Marx's theory in the contemporary world in which new socia…Read more