Lily and Esther have been in New Delhi for 17 and 22 years respectively. The former came to the city as a fresh graduate to pursue a Masters and the latter, to do an undergraduate degree. They have several things in common, despite differences in their ages and experience. Both belong to the north-eastern states of India, though from a different city and tribe. One identifies herself as a Naga, the other as a Mizo. Their ethnic identities, they point out, are evident from their facial features – a flat nose, small eyes and a heavily accented Hindi they speak.
Continue reading ‘Is this home? Not so much!’ – Gender, Ethnicity and Belongingness to the CityAuthor: Yamini Agarwal
Yamini Agarwal has a PhD in Sociology of Education from Jawaharlal Nehru University, awarded in March 2020. Her thesis explored the role of minority schools in creation and propagation of the notion of ‘ideal’ religious identity. She received the Charles Wallace India Trust Fellowship in 2017 which allowed her two months of research and archival work in London. Yamini's areas of interest are minority education, conflict and education, urban education and marginality. She works with the Max Weber Stiftung's India Branch Office, where she is associated with the project 'Education and the Urban'. Yamini has taught courses in Sociology as a guest lecturer in Delhi. She presented papers at several national and international conferences, including at the Oxford Research Symposium, University of Oxford. Yamini has published papers in Contemporary Education Dialogue and Sikh Formations. She has written a paper titled 'Urban Marginalisation, Exclusion and Education: The Widows’ Colony in Delhi' as part of the MWS-IBO ‘Education and the Urban’ working paper series. The paper will be published in November 2020.