Nishaant Choksi – författare

Investigating the communicative practices of indigenous Santali speakers in eastern India, Nishaant Choksi examines the overlooked role of script in regional movements for autonomy to provide one of the first comprehensive theoretical and ethnographical accounts of ‘graphic politics’.Based on extensive fieldwork in the villages of southwestern West Bengal, Choksi explores the deployment of Santali scripts, including a newly created script called Ol Chiki, in Bengali-dominated local markets, the education system and in the circulation of print media. He shows how manipulating the linguistic landscape and challenging the idea of a vernacular enables Santali speakers to delineate their own political domains and scale their language on local, regional and national levels. In doing so, they contest Bengali-speaking upper castes’ hegemony over public spaces and institutions, as well as the administrative demarcations of the contemporary Indian nation-state.Combining semiotic theory with ethnographically grounded investigation, Graphic Politics in Eastern India provides a new framework for understanding writing and literacy practices among ethnic minorities and points to future directions for interdisciplinary research on indigenous autonomy in South Asia.

Investigating the communicative practices of indigenous Santali speakers in eastern India, Nishaant Choksi examines the overlooked role of script in regional movements for autonomy to provide one of the first comprehensive theoretical and ethnographical accounts of ''graphic politics''.Based on extensive fieldwork in the villages of southwestern West Bengal, Choksi explores the deployment of Santali scripts, including a newly created script called Ol Chiki, in Bengali-dominated local markets, the education system and in the circulation of print media. He shows how manipulating the linguistic landscape and challenging the idea of a vernacular enables Santali speakers to delineate their own political domains and scale their language on local, regional and national levels. In doing so, they contest Bengali-speaking upper castes'' hegemony over public spaces and institutions, as well as the administrative demarcations of the contemporary Indian nation-state.Combining semiotic theory with ethnographically grounded investigation, Graphic Politics in Eastern India provides a new framework for understanding writing and literacy practices among ethnic minorities and points to future directions for interdisciplinary research on indigenous autonomy in South Asia.

Investigating the communicative practices of indigenous Santali speakers in eastern India, Nishaant Choksi examines the overlooked role of script in regional movements for autonomy to provide one of the first comprehensive theoretical and ethnographical accounts of ''graphic politics''.Based on extensive fieldwork in the villages of southwestern West Bengal, Choksi explores the deployment of Santali scripts, including a newly created script called Ol Chiki, in Bengali-dominated local markets, the education system and in the circulation of print media. He shows how manipulating the linguistic landscape and challenging the idea of a vernacular enables Santali speakers to delineate their own political domains and scale their language on local, regional and national levels. In doing so, they contest Bengali-speaking upper castes'' hegemony over public spaces and institutions, as well as the administrative demarcations of the contemporary Indian nation-state.Combining semiotic theory with ethnographically grounded investigation, Graphic Politics in Eastern India provides a new framework for understanding writing and literacy practices among ethnic minorities and points to future directions for interdisciplinary research on indigenous autonomy in South Asia.

Investigating the communicative practices of indigenous Santali speakers in eastern India, Nishaant Choksi examines the overlooked role of script in regional movements for autonomy to provide one of the first comprehensive theoretical and ethnographical accounts of ‘graphic politics’.Based on extensive fieldwork in the villages of southwestern West Bengal, Choksi explores the deployment of Santali scripts, including a newly created script called Ol Chiki, in Bengali-dominated local markets, the education system and in the circulation of print media. He shows how manipulating the linguistic landscape and challenging the idea of a vernacular enables Santali speakers to delineate their own political domains and scale their language on local, regional and national levels. In doing so, they contest Bengali-speaking upper castes’ hegemony over public spaces and institutions, as well as the administrative demarcations of the contemporary Indian nation-state.Combining semiotic theory with ethnographically grounded investigation, Graphic Politics in Eastern India provides a new framework for understanding writing and literacy practices among ethnic minorities and points to future directions for interdisciplinary research on indigenous autonomy in South Asia.

The volume introduces a diverse range of themes and practices relating to sustainable heritage management. Each paper delves into the challenges, successes, and failures of preserving precious cultural heritage. It discusses various strategies, such as the early inclusion of archaeology in UNESCO frameworks to leveraging archaeological findings and indigenous knowledge for sustainable development goals. The chapters explore the evolution of autoarchaeology as a tool for empowering Indigenous communities to assert their human rights and integrating oral histories and local ecological knowledge to interpret ancient remains. Additionally, it highlights the value of archaeologists working more closely with Indigenous peoples, local communities, and other disciplines in identifying, preserving, conserving and managing heritage sites. It appeals to archaeologists, anthropologists, cultural geographers, cultural heritage professionals and others seeking new ways to protect cultural heritage.