Shylashri Shankar – författare

In an attempt to respond to the needs of the country's poor, the Indian government launched an ambitious workfare scheme, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in 2005, which guaranteed hundred days of employment in unskilled manual labour at a minimum wage to every rural household each year. The book assesses the effectiveness of formal and informal mechanisms-political representation, community social audits, access to information, membership in networks, political competition-in reducing corrupt practices and enabling NREGA to reach its intended beneficiaries in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The book tests several intuitions and finds that, among other things, political representation for scheduled castes and tribes, and women has produced dividends in the form of higher participation and higher earnings in the scheme by these groups. Low access to information, on the other hand, has hindered the effective functioning of these mechanisms. Written in non-technical language, it is one of the few studies of its kind that blends econometric and ethnographic analyses towards a better understanding of the effective implementation of the scheme.

This book traces religion and secularity in eleven countries not shaped by Western Christianity (Japan, China, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, and Morocco), and how they parallel or diverge from Charles Taylor's grand narrative of the North Atlantic world, A Secular Age (2007). In all eleven cases, the state - enhanced by post-colonial and post-imperial legacies - highly determines religious experience, by variably regulating religious belief, practice, property, education and/or law. Taylor's core condition of secularity - namely, legal permissibility and social acceptance of open religious unbelief (Secularity III) - is largely absent in these societies. The areas affected by state regulation, however, differ greatly. In India, Israel and most Muslim countries, questions of religious law are central to state regulation. But it is religious education and organization in China, and church property and public practice in Russia that bear the brunt. This book explains these differences using the concept of 'differential burdening'.

This book traces religion and secularity in eleven countries not shaped by Western Christianity (Japan, China, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, and Morocco), and how they parallel or diverge from Charles Taylor's grand narrative of the North Atlantic world, A Secular Age (2007). In all eleven cases, the state - enhanced by post-colonial and post-imperial legacies - highly determines religious experience, by variably regulating religious belief, practice, property, education and/or law. Taylor's core condition of secularity - namely, legal permissibility and social acceptance of open religious unbelief (Secularity III) - is largely absent in these societies. The areas affected by state regulation, however, differ greatly. In India, Israel and most Muslim countries, questions of religious law are central to state regulation. But it is religious education and organization in China, and church property and public practice in Russia that bear the brunt. This book explains these differences using the concept of 'differential burdening'.

Seven guests. One killer. Who is it?Hyderabad, India; 1895. Seven guests are invited by the Premier Minister to the opulent Faluknama Palace to witness the sale of a rare diamond. They do not know each other, but each is hoping to secure something important from the weekend.When their host fails to appear, Chief Inspector Soobramania – known as Soob – is asked to step in, and safeguard the near-priceless gem.Meanwhile, a visitor from Scotland Yard brings Inspector Wilberforce – Soob’s counterpart in the British Residency Police force – news of a deadly revolutionary collaborator: none other than Soob himself. Wilberforce is forced to question everything he thinks he knows about the man as they head to the palace to arrest him.But then a ferocious monsoon descends; the roads are washed out and with an escaped panther stalking them, everyone is trapped in the hilltop palace. When the jewel goes missing and a guest is murdered, only one thing is certain: both the killer and the diamond are still there.With Soob suspected of treason to the Crown and the British police officers blinkered by fear and prejudice, will anybody be able to solve the crime before there is another victim?A perfectly pitched historical crime thriller from a rising star of the genre, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.

Is Jack the Ripper at large on the streets of Victorian India?Hyderabad, India, 1895. When three bodies are discovered with mutilations bearing an eerie resemblance to the Ripper's Whitechapel victims, Chief Inspector Soobramania known as Soob is summoned to investigate.Suspicion alights upon three powerful men: a Russian grand duke and an English earl visiting the city, and their friend, a Deccani noble, who is also the stepson of one of the victims.Faced with the thorny imperial politics of accusing relatives of Queen Victoria, Soob must ally with his rival in the British Residency Police, Inspector Wilberforce, to hunt down the killer.So begins a deadly game of cat and mouse played in the shadow of empire, where high birth protects foul deeds and where spilt blood counts for less than wealth.A richly textured and utterly compelling historical crime thriller from a dazzling debut voice.Praise for Blood Caste'An immersive new entry in the recent flowering of India-set crime fiction, vividly bringing to life the city of Hyderabad at the turn of the nineteenth century. An exotic take on the Ripper legend' Vaseem Khan, author of City of Destruction'A crackling Victorian-era thriller... intricate and mesmerising' Bonnie MacBird, author of Art in the Blood'Blood Caste is at once a twisty mystery, a richly evocative slice of history and a searing deep-dive into the uneasy political, racial and religious cross-currents of Victorian India... Shylashri Shankar is a name to watch - hopefully there will be further adventures to come for Inspector Soobramania and his appealing team of allies!' Kate Quinn, author of The Alice Network'A vibrant and beguiling debut. I loved this tale of late nineteenth-century Hyderabad, with its brilliantly rendered settings and cast of colourful characters, headed by the engaging Chief Inspector Soobramania. Definitely one to watch' S.G. MacLean, author of The Seeker'Engrossing and evocative, extensively researched and tightly plotted, Blood Caste is an atmospheric exploration of a series of terrible murders in the princely state of Hyderabad, during the times of the British Raj... What a pleasure it is to lose yourself in the book, sink into the rich descriptions of Hyderabadi culture, and the mesmerizing beauty of the city itself' Harini Nagendra, author of The Bangalore Detectives Club series'Gripping and atmospheric' Phil Lecomber, author of Midnight Streets

Is Jack the Ripper at large on the streets of Victorian India?Hyderabad, India, 1895. When three bodies are discovered with mutilations bearing an eerie resemblance to the Ripper's Whitechapel victims, Chief Inspector Soobramania known as Soob is summoned to investigate.Suspicion alights upon three powerful men: a Russian grand duke and an English earl visiting the city, and their friend, a Deccani noble, who is also the stepson of one of the victims.Faced with the thorny imperial politics of accusing relatives of Queen Victoria, Soob must ally with his rival in the British Residency Police, Inspector Wilberforce, to hunt down the killer.So begins a deadly game of cat and mouse played in the shadow of empire, where high birth protects foul deeds and where spilt blood counts for less than wealth.A richly textured and utterly compelling historical crime thriller from a dazzling debut voice.Praise for Blood Caste 'An immersive new entry in the recent flowering of India-set crime fiction, vividly bringing to life the city of Hyderabad at the turn of the nineteenth century. An exotic take on the Ripper legend' Vaseem Khan, author of City of Destruction'A crackling Victorian-era thriller... intricate and mesmerising' Bonnie MacBird, author of Art in the Blood'Blood Caste is at once a twisty mystery, a richly evocative slice of history and a searing deep-dive into the uneasy political, racial and religious cross-currents of Victorian India... Shylashri Shankar is a name to watch - hopefully there will be further adventures to come for Inspector Soobramania and his appealing team of allies!' Kate Quinn, author of The Alice Network'A vibrant and beguiling debut. I loved this tale of late nineteenth-century Hyderabad, with its brilliantly rendered settings and cast of colourful characters, headed by the engaging Chief Inspector Soobramania. Definitely one to watch' S.G. MacLean, author of The Seeker'Engrossing and evocative, extensively researched and tightly plotted, Blood Caste is an atmospheric exploration of a series of terrible murders in the princely state of Hyderabad, during the times of the British Raj... What a pleasure it is to lose yourself in the book, sink into the rich descriptions of Hyderabadi culture, and the mesmerizing beauty of the city itself' Harini Nagendra, author of The Bangalore Detectives Club series'Gripping and atmospheric' Phil Lecomber, author of Midnight Streets

El Tribunal Supremo indio, El Tribunal Constitucional sudafricano y la Corte Constitucional colombiana son tres de los tribunales más importantes y creativos del Sur Global. Este libro explora de manera detallada la jurisprudencia de estos tres tribunales sobre: derechos sociales y económicos, diversidad cultural y acceso a la justicia. Temas relacionados directamente con la pobreza y la desigualdad, la violencia política, las minorías culturales y la consolidación del Estado de derecho. Este libro es una contribución valiosa a la discusión sobre los límites y estructura del constitucionalismo contemporáneo.

El Tribunal Supremo indio, El Tribunal Constitucional sudafricano y la Corte Constitucional colombiana son tres de los tribunales más importantes y creativos del Sur Global. Este libro explora de manera detallada la jurisprudencia de estos tres tribunales sobre: derechos sociales y económicos, diversidad cultural y acceso a la justicia. Temas relacionados directamente con la pobreza y la desigualdad, la violencia política, las minorías culturales y la consolidación del Estado de derecho. Este libro es una contribución valiosa a la discusión sobre los límites y estructura del constitucionalismo contemporáneo.