Research Article Open Access

Bargaining with Goliath: Knowledge Society and Vulnerable Communities, Lessons from Kerala

Abstract

This paper tries to address a few hypothetical questions such as how marginalized sections like adivasis in the state, who are unable to acquire their special socio-economic rights from the state, will bargain with capital at a time when the state itself is conceding to capital. When state power is privatized, to what extent will these communities be able to bargain with the newly formed power structures? In this scenario, how far Kerala’s vision of the knowledge economy will be inclusive for Adivasis? The idea of a knowledge society is supposed to reduce information asymmetry and create capability by empowering these communities to participate in the local economy so they can produce knowledge which is essential for holding sufficient power in the bargain or at least can make informed decisions when presented with choices offered by the state-capital nexus. These questions will be addressed by analyzing the communities participation in education and ‘skill development’ and the status of their rights over the resources. Beginning with a brief history of Adivasi’s exclusion from the process of production in the state this paper further discusses how the state is looking at these issues at a time when the demand for a ‘right-based approach’ gets more prominence in social policy discourses. It is pertinent to understand the scenario of how the economic relations in the state viz-a-viz these communities will unfold after the arrival of global capital in the form of mega projects and its impact on the already excluded sections in society

Abhilash Thadathil

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