Sabab, 7th Volume, 2023

SABAB |Volume 7, 2023 Department of Political Science Lady Shri Ram College for Women

Nestled at the heart of this illustration is an androgynous figure, adorned with a blindfold that veils their sight. Yet, from the depths of their skull, a number of eyes emerge, each possessing its own distinct essence. These eyes, in their diversity, peer into the boundless realm of alternative realities, each meticulously seeking a unique perspective. They stand as testaments to the infinite lenses through which we perceive the tapestry of existence. On the figure's neck is a symbol of profound significance—a delicate interplay of two interconnected circles, unified by the piercing point of a needle. Symbolic of fluidity and metamorphosis, this emblem encapsulates the essence of shifting realities and ceaseless change. Above it is the Viking emblem that beckons one to "create your own reality." An array of objects and trinkets adorn the figure's base, akin to a necklace. Each artefact embodies a profound theme reflective of our current reality. The wheelchair symbolises inclusivity and the imperative of championing the rights of all. Close by, the balance of justice serves as a potent reminder of the eternal quest for fairness. A spear adorned with feathers intertwines strength and one’s roots, while a vintage film camera invites us to witness diverse narratives in media. The hourglass reminds us of time’s fleeting nature and its preciousness. The vibrant rainbow pride flag celebrates love and acceptance, while an uplifted, chained fist signifies resistance and solidarity, evoking the struggle for justice. Together, these elements create a captivating tapestry that encourages introspection, contemplation, and empowerment, urging us to embrace the kaleidoscope of realities that define our existence. About the Cover

Sabab is the annual academic journal of the Department of Political Science, Lady Shri Ram College for Women. In Urdu, the word Sabab means reason or cause. It implies the quest for the grounding of the abstract, the grasping of the metaphysical. Sabab publishes a compilation of imaginative, ambitious undergraduate papers each year with the aim of encouraging critical thinking and meaningful engagement with the political phenomena around us. SABAB The Annual Academic Journal Department of Political Science Lady Shri Ram College for Women 2023

Published in New Delhi Department of Political Science Lady Shri Ram College for Women Lajpat Nagar- IV, New Delhi Delhi- 110024 Ph- 011-26434459 © Department of Political Science, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, 2022 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 The moral rights of the contributing authors are reserved. These are the views of the authors themselves and are not intended to make assertions on the sensitivity of any community or social group. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission in writing from the Department of Political Science, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi. ADVISORY BOARD Dr. Manisha Chaurasiya Dr. Nancy Pathak Dr. Shilpi Singh Dr. Vagesh Pawaiya EDITORIAL BOARD Editors in Chief Avika Singh Shreya Ganguly Editors Amrutha Ravisankar Gul Mathur Saachi Singh Venya Dhyani Illustrators Madhulina Sonowal Shrivali Singh POLITICAL SCIENCE UNION 2022-23 President Gurveen Kaur General Secretary Abhirami Anil Dev Treasurer Archita Ray Alternatives

Faculty Note Dr. Manisha Chaurasiya, Dr. Nancy Pathak, Dr. Shilpi Singh & Dr. Vagesh Pawaiya Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 As we sit down to write the faculty note to this edition of the journal themed ‘Alternatives’ there are two instances we are reminded of. One is a scene from a widely acclaimed movie, Parasite. It captures the contrasting reactions to rain which is a gift of nature. It is their respective class disposition that impacts their reaction to an overnight thunderstorm. For one class with humble economic background, living in underground settings, the overnight rain was a test of their precarious living. While for the other class, with economic affluence, it was merely a respite from the scorching heat. The other instance we are reminded of is the description of ‘night’ from a novel by a well known author, Bill Hayes called The Insomniac City. While for some, it is the time when life comes to a halt. However, for the author, the ‘night’ was the time when he came alive. Sitting by the window of his apartment, which was on a busy street, he would weave stories of the people walking through the roads, out of the subways, entering different department stores to pick up their supplies and then walking home with their partners and loved ones, maybe, with a cup of coffee, a burger, or a falafel. What we are hinting at through these is exactly what the journal tries to do through this edition: There is no absolute reality just like there is no absolute truth. What we see or cohabit with is defined by an interpolation of determinants which create a sociopolitical-economic-cultural milieu that we define as reality. Even in the most banal and mundane, realities can be multiple. Amongst all these determinants, one or more determinants become more overwhelming than the others due to power dynamics. However, at the cost of sounding postmodernist, there is an element of falsifiability in everything. According to Karl Popper in Conjectures and Refutations, the Alternatives

Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Alternatives criterion of the scientific status of a theory is its falsifiability, or refutability, or testability. For him, falsifiability is neither about meaningfulness, significance, nor a problem of truth or acceptability. It rather believes in the fact that for statements to be scientific, it must be capable of conflicting with possible observations. Thomas Kuhn in Objectivity, Value Judgment, and Theory Choice argues that scientists, while proving one theory and disapproving another use techniques of persuasion, argument and counter-arguments in a situation where there can be no proof to keeping rationality on the go. According to Kuhn, any good theory contains accuracy, consistency, scope, simplicity, and fruitfulness. These characteristics help in evaluating the adequacy of theories. In Marxism, we often refer to this engagement as thesisanti-thesis which ultimately leads to the synthesis of the opposing view to come up with an alternative best suited. Similarly, Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya in What is Living and What is Dead in Indian Philosophy argues that in Indian Philosophy, the conversation between paksh and pratipaksh drives philosophy forward. Here, the starting point of philosophy is jigyasa, a quest, or a curiosity to find answers that are based on pramaan, anubhav and parikshan. The refutations that come along lead to the reinterpretation of evidence and theories while simultaneously contextualising our subjective and objective underpinnings. It is no surprise then that all scientific and positivist theories originated from myths and that there is always an element of scientific theory in every myth. To be fruitful of new research findings is a hallmark of any good theory. However, what is crucial here is for us to look for confirmations and refutations. As mentioned above, it is equally important to refute theories. Irrefutability of a theory is not a virtue, but a vice, as argued by Popper. Corroborating evidences with factual and subjective understandings is pivotal in this process of refutability. It is here that the judgment of the individual becomes decisive. Here, we would like to take us back to the classic essay by Immanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment?. For Kant, enlightenment is man’s (yes, women were excluded) release from his selfincurred tutelage. Tutelage is the inability to use his own understanding without direction or guidance from others. The exercise of the mind in deciphering the socio-political-economic -cultural space along with understanding

Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Alternatives the nuances of concepts like liberty, equality, justice, rights, and tolerance are important to achieve a steady pace and free oneself from drudgery and incompetence. As young and responsible citizens, it is important to claim, reclaim, fight and safeguard the freedom to make public use of one’s reason and rationality, especially in a swiftly shrinking democratic and liberal space. The curtailment of reason is nothing less than being barbaric. Reason and rationality is the capability that unites us as individuals. Human beings stand out as a species because they possess the capacity of reason or the capability to rationally think and decide in a free space. And it is only through this rigour that the pursuit of knowledge/philosophy moves forward. Thus, philosophy is an activity as has been argued by Ludwig Wittgenstein in Tractatus Logico-Pilosophicus. It is not a theory, neither is it a doctrine. For him, philosophy is an activity of clarifications, primarily of thoughts. More importantly, it is an activity of critique. Therefore, philosophers (and the ones in the making) should respond and engage with existing philosophies by showing what is wrong or missing in them, but through the use of logical tools. An engaging mind, a thinking mind, a rational and logical mind, and a critiquing mind is crucial for philosophy to move forward. It is no surprise then that later Wittgenstein found his own idea of philosophy not being a doctrine and hence must not be approached dogmatically, dogmatic. Keeping this transient and evanescent nature of philosophy in mind, the question that troubles us is: what is the meaning of the world, that is made of facts and propositions (logical picture of facts) when it is so ephemeral? Here, it becomes crucial to understand that the meaning of any word is actually the use in the language. And it is our responsibility to build logical propositions to attach use to any word. Or as later Wittgenstein prophesies in Philosophical Investigations, philosophies should not provide us with theory or explanations or deductions. The central responsibility of philosophy is to put everything before us. There is no need for any explanation since everything is before us to examine or investigate. However, the process of examination and investigation is overbearingly influenced by the social institutions that try to normalise certain ideas, values, meanings and uses. The education system is yet another normalising institution that tries to

Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Alternatives create embedded identities and realities contrary to the fluidity of social identities. Thus, it becomes important to ask annoying and discomforting questions through poetry, humour, satire, writing, philosophical and theoretical engagements, deconstructive tools and critical engagements to reflect on knowledge systems. Sabab through its theme of ‘Alternatives’ tries to precisely do this. It tries to think and take responsibility for the claims of individual understandings and subjectivities through an engagement with papers on: alternative articulation on societies driven by data and control in an age of consumer capitalism, questions of inclusion and accessibility through architectural design, the question of gender in diplomacy and foreign policy, democracy without party systems, queer baiting and queer coding as modalities of queer representation, re-imagining emotions and love as deeply political, understanding the self and other in a world without places, reconceptualising agency and subversion of Tagorean women, de-brahmanised and subaltern alternative to the hegemonic structures and critiquing patriarchy through the interrogation of masculinity.

Editor's Note Editors in Chief Avika Singh & Shreya Ganguly Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Reality as we see it is neither linear nor objective. Rather, it is shaped through social systems constituted by hegemonic ideas, which stem from power structures. These power structures and relations evolve into dominant sociopolitical trends and hierarchies that traverse time. In addition to these pronounced hierarchies, language and other symbolic systems shape our understanding of reality, and power is evident throughout the process of both its formation and existence as a social ontology. To take an example, eurocentrism is one such reality that has determined much of our being, including time, place, institutions, self-perception, and the ideals we often hold ourselves up to. At the same time, we exist in a reality where our conception of spaces is determined by the ‘abled’, from architectural establishments to basic physical accessibility. Realities, in that sense, are inherently political and a reflection of prevailing hierarchies. In this context, it is imperative for us to constantly question our realities, all the while working towards alternatives. These alternatives are a critique of the belief systems that inform our collective acceptance of societal standards. Thus, they provide platforms for ideas and opinions that have been deliberately ostracised to sustain the structures. Alternatives are also a provocation, a form of resistance in the face of dominant strands of thoughts and realities. Fundamentalism across political spectrums can be majorly challenged by alternatives to their orthodoxy. The anti-caste and queer feminist movements broke down the chokehold of essentialist normative social orders through their own ontology. As Benedict Anderson puts it, ‘Nations’ as imagined communities can also be a creation of limited imagination where the idea of citizenship itself disenfranchises some on the basis of certain identity markers. In this light, the idea of India itself is contestable Alternatives

Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 under the rising tide of the Hindu nationalist agenda. As technology advances, our understanding of reality has evolved beyond the tangible and delved into areas of ethics and morality that have not been fully explored yet. At the same time, mass media and its propaganda models have successfully constructed realities and half-truths in the interests of those who have the agency. This was evident in the case of the US Capitol riots or the vilifying language of Indian mainstream media. Thus, alternatives can also be fabricated in a way that is not always emancipatory. The idea of speech as the hallmark of reason is at the foundation of our logocentric society. While encouraging vocal citizenship is intended to increase political participation, it may also cause many crucial exclusions: from nonspeakers and the many citizens whose everyday experiences of politics are muffled, to those who intentionally employ silence as a form of political activity. Alternatively, we can reimagine the role of silence not as a lack of agency, but as an effective form of political expression in its own right. However, alternatives need not always be pragmatic parallels of existing realities, but may also be popularly viewed as political fiction. The power of utopia can be an empowering notion. From Begum Rokeya’s Sultana’s dream to Le Guin’s ‘The Dispossessed’, utopian literature has posited the question of reality from an analytical lens. As human agency shapes realities, they are moulded by those who are in a position to do so. Instead of passively accepting reality for what it is, one must question its foundations in order to construct alternatives that are inclusive. Thus, through its seventh edition, Sabab explores the theme of ‘Alternatives’ to encourage these critical analyses. The seventh edition of Sabab explores thematic areas ranging from universal design to the writings of A. K. Ramanujan. Alternatives

I Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism ...................................................... 1 Aliza Mehdi Indraprastha College for Women II Democracy in India Without Political Parties: A Comparative Analysis ................................................. 10 Nandini Das Indraprastha College for Women III Universal Design: An Alternative for an Accessible and Inclusive Environment ......................... 24 Samridhi Ranjan and Pavani Joshi Lady Shri Ram College for Women IV Queerbaiting and Queer coding: Techniques of Queer (Mis)Representation........................................ 40 Medhavi Gupta, Indraprastha College for Women V Women in Diplomacy: A Reality Overlooked ..................................................... 54 Alankrita Dutta Indraprastha College for Women CONTENT Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23

Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 VI The Ghare and the Baire of the Tagorean Woman ...................................................... 65 Pratyusha Chakrabarti St. Stephen's College VII Denouncing The Vilification Of Love: Reimagining Emotions As The Core Of Politics ................................. 77 Sifat Kaur Keer and Srujana Samsani Lady Shri Ram College for Women VIII In a World without Places? Towards a Phenomenological Understanding of Highway Stripper ............................................................ 90 Mayukhi Ghosh St. Stephen’s College IX The Other Side of Patriarchy ....................................... 102 Varun Manda and Ishani Garg Kirori Mal College X Debrahmanised India: An Impossible Utopia .................................................... 113 Srivarsha Bhukya Lady Shri Ram College for Women XI Book Review: Imagining the Flâneur as a Woman ............................. 123 Jyotika Tomar Lady Shri Ram College for Women

"The individual is organised not through his immediate physical surroundings, but by mapping and channelling his movement and behaviour" 01 | I

Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism Aliza Mehdi B.A. (Hons) Political Science Indraprastha College for Women In 1992, Gilles Deleuze wrote a seminal essay called Postscripts on the Societies of Control. This was his first direct work on the concept of surveillance, and through this essay he built a nascent framework for what he believed was the most recent development Introduction in the evolution of surveillance in society. The essay is divided into three sections. The first describes the control society as embryonic, and then delineates it in historical terms by contrasting it against the preceding conceptualisation of surveillance as a disciplinary society. Section two outlines the control society logic as a set of premises, Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism| 02 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Abstract Abstract: In 1990, French philosopher Giles Deleuze published an essay called “Postscripts on the Societies of Control”, introducing a reality where the individual is suffocated not by bureaucracy or harsh physical confinement, but by the mass collection of data and information, and he must then navigate his life moving fluidly from one network to another. His text, divided in three sections, warns the reader against a grim world where everything one does will be tracked, mapped and used against him. This paper aims to apply Deleuze’s nascent framework into a study of the consumerist culture of the 21st century. Data tracking today is not nefarious or malicious in nature, and certainly not as grim as Deleuze believed, at least not at first. It does not seek to punish or inflict pain but simply serves to package an individual’s own information- his favourite food, his taste in romantic partners, his affinity for certain music, and sell it back to him, creating a consensual symbiotic relationship where the individual freely offers a sampling of himself to be better held and guided by the market’s paternalistic hand in making life choices. Thus, through this paper, we trace the evolution of these control societies since the publication of Deleuze’s essay, how they function today, and how they may evolve yet further. Keywords: data, control, Deleuze, privacy, predictive analytics, consumerism

Discipline moulds, control modulates. Deleuze gives the example of wages. In a disciplinary society, wages are fixed for the worker according to his position. In societies of control, as employees move more units off the production line, financial bonuses increase. Stock options are given to managers; their value changes depending on how well the business does. In a disciplinary society, one is always "starting from zero", that is, in life, as people pass through these institutions, they are constantly being re-disciplined, constantly being formed into different moulds for different institutions. Time plays an important role here, for the segmentation of space functions on temporal lines. It is when one process ends at a specific stage that the other must begin. In control, things never begin or end, we are always in the middle. This can especially be seen in the changing nature of education, where the banner of “learning never stops” has propped up an industry of perpetual training. The fundamental distinction in the concepts of discipline and control lies in how each social organisation sees its subjects. In disciplinary societies, people are viewed as a mass- part of the same unit or collective by virtue of the physical space they share. The primary contradiction in this society lies in the struggle of the individual v/s mass, and the primary threat remains the fear of dissolution of individuality and identity into a larger ‘we’. This anxiety is often reflected in the literature and media where the protagonist laments his position as just another block of unit in a larger mass that threatens to subsume him. behaviours and concepts. The last section initiates a programme for living in a society of control. The primary aim of this paper is to trace the further evolution of the Control Society and its relevance in the age of consumerism and Big Data. Deleuze begins his essay by drawing historical distinctions between societies of discipline and control. Disciplinary societies, as conceptualised by Michel Foucault, grew corresponding to economic industrialisation in nineteenth and early twentieth century Europe (Foucault 1977). Such a society is characterised by its use of discrete and separate spaces. The individual moves from one physical enclosure to the other that both shelters and confines him. Each has its own rigid laws but these are not explicitly stated, instead they are imposed by the physical threshold itself. The individual eats in the cafeteria, studies in the classroom, and plays in the playground. In the office he works, in his bed he sleeps. (Deleuze 1992, 2) Control blurs the lines that discipline draws. It works fluidly. The individual is organised not through his immediate physical surroundings, but by mapping and channelling his movement and behaviour (Haggerty and Ericson 2000). Discipline is analogical, each space of enclosure is an independent variable, and each ends when the next must begin, the same is not true for control. It is numerical and summative, different mechanisms work together as an inseparable network, forming an intersectional and continuous geometrical framework of lines (Deleuze 1992, 3). Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism | 03 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 The Concept of Control

inkedIn chronicles employment histories, Amazon compiles retail habits, Zomato catalogues culinary cravings and Bumble, romantic tastes (Willems et al. 2017: 228– 242). All this information is acquired by data brokers who start connecting the dots in a process known as identity resolution(Kobayashi and Talburt 2014: 349–354). A common phone number links someone who likes margherita pizza to the same someone who follows Elon Musk on twitter, studies Finance at the local university and idly swipes through Bumble in bed. As pieces of information are connected, different behavioural patterns dispersed across platforms come together to reflect a lifestyle. The individual is deconstructed into bits of data and brought back to existence as a consumer who is ripe for control (Glasgow 2018: 25). Now, the control society does not create spatial divisions or explicit prohibitions. The individual is not denied or forced. How then can there be control if nothing is forbidden? The answer is predictive analytics. The individual need not be denied or forced, because he can be lured and directed to act a certain way through the invisible hand of data-driven marketing. When it is a given that my personal information will be collected by third party organisations, the impending question then becomes what they will do with it. As social media platforms buy statistics revealing their users’ behavioural patterns, they perform three functions- first, they tailor their services to better reflect user Control, on the hand, is exercised through the systematic deconstruction of the individual into the individual, an aggregate of data points, samples and statistics (Deleuze 1992: 7). Here the contradiction comes more from the dissolution of identity into a cache of isolated key points which must be assembled and re-assembled to create any truly personal sense of who we are. Once a clear understanding of control as a mode of social organisation has been established, it is imperative to look into the practical uses of this framework, especially in terms of technology, surveillance and consumerism. Technological advancement in the recent decades means that past speculations and anxieties of constant surveillance and monitoring are now a transparent reality. When Deleuze wrote his essay, he imagined a future city in which residents carried electronic cards to swipe when they left their homes in the morning, entered the workplace, checked out at lunch, and stopped at a restaurant in the evening. Today, that single e-card has been converted into a multi-level gathering of personal information and location by multiple collectors. The resident does not need to check out at lunch to reveal his location, the mobile phone in his pocket already did it for him. More relevant here than the emergence of geolocation is the proliferation of the same, and the usage of the information gathered through it. Google Maps tracks our current location and destination, Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 04 | Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism The Practice of Control

omnipresent and covert- his phone, his car’s licence plate, his bedtime internet habits. On the other hand, he is generally well aware of his own surveillance all the same. He knows that his phone number, email address and social media accounts all tie into a larger network of data collection with multiple usages. He knows he is being watched, but it does not affect him much and he does not care. Historically of course, surveillance and monitoring have had obvious negative connotations. Deleuze himself in his essay harbours a deep anxiety over this changing mode of social control. ‘There is no need’, he tells the youth, ‘to fear or hope, but only to look for new weapons’ (Deleuze 1992: 4). Thirty years later the question remains, “Weapons against whom?” The sources of surveillance are no longer the grim centralised watchmen that hoard power and issue identity cards. Today they are cheerful social media platforms that promise expression, connection and a good time (Noyes 2019; Syvertsen and Gunn 2019). They are motivated entrepreneurs dedicated to accommodating our wants. The Big Brothers of today do not stand against the people, they just stand for consumers. Over time, the source of economic production has shifted from strength, size and concentration to agility, speed and delegation. Correspondingly, people’s attitudes towards social control have shifted from anxiety and resistance to widespread excitement of marketplace innovation and technological advancements. Users spend hours on social media platforms such as Instagram, thumbing through reels, posts and stories as behaviour and increase sales and engagement in the process; second, they set out to direct user behaviour itself to act in accordance to their own set objectives; finally, the data created in these user interactions and engagement is further collected, processed and added to marketing mechanisms, contributing to an unending and accelerating cycle of directed hyperconsumerism (Aloysius et al. 2016: 1–27). Today, the kind of selling that revolves around predictive analytics seeks trajectories: consumers are conceived as always on their way somewhere, and the job is to determine their aim (Ghose 2017: 53). The advertising of trajectories converts experiences into the desire for another, further down the continuous line. Marketing of iPhones provides a relevant example. Each year's model is about more than just what technology has to provide right now; it's also about how this new device allows consumers to anticipate - and advertisers to promote - the following generation. As a consequence, customers are queuing in front of Apple stores to acquire the new iPhone, but many are already speculating about what will be featured in the next generation. (Gianatasio 2012). Services and goods are no longer destinations, but rather stations, sites of departure as well as arrival, and the marketing mission is to guarantee that experiences are not ends in themselves, but rather means of progressing to the next one. (Weilbacher 2003: 230–234). Control is simultaneously implicit and obvious. The individual is not 24x7 cognizant of the fact that he is being surveilled, for the systems that do so are Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism | 05 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23

send a coupon to a potential customer before she even leaves for a shopping trip she didn’t even know she was going to take. (Ghose 2017:1) It could be that the woman would have taken the trip regardless, but her shopping history in the hands of predictive analytics allowed it to predict her trip before she herself did. Once her urges and behavioural patterns were established, it set out to control the outcome through a coupon appearing on her feed. The society of control thus works in three stages. First, it makes knowing where people are a form of social organisation. Second, by knowing where people are, it sets out to predict what they will do next. Third, it combines the existing data to decide what they will do by offering them incentives specially tailored to suit their interests. Gradually, it directs behaviour into what suits it best in the long term (Walters and Bekker 2017). Changing individual behaviour has widespread social and political implications. First, the enjoyment and satisfaction that data control provides users has led to a complacency that would be difficult to shake off. As noted earlier, now that our overseers have rebranded into colourful social media platforms and energising devoted professionals, our own perspective towards them has shifted from suspicion to welcome. When Deleuze asks us to look for weapons, we don’t because we don’t see the need to. the algorithms that be, meticulously tweak themselves according to tastes to ensure that the consumer is having fun. The basis and legitimization of surveillance in control societies, therefore, lies in enjoyment and the promise of the same. The result is that all brooding paranoia and anxieties that historically surrounded surveillance in fiction, political organisation and general sentiment have all but evaporated. Deleuze grimly envisioned a reality that control mechanisms today have different motivations. The professionals that acquire and compile our information do so not to torment but to sell, they are salesmen before they are watchmen. Today’s big brothers want profit not power, and they are interested in profiles not people. It is important to create a distinction between the two, because otherwise one could mistakenly assume that the subject of the control society is the individual himself- me. This is not true because my behaviour and person in the hands of profit-seekers and predictive analytics is reduced to mere pieces of a consumer profile for economic opportunities. Moreover, the sheer number of people generating data traffic, the chances of one specific person somehow becoming the recipient of targeted attention is more a delusion of self-importance than an anxiety founded in reality. Of course, people are still watched today, as they always have been, but it is not how control works. According to Tap: Unlocking the Mobile Economy, today’s advertising strategists mix big data and algorithms to: Implications and Resistance Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 06 | Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism

information will refine algorithmicallydriven incentive mechanisms that set out to sell him food. Today, people have resigned themselves to the fact that they have essentially no privacy. Since everything we do connects to digital platforms, and there are few alternatives to the same, we recognise that every part of our person and behaviour is up for grabs (Miley 2018). Risks and implications of predictive analytics become easier to understand when we look at how they have been used by brands and media platforms. A notorious example is that of Target, the American departmental store chain that refined its data collection research to such expertise that it was correctly able to realise a teenage girl’s pregnancy and started sending maternity product advertisements that confused her oblivious family (Trout 2017). This was in 2012, a decade ago. How is the struggle for privacy being fought today? There are two simple ways that people have taken note of. The first one involves blocking and regulating access to our personal data through technical avenues. Browsers are set to private, VPNs obfuscate location and special privacy-focused initiatives such as Proton are adopted. The question of privacy has come up in legislative assemblies too, and regulatory policies have been passed. The second avenue aims not at blocking access to information, but oversupplying it so that the lines between what is usable and what is not become blurred (Brunton and Nissenbaum 2016). Finally, however, it has been recognised that privacy is unsavable, so programmes for resistance become more In the place of resistance has arisen a devotion to control. Users today would happily give up their browsing history and location data if doing so would yield further incentivising marketing appeals. After all, all predictive analytics does is discern our wishes and desires and accommodates them through promises of movie suggestions, job opportunities and retail offers (Media Insight Project 2015). In fact such people actively look forward to further acceleration of data control that would guarantee an easier living, buying and selling. If such a person lies on one extreme on a spectrum of user reactions to predictive analytics, it is worth noting that the vast majority of people would fit into this group. Due to the sheer proliferation of data-driven marketing tactics, people either do not notice, or do not care about identifying data ogled by corporate surveillance. What this means is that for the general public, resistance to control has become unthinkable itself because there is no foundational dissatisfaction. The locus and focus of struggle is instead found in something that Deleuze did not even mention in his essay- privacy. Privacy can be defined here as individuals having the power to regulate access to their own personal information (Westin 1968: 3). Privacy is not a topic of concern in the disciplinary society where overseers do not need access to private data. The individual’s culinary taste does not matter, the only expectation is that he sit in the cafeteria. In societies of control, private data is the primary currency- there is value in knowing the individual’s culinary taste because this Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism | 07 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23

out, collected more than 5,000 data points on around 220 million Americans, consisting of psychological data from Facebook combined with consumer information from data mining firms. Data was harvested not just from the person who used the app but also the user’s entire friends network and retained their data as well (Schiffrin 2017). Highly personalised commercials targeted to a certain group of people who follow a distinct political viewpoint made them more vulnerable to Trump's messaging that drove them to vote for him. CA created personalised material for those individuals, after which they were assaulted with adverts, websites, stories, and videos on every platform imaginable until they voted for Donald Trump (Ray 2020: 4). Moreover, with the deconstruction of the individual to an aggregate of data demands, there is a loss of identity as the person becomes dehumanised to represent only a checklist of urges and habits (Hammond 2016: 452–467).. In the control society, it is not I who wants to buy a handbag at the street fashion outlet during its End of Season Sale next week, it is the nineteen year old female, who follows models on Instagram, lives next to the mall and got her paycheck two days ago, that wants it. In the control society, purchases and habits reflect not the aspects of a complete self, but disconnected actions linking together demographics and market segments. The second programme for existence in privacy’s absence relates to the transformation of one’s own data. The goal is to make all of the gathered data that violates privacy useless. about the directions to take in its absence. One extreme direction being explored with the death of privacy is the establishment of total transparency. Transparency means indiscriminately displaying everything there is to know about ourselves. If we are guaranteed satisfying experiences by proactively giving up our personal details instead of waiting for them to be squeezed out of us with the same end outcome, then wouldn’t it be better and more convenient to expose everything about ourselves first? If the answer is yes, then we’re on the same page as the marketers and salesmen who want access to all our habits, urges and desires to such an extent that they can be predicted and answered even before they are realised. Satisfaction precedes wanting, and escape from contentment becomes impossible. When incentives are adjusted with perfect knowledge of their target audience, it is difficult to see any alternatives from the algorithmically decided action-outcome plans for resolved identities (Palmås 2015). The incentives will undermine individual choice and autonomy by coercing consumers to become one with their own set of data points. This manipulation has consequences more far-reaching than just consumer analytics. Cambridge Analytica, a UK-based data analytics firm, came under fire in 2016, following revelations that it may have played a role in manipulating different electoral processes, especially the US election campaign of 2016. The company, as it turns transformation of one’s own data. Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 08 | Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism

Deleuze, G. 1992. "Postscript on the Societies of Control." October 59 (Winter): 3–7. Original publication: Deleuze, G. 1990. "Postscriptum sur les sociétés de contrôle." L ‘autre journal:1, mai. Fan, W., and M. Gordon. 2014. "The Power of Social Media Analytics." Communications of the ACM 57 (6). Galič, M., T. Timan, and B. Koops. 2017. "Deleuze and Beyond: An Overview of Surveillance Theories from the Panopticon to Participation." Philosophy & Technology 30 (1): 9–37. Ghose, A. 2017. Tap: Unlocking the Mobile Economy. Boston: MIT Press. Gianatasio, D. 2012. "Samsung Punches Apple Again, and It Hurts So Good." Adweek September 20. Glasgow, J. 2018. "Data Brokers: Should They Be Reviled or Revered?" In The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Privacy, edited by E. Selinger, J. Polonetsky, and O. Tene, 25–46. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Media Insight Project. 2015. Digital Lives of Millennials. American Press Institute. March 16. Palmås, K. 2015. "Inauthentically Intense: Coveillance and Consumer Culture." Surveillance and Society 1 (3/4). Trout, M. 2017. "Big Data and Retail." Harvard Business School Online Course: Digital Innovation and Transformation. The personal information that was previously obtained to profile certain customers and social media users, together with the associated targeting algorithms and applied incentives, will become unusable if users suddenly change their tastes, aversions, and impulses. No matter how much identifying data marketers have collected, their predictive analytics will misfire when directed at someone who has already changed into someone else. As a result, control will temporarily wane. The transition of social organisation as characterised by the tools of surveillance is an unending process. Since the publication of Deleuze’s essay, his framework for societies of control has needed an update that adequately links control as a means of subjugation to overarching economic mechanisms for consumerism. This paper’s primary aim was to do the same, while also looking into the farreaching implications of usage of control as a tool of consumer capitalism. Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism | 09 References Aloysius, J., H. Hoehle, S. Goodarzi, and V. Venkatesh. 2016. "Big Data Initiatives in Retail Environments: Linking Service Process Perceptions to Shopping Outcomes." Annals of Operations Research 270. Brunton, F., and H. Nissenbaum. 2016. Obfuscation: A User’s Guide for Privacy and Protest. Boston: MIT Press Cohen, J. 2018. "Biopolitical Public Domain: The Legal Construction of the Surveillance Economy." Philosophy & Technology 31 (2): 213–233.

"New democratic procedures cannot exist in theory but have to be examined through practical experiments, and when it will be done, new alternatives will automatically emerge." 10 | II

Abstract The existence of political parties in a democratic set up is equated with a mark that defines a nation’s connection to democracy. More than 96% of the countries have political parties that govern the political arena, taking up the popular demands to be heard at different levels of the latter and be addressed as early as possible. However, there exist as well countries that do enough justice to democracy without political parties: the Federal States of Micronesia, Palau, Nauru, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islands. India has witnessed a plethora of events taking place in the political arena, which has been dominated by the changes in traditional institutions, and the major change has been brought by the ever-dynamic party system, with players from diverse backgrounds playing complex games within the system. One of the most spectacular manifestations of this is the electoral game, which gives power to the public to define, to some extent, the rules of other games. In the first general elections (1951- 52), despite the negative projection by the observers of different national affiliations, of India’s aspiration to hold elections, India did prove its mettle as the largest democracy through an elephantine number of voters. Another important fact that was revealed was the dominance of Congress as a party. But as India progressed through various phases, it witnessed several parties emerge and several to either get merged with bigger ones or subside from the stage and concomitantly, new determinants were interpolated in electoral behaviour. In recent years, party lines are getting blurred, and people seem to be interested more in an individual’s capacity to deliver to the electorate what it demands. They have somewhat cultivated an attitude of aversion towards elections and, therefore, often do not cast their votes. Democracy in India Without Political Parties: A Comparative Analysis Nandini Das B.A. (Hons) Political Science Indraprastha College for Women Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 | 11

Democracy in India Without Political Parties | 12 This research paper is an attempt to check whether India can exist as a democracy without political parties. For this endeavour, a comparative method is being employed, where the factors determining the non-existence of political parties in the above-mentioned countries would be analysed and applied to India. Coming on the heels of it is an exploration, made to look for possible alternatives that India can adopt to do away with political parties in order to nip this ill, supplemented by other lacunae of party system, in the bud and build a more effective system in place. Keywords: Partyless Pacific countries, Individual capacity, Representatives and civil societies, Cooperative government, Partyless Government Introduction Political parties are said to be the organs in democracy which keep the latter alive. Sharing this belief with the majority of people, Larry Diamond has put “political parties remain an indispensable institutional framework for representation and governance in democracy”.(Rich 2008,01) Political parties play a multitude of roles that bring people and their diverse interests within the ambit of political boundaries and help them not only get their, sometimes contesting, demands fulfilled but also exercise control over their rulers. This inevitability has very well been reflected by Michael Johnstone (Anckar 2000, 225) Similarly Katz has called, “Modern democracy is party democracy”. In 1992, Hadenius’ book on democracy brought out those exceptions and proved the famous arguments: Democracy cannot exist in third world countries and that democracy cannot exist without political parties, wrong. He devised a scale to measure democracy in 132 countries, the scale ranging from 0-10. (Anckar 2000,226) The telling results revealed that eight countries achieved the highest ranks and moreover, among them one could see the presence of four Pacific island countries that lack political parties: Micronesia, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Marshall Islands. (Anckar and Anckar 2000,226) Therefore, this paper aims at examining the political system of those islands and why the counties lack political parties. The primary motive behind this endeavour is to test whether the world’s largest democracy, India, can exist without political parties. Therefore, the paper will mainly focus upon the comparison between them and India after their formation as independent states and will not cover the historical positions of the party systems in any of them. However, historical reasons will be explained in a condensed form so as to make the arguments Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 1

2 2 easily comprehensible to examine the later portions smoothly. To reach the conclusion, this paper will weave through various subheads: 1. Classification of Political parties to be able to better distinguish between the party systems in the Pacific islands and India, 2.Role of Political parties in democracy to check whether or not political parties are important for democracy, 3. Under sub-head three, reasons for the non-existence of political parties in those island countries would be discussed, 4. The fourth portion will examine the loopholes in the Indian party system. 5. Under this sub-unit, there would be two parts; first would compare India’s party’s success with regard to the significance presented by Natasha M. Ezrow in a paper titled The Importance of Parties and Party System Institutionalisation in New Democracies. (Ezrow 2011) and then comparison between the case in the Pacific Islands and India would be done. The questions, thus, that will be answered at the end of this paper are: whether India can manage its affairs without political parties? What are the factors that determine the existence or non-existence of political parties in India? What alternatives can be achieved to make India a party-less democracy and still have the pride of its claim to the title of ‘the world’s largest democracy’? Clientelistic Traditional Local Taxonomy of party-system was developed by many scholars over time. Based on size, number, and complexity, party systems have evolved. However, the most popular classification in the political literature is the one proposed by Gunter and Diamond: (Diagram 1) For the ‘commonality’ among the politicians of these countries along with other nations, the common term ‘Pacific Islands’ is used while referring to one or more of these islands. Still, a considerable amount of care must be taken while making use of the term; for example, not all countries of this grouping are lacking political parties, nor are these resembling each other’s party system in its entirety, but verily some features create a common ground for them to be grouped together for comparative studies. Therefore, the researcher’s focus is generally on the group of which these countries form a part, giving special attention at various points to them individually throughout the paper under different sub-heads. In this classification, the types which go well with the Pacific Islands (in broad terms) are: Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 13 | Democracy in India Without Political Parties Classifications of Party Systems:

2 2 (Source: Rich 2008,7 ) For India, we can use the second category of the third genus and, to some extent, the third category of the fourth genus for Indian National Congress and the second category for minor parties. (Sridharan, 2012) Thus, what we can infer is the thinness of Party System in the Pacific Islands and thickness of Party System in India, standing at the extremes of the party continuum. Another classification which is of sheer importance to this paper’s discussion is that of Giovanni Sartori. (Diagram 2) Here, India can very well claim the category of Predominant till the 1970s, when the Congress largely occupied the political room, polarised pluralism till 1997 and then transition to moderate polarisation happened. (Miwa 2006,97) Democracy in India Without Political Parties | 14 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Diagram 1 (Source: Nwokora, Zim and Riccardo Pelizzo 2017) Diagram 2: Sartori’s classification of Parties

2 2 For Pacific Islands, the only applicable category would be the last one, that is, atomized democracy, where parties do not exist (thus pattern less). However, Sartori’s classification appears to be not so suitable for its application to the developing countries, and more so the countries in Africa and countries of Pacific Islands. Roland Rich (Rich 2008,08) writes, ‘Sartori expressed great caution in applying criteria designed for “modern political systems” to polities whose political process is highly undifferentiated and diffused, and more particularly to the polities that are in a fluid state, in a highly volatile and initial stage of growth”. Thus, to place the Pacific Island countries in the last category is apt as ideological differences between them do rarely become the driving force for the electorate to choose their representatives. What is, thus, apparent is the presence of informal groups or no parties with no sign of institutionalisation. For people there, ideologies do not work, what works is the individual capacity to deliver them goods and the policies that bring forth the constituency. Even if parties exist, rarely do they play a significant role in elections. First, Political parties, as Downs (Downs 1957) writes in his An Economic Theory of Democracy, exist to win elections, however this is, though this may look parochial, but even parties promising to incorporate socioeconomic changes in people’s lives, behind that voice is the mind that sticks to the power that one gets after getting a place in political institutions. Offer a platform to the public to engage themselves in political activities and decide, to some extent, their own fate. They mobilise people along various social, economic and political lines, thus creating various cleavages. They aggregate the demands and opinions of people in a manner which is systematic, clear and not esoteric for common people. After Stokes’ mentioning of the importance of ‘Valence with regard to the position issues’, (.Stokes 1999, 249-50) Rabinowitz and Macdonald write that voters perceive politics in dichotomous forms, whereby they see the parties either on their side or on someone else’s side. (.Stokes 1999, 249-50) They maintain ‘a system of checks and balances’ through opposing the undesirable and unjustifiable steps taken by the incumbent leader/leaders. Parties keep people interested in democratic practices and save the democracy from getting transmuted into a Banana Republic. Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 15 | Democracy in India Without Political Parties Role of Political Parties in a Democracy To answer the question, why parties are important for democracy, we have to look at the roles political parties are ‘expected’ to play.

2 2 They save democracy from falling into a chaotic situation by taking up the demands from the people, aggregating them and reaching them to the government in function. Political parties are thus deemed as a bridge between common people and the governments at various levels. However, empirical evidence highlights growing aversion towards political parties: one of the main reasons for voters not turning up during elections. During a speech, Kenneth Wollack (Wollack 2002) said, “Globally citizens have grown increasingly frustrated with their political parties and leaders. Polls, focus groups and voting behaviour indicate that society largely views political parties as ineffective, corrupt, and out of touch with their needs.” Even Richard Gunter and Larry Diamond maintain, “In the longstanding, established democracies in particular, they lack the depth of involvement and emotional and ideological attachment that they commanded a century ago. In many democracies, in both developed and less developed countries, there is growing evidence that membership in political parties is declining, that parties’ ties with allied secondary associations are loosening or breaking, that their representation of specific social groups is less consistent, and that public opinion towards parties is waning in commitment and trust” ( Diamond and Gunter 2001, 03). This evidence, though not enough, suggests the growing anti-party mood that is prevailing in many countries as they are bearing the brunt of venal politics and party games. After establishing the fact that the six Pacific Island countries are earning themselves the highest ranks in terms of democracy, an account for their reasons is an urgent requirement, for that will not only make the further arguments justifiable, but also the test upon India can be made thoroughly. There seems to be a common thread passing through scholars who have done research on these countries, as the reasons are discussed mainly on three grounds (Anckar 2000, 230- 40) (Rich 2008, 8-10) (Corbett 2015): small or diminutive size of the democracies, geographical features that define the relationship flowing within the demography of the region, and cultural factors manifested through resistance to the development of systematised Political parties. Apart from these major categories, reasons can also be seen to be rooted in historical factors, and also international politics that, however, remain ineffective in evolving such ‘vital democratic’ elements as political parties that not only help shape the domestic politics but also define the relations with the international actors profoundly whose presence is felt by other countries. Major Reasons: Small area: As it has been proved not only in Political literature, but also in natural sciences, like Biology, the smaller a creature is, the less is the complexity. So, is the case with these small countries, where population ranges between 10,000- 105,000 (Anckar 2000). Tuvalu has been put as, “one of the smallest and most isolated independent Democracy in India Without Political Parties | 16 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Exploring the non-existence of parties in the six countries

2 2 nations of the world”. (Stanley 1993,np) (Anckar and Anckar 2000, 233) Similarly, Nauru has been dubbed as a ‘miniature’. ( Anckar and Anckar 2000,233) Palau is made of 16 states, with a population of less than 1,000. However, Micronesia has 105,000 inhabitants, but still working without political parties. Indeed,the small size of democracy can exist without parties. But we have to be careful while applying these arguments to every country, some of which have diversity like India. (eg. The Federal States of Micronesia) Moreover, small size also contributes to the cordial political relations and a sense of closeness, therefore, precludes them from being divided along party lines. Geographical Factors: The island nations are said to be highly dispersed. Some island countries consist of many islands, called archipelagos. Due to this partial detachment from each other, nationalism or the feeling of oneness could not be injected into the minds of people having the same national affiliation. (Anckar and Anckar 2000,234) But some Pacific islands, like Fiji, do provide an exception to this assumption, as with its fragmented nature, it has 16 parties. To talk about the six countries of our importance, Micronesia, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Palau are highly dispersed countries, but Nauru consists of only one island. So, it can be derived from these facts that the archipelagic feature of these states stands as a hindrance in bringing them together under one umbrella to form political parties, as the feeling of ‘oneness’ is absent. But one can definitely challenge this notion by saying that there is a possibility of each segment forming a party to represent themselves in the national legislature. To this, the researcher’s response would be two -fold- very small population in each segment and absence of national feeling, unaware of the significance of representation at the national legislature. Cultural Resistance: Another reason that stands as a wall to the development of parties is the cultural values. These countries cherish their traditional values and customs more than the democratic values. For eg. In Palau’s constitution, the right to form associations has been given, but at the same time, the traditional leader’s role has been rendered more important. In Micronesia, the legislature contains one chief from each of its regions namely: Kosrae, Chuk, Yap and Pohnpei. Historical Factors: Like other colonised countries, like India or Sri Lanka, these countries were liberated much later. Till the time party consciousness did not develop in the way that developed among the people of the former category. Even if they did form, unlike African countries, the parties could not dominate the political scene for a long time. Personal Ignorance: Most of the politicians in the countries were foreign educated or drawn from civil services. Thus, for them political parties were necessary only for leaving a considerable impression upon the voters regarding their clear choices. There was a lack of motivation among the Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 17 | Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism

2 2 politicians to join any political parties; they were focused, like voters, on individual personality. For them, parties were necessary for financial security. Less International Influence: While analysing the case of the islands, one interesting observation that is worth to be made is the striking contrast between the political systems of the South Asian countries and Australia and the Pacific Islands, wherein the former strong party system exists despite having a considerable presence of diverse social groups, leading to the formation of cleavage-based political parties. While in the latter, despite claiming to the status of highest democracies, the party system lacks politically considered vital institutions. This indicates toward the fact that international interference is less in these countries, as compared to other developing countries. Their isolation has considerably contributed to this type of political system. One-party dominance of the Congress, though ideal just after India achieved its independence as a strong leadership was indeed required to keep India united through its catch-all character, created a feeling of disgust among state politics: the party assumed an unusual central character, with the powers vested in the hands of the top leaders at the centre. Even the decisions for the candidates of state legislatures were decided by its parliamentary group. Fragmentation of political parties took place from time to time, leading to the formation of multiple parties. Eg. CPI and CPI (M), PSP and SP. Regionally this happened as well. This implies there was no united opposition to challenge the Congress, the country was divided into multiple categories, though the ideologies were not clear-cut. Also, more parties mean more money to be drained during elections. Multiple parties also confuse the voters, resulting in them either not exercising their vote or making no conscious choice. Politics of protest is another pitfall in India; upon trivial matters, political parties in India come to street, stage walk-outs from the Parliament, their arguments are aimed at opposing each other’s agenda and are not rooted in rationality very often. While it has witnessed successful performances of various parties taking up the stage to showcase their pool of talent, it has also witnessed their times of failure. Few of them have been discussed here. Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism | 18 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Exploring the non-existence of parties in the six countries India is a land of diverse characters, that form the roots of the tree from which hang a number of parties -big, medium, small based on social affiliations like caste, language, religion etc. Due to its vastness, it has developed the largest and most complex democracy of the world. Regional parties, as the name suggests, clearly become a vital instrument for the regional electorate to reach their demands to the national government. Similarly, parties formed along the lines of socio-economic identities interpolate their demands in the party system.

2 2 There is growing evidence that politicians are not much interested in interest articulation, for they do try to build a uniform national policy despite being parties made to represent interest of various groups. They are always in a race of grabbing the seat of power. Defection is another pest eating the party system of India. As K. Subba Rao maintains, “Defections are the necessary corollary of the lack of a cohesive party system”, the indication is clear that the party system is in crisis. Defection also implies a candidate’s distrust in his party and is more interested in his own representation, despite having promised to abide by the party rules. Focus is not on the personality of the candidates, unlike the Pacific Island countries, resulting in voters making abysmal choices, despite their sheer reluctance. To apply the determinants that drive the party-less democracies and get not a conjecture but a solid conclusion, first a test must be done to analyse the party system of India. The test would be made in a comparative method in which the performance of India’s parties would be compared with the roles described by Natashsa M. Ezrow (Ezrow 2011) in IDCR ‘s article on The Importance of Parties and Party System Institutionalisation in New Democracies. Diagram 3: Diagram 4: Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 19 | Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism To apply the determinants that drive the party-less democracies and get not a conjecture but a solid conclusion, first a test must be done to analyse the party system of India. The test would be made in a comparative method in which the performance of India’s parties would be compared with the roles described by Natashsa M. Ezrow (Ezrow 2011) in IDCR ‘s article on The Importance of Parties and Party System Institutionalisation in New Democracies Applying the scenario in the six island countries to India (Source: Made by the researcher)

2 2 To now answer the main question of the paper, whether India can exist without parties, India would be judged on the basis of the reasons that have been discussed under the sub-head 3. India has a territory of 3.28 million square kilometres, with one vast land, seas covering three of its sides, mountains, desert and plains covering its other sides. While the Pacific islands are highly fragmented and have less geographical diversity, India has states of diverse identities and holds organised state governments, all living within the same boundary, Pacific islands lack such organised state governments as their population is extremely low, and moreover they live on different islands. Traditional cultural values are debarred from playing a significant role in Indian politics (though parties are formed to promote these values), but in the Pacific Islands, traditional values along with group leaders are accorded treatment that is tied to the clasp of superiority. As is the case, these countries are standing at poles apart in almost all matters, except the fact that they are all democracies. So, to think of India as party-less is no less than a utopian claim as the population appears elephantine, with high inter -groups and intra -group diversity tickling the ears of the country now and then. Besides, we are not isolated as the six countries: we are enmeshed within a web of links with democracies, the influence of which over us cannot be intercepted. Both have a demographic composition that is diverse. But in the Pacific Island countries, a positive side is that they are not divided as such nor are they ready to come under one umbrella for mere political aggregation; they are not on the qui vive with regard to party politics. This pairing has posited them in what can be termed as ‘amensalism’, which is partially applicable to both the sides. While in India, coming together as groups promotes clannishness and creates cleavages within the bigger circle. In those countries, politicians may join parties for elections, like in India, but they and voters focus more on the personality of the candidates which is not the case in India. Moreover, after elections, the party lines become blurred and they come together for the development of the democracies, thus diluting the differences. While in India, parties are more interested in opposing each other’s party and setting lines between them. Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism | 20 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Scenario in India without Parties Observation and Conclusion Following a proper analysis, what is now apparent is that while India cannot do away with political parties, for the reason of it being a Brobdingnagian and involute network of political, social, cultural and economic links , but after elections parties can transform into mere interest groups, focussing on values and development interests, and the elected candidates will work as free members of a cooperative government.

2 2 The party-less democracies have been enquired within the limited epistemological frame that has been utilised by scholars at various times. But the irony lies in their language, which offers a space to interpolate a party-less democracy as a type- also a kind of party- one-person parties coming together to form a big party-less legislature! In India parties are now becoming more party-less, and indeed, one day all parties may become blurred due to the evolution of parties with growing globalisation and interdependence, leading to a government formed by ‘freely associated individuals’ working within what we call ‘policy community’.(Kaboyakgosi, and Mpule 2008, 305). New democratic procedures cannot , however, exist in theory but have to be examined through practical experiments, and when it will be done new alternatives will automatically emerge and evolve in newer ways to take a totally different shape. Who knows the states may experience in reality something of what is being discussed here, within a theoretical domain! Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 21 | Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism For Democracy, if indeed, there is a meaning then it is stored in heaven and hasn’t been transferred to us- something Plato had in his mind with regard to democracy. (Crick 2002) Thus, when democracy hasn’t got any definition of its own, it would be a grave mistake if we try to set a concrete set up and try to cram every political element into it and cut all the possibilities of the existence of the same beyond our immediate knowledge. If a party now occurs carrying none of the fifteen types, does that mean it cannot be called a party? What, however, much of the scholarly domain has invested in their examining power is that of discussing about the typologies of party systems; they have not yet gone beyond the boundary of party system and make an extensive enquiry about a party-less democracy- a reason that less or negligible interest has been shown for classification that reflects a possibility, even to a little degree, within this alternative route for carrying out democratic praxis. Diagram 5: (Source: Made by the researcher)

2 2 In his paper on ‘Political Parties and Democracy in the Theoretical and Practical Perspectives’: he advocates financing political parties instead of ‘deemphasizing them’ simply because of having a venal attitude ingrained in them. In Schattschneider’s words, also reiterated by Aldrich,“Democracy is unthinkable save in terms of parties”. (Stokes 1999, 243) (Lipset 1996, 169-170) 1. Anckar, Dag, and Carsten Anckar. 2000. “Democracies without Political Parties.” Comparative Political Studies 33 (2): 225- 247. https://doi.org/10.1177/001041400003300200 3. Ballendorf, Dirk A. 2005. “The Federated States of Micronesia.” Handbook of Federal States, edited by Ann L. Griffiths. London: McGill-Queen’s University Press. Corbett, Jack. 2015. “Small fish swimming in the shape of a shark: why politicians join political parties in the Pacific Islands.” Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 53 (2): 130-152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14662043.2015.101 3298. Crick, Bernard. 2002. Democracy: a very short introduction. oxford: Oxford University Press. Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism | 22 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Endnotes Diamond, Larry, and Richard Gunther. 2001. “Types and Functions of Parties.” In Political Parties and Democracy, edited by Larry Diamond. Baltimore: TheJohn Hopkins University Press. Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper and Row Publisher. Ezrow, Natasha M. 2011. “The importance of Parties and Party system institutionalisation in New Democracies.” Briefing Paper. Institute of Democracy and Conflict Resolution (IDCR-BP-6/11). Kaboyakgosi, Gape, and Keneilwe P. Mpule. 2008. “Beyond Public Administration? HIV/AIDS Policy Networks and The Transformation of Public Administration in Botswana.” Public Administration and Development 28:301- 310. doi:10.1002/pad.505. Meller, Norman. 1990. “The Micronesian Executive: The Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, and the Marshall Islands.” Pacific Studies 14, no. 1 (November): 55-72. Mittal, N. S. 1972. “Crisis of Political Parties in India.” In Indian Parties and Politics, edited by Laxmi M. Singhvi, Dr.Subhash c. Kashyap, and J. P. Sharma. N.p.: Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies; Research. References

2 2 Tridimas, George. 2019. “Democracy without Political Parties: the case of ancient Athens.” Forthcoming, Journal of Institutional Economics 16 (6): 983-998. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744137419000249. Wollack, Kenneth. 2002. “Political Parties and Developing Countries,” Remarks by Kenneth Wollack. Beijing: National Democratic Institute. https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/1801_c arnegiechinaspeech_121702_5.pdf. Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 23 | Control Societies In The Age Of Consumer Capitalism Miwa, Hiroki. 2006. “The Transition of Party System in India : From Polarised Pluralism to Moderate Pluralism.” Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studie, no. 18, 96-116. https://doi.org/10.11384/jjasas1989.2006.96. Nauru General election. 2016. N.p.: The Commonwealth. https://production-newcommonwealth-files.s3.eu-west2.amazonaws.com/migrated/inline/P14877_P OL_NauruReport.pdf. Nwokora, Zim, and Ricardo Pelizzo. 2017. “Measuring Party System Change: A Systems Perspective.” Political Studies 66 (1): 100-118. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321717710568. Rich, Roland. 2008. “Introduction: Analysing and Categorizing Political Parties in thePacific Islands.” In Political parties in the Pacific Islands, edited by Roland Rich, Luke Hambly, and Michael G. Morgan. Canberra: The Australian National University Press. Sankhdher, M. M. 1972. “Partyless Democracy : A contradiction in Terms.” In Indian Parties and Politics, edited by Laxmi M. Singhvi, Dr.Subhash C. Kashyap, and J. P. Sharma. N.p.: Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies; Research [Publications in Social Sciences. Stokes, S. C. 1999. “Political Parties and Democracy.” Annual Reviews of Political Science, no. 2, 243-267. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.2.1.2 43.

"The advent of Universal Design marks a new paradigm in the age of modern architecture where the aim is on extending the principles of accessibility and universality to all" 24 | III

Abstract Critical disability theory is a diverse set of approaches that largely theorises disability as a cultural, political, and social phenomenon, rather than an individualised, medical matter attached to the body. The works of Michel Foucault, has been instrumental in the analysis of disability, which is also employed by subsequent theorists like Aimi Hamraie, whose feminist work in critical disability theory focuses on access, technology, and universal design. It is the very same theory that has highly influenced the principles of ‘Universal Design’. First emerging in the US, these have acquired global significance and have worked towards critiquing the norms around disability and architecture, aiming to create a space as inclusive and accessible as possible. In such a context, it is crucial to analyse the impact of Universal Design along with the gaps in its knowledge. The paper thus aims to (a) critically analyse the historical background of Universal Design and presenting it as a possible alternative to the status quo, (b) investigate the means, methods, and principles of Universal Design that are currently employed to evaluate the accessibility and inclusion of the built environment (c) throw light on how it is being implemented in India. While discussing Universal Design in the context of our country the paper aims to review the implementation of projects such as the ‘Accessible India campaign’ and assess its limitations. Keywords: Disability, Universal Design, Architecture, Critical Disability Theory, Alternative Universal Design: An Alternative for an Accessible and Inclusive Environment Samridhi Ranjan and Pavani Joshi B.A. (Hons) Political Science Lady Shri Ram College for Women Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 | 25

being used by people with disabilities, such as prosthetic devices, giving a different perception of the injury. Tracing the history of usability therefore involves tracing the circulation of discourse through the body, the bodies that design thinking has selectively excluded, and the bodies that have actively intervened to reshape the world. The discourse is also widely resonant across fields of rehabilitation (Pullin 2009), education policy (Rose 2002)—including in architectural course material—and the development of assistive technologies (Mueller 1998). While it is yet to become "mainstream," one commentator describes UD as a "new orthodoxy" (Imrie 2003). An analysis of its relevance in our country can be discerned through the accessibility of heritage sites and monuments. India’s historical monuments hold significance at the global level and are appreciated for their cultural richness and beauty; however, there is a large section of people facing challenges while accessing historical sites. As per the 2011 Census, India’s disabled population stands at 2.68 crore, and its elderly population is 10.38 crore. If we add the population of people with reduced mobility, such as pregnant women, the sick, and individuals with temporary and partial disabilities, the numbers will be substantial. India, being a tourist hub with a multitude of cultural and heritage monuments, can present an example to the rest of the world if our heritage sites, as well as public infrastructure and transportation systems, are made accessible. Today, Qutub Minar is more popular among tourists, as it was made Architectural design can be seen as challenging the existing social order and providing a space that is more reflective of the just world that one aspires to be part of. There has been a critique about the existing built environment and its "disabling" nature. They argue that historically and even today, architects have designed spaces that privilege certain bodily capacities over others—in this case, the so-called "able" bodies. In such a context, universal design is about the need for better architectural design. The term Universal Design was first coined by architect and designer Ronald L. Mace. He saw the movement as encouraging the "design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialised design" (Mace 1988). While it can be debated as to how far the movement has come, universal design has been incorporated into declarations of the United Nations and World Trade Organization and national policy statements in Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the USA, and the Netherlands (Story 1998). The Second World War witnessed a shift in attitudes among politicians and the general public towards people with disabilities, particularly those caused by the war. The use of advanced technology in WW2 led to debate over the relationship between man and machine, especially with the creation of machines that were being used by men and women "in the field." The principle of "ease of use" became a marketing tool not just for soldiers but also for consumers. Cultural meanings began to be attached with the technologies that were Universal Design | 26 Introduction Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23

2 2 accessible by Svayam in 2008, making it the first World Heritage Site to do so. The paper is divided into eight sections including the introduction. The second section develops the theoretical framework for universal design as a result of critical theorists' interventions. Section three deals with defining and describing universal design, particularly in the build environment. Section four sheds light on the interdisciplinary nature of Universal design and its concern with human diversity. Section five deals with politics of design commenting on the biases guiding the conceptualisation of the needs of the user by the designer. Section six will talk about the possibility of universal design in India, with a special emphasis on the Accessible India Campaign. The section seven discusses how far universal design has progressed, what more is needed, criticisms encountered in the neo liberal paradigm followed by the conclusion in section eight. The term "critical disability theory" refers to a broad, interdisciplinary collection of theoretical stances that seek to study disability as a cultural, historical, relative, social, and political phenomenon. The theory's methodology entails examining societal norms that categorise specific traits as impairments as well as the social circumstances that concentrate stigmatised attributes in particular populations (2017). However, critical disability theorists aim to inspire activism through their work and aspire to go beyond the realm of the academic community. For instance, Julie Avril Minich claims that critical disability theory entails the examination of normative ideologies, which should take place not for its own sake but with the aim of creating knowledge to assist in achieving justice for individuals with stigmatised bodies and minds. Because of this, scholars ought to "recommit" to "social justice work," such as collaborating with those who have been "devalued" or "pathologized" but have not yet been classified as disabled (2017). Others have suggested that activism, like material practises for access, is an essential component of critical disability scholarship, "whether in the classroom, at conferences, in online forums, or in their writing" (Hamraie 2016). That is why critical disability theory is often described as an emancipatory and developing discourse (Goodley, Liddiard, & Runswick Cole 2018: 206; Meekosha & Shuttleworth 2009: 48). It aims to describe socio-political constructions of disability and track the effects of these constructions on oppressed people, not just those who have been legally recognised as disabled. It accounts for the lived experiences and attempts to transform the circumstances under which oppressed subjects live through critical, intersectional analysis. A major point of contention within the field is the lack of consensus on whether to resist making distinctions between disabled and non-disabled traits inherited by subjects, an example of which is Nirmala Erevelles, who does not seek to claim "everyone is disabled" but prefers historically-embedded materialist accounts of disability at intersections among Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 27 | Universal Design Critical Disability Theory

which was reversed in his critical theory, which argued that work in philosophy and empirical social science ought to be influenced by one another. Additionally, it was positivist in technique and divorced its investigation from normative judgement. Since its inception in 1937 by Max Horkheimer, critical theory has expanded to encompass a diverse range of descriptive and normative bases for social research, with the practical goals of maximising human freedom and ending the dominance of some groups over others defined by class, power, race, or other social constructs. The goal of critical theory, in contrast to traditional theory, is to explain what is wrong with the social reality of the present, identify the actors who may alter it, and offer both explicit rules for critique and realistic, doable objectives for social transformation. Critical Disability Theory, as a member of the critical theory family, is a theoretical approach to the concept of disability that is simultaneously explanatory, practical, and normative. Critical disability theory often employs an interdisciplinary approach with continental philosophical methods, including phenomenology, Freudian psychoanalysis, and neo-Marxist approaches (Kearney & Rainwater 1996: 195), in order to navigate "the social relation of the human subject to the historical conditions of production or alienation." It rejects the idea of meaning narrowly rooted in science, and unravels the social origins of meaning, often from "historical strategies of domination and liberation." multiple categories of analysis, including "race, class, gender, nation, and sexual identity" (2014; cf. Erevelles & Kafer 2010: 219). Similarly, Alison Kafer refuses a "fixed definition" of disability and leaves open the boundaries of the concept of disability. Her paradigm, therefore, does not settle who counts as disabled. Employing Joan W. Scott’s notion of "collective affinity," she subscribes to the view that disability is a wide net, inheriting no particular person, but rather a complex set of features attributed to individuals that pathologize and oppress (2013: 11). Meekosha (2013) notes that this perspective on disability research, which sprang directly from social movements of people with disabilities like UPIAS or BCODP, is an interdisciplinary academic field in the social sciences and humanities that is rapidly developing. The origins of critical theory as we know it today can be traced back to the work of scholars who formed the Frankfurt School, when in 1937 Max Horkheimer presented his "critical theory of society" in the essay Traditional and Critical Theory, which gave rise to this very term. To provide "an account of the social forces of dominance that believes its theoretical activity to be practically tied to the object of the inquiry," Horkheimer created a theoretical approach called "critical theory," which he contrasted with "traditional theory." Horkheimer believed that the fundamental weakness of the conventional method was how it kept the subject of the study and the researcher apart, Universal Design | 28 Critical Theory Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23

2 2 For Helen Meekosha and Russell Shuttleworth, critical disability theory is inclusive of four primary principles, which are as follows (2009: 52): 1. First, "critical social theory is irreducible to facts," meaning that the methods of such a theory reject quantitative analysis and "atheoretical, context-free science" (2009: 52; see also Samuels 2014). 2. Second, "critical social theory links theory with praxis to create an autonomous and participatory society" (2009: 52). Autonomy is viewed as "emancipation from hegemonic and hierarchical ideologies" rather than reducing autonomy to independence. 3. Third, "critical social theory is self-aware of its historicity," meaning that it sees itself in a particular context thus targeting itself with the historical analysis it applies to social structures and institutions (2009: 53– 54). 4. Fourth, "critical social theory engages in dialogue among cultures"; in this regard, Meekosha and Shuttleworth "call for an explicit dialogue with human rights and emancipatory thinking from the diversity of cultures" and hope to avoid "projecting an international ideal" from Western to nonWestern cultures" (2009: 54). Critical theory aims to further an integrated feminist-disability analysis by serving as a hinge between critical disability theory and feminist theory (Garland-Thomson 2002). Feminist-disability analysis by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson engages "a number of fundamental premises of critical theory," such as the following: representation structures reality ; the margins define the centre; gender and disability are ways of denoting power relations; human identity is complex and unstable; and all analysis and evaluation have political implications (2002: 6). For Garland-Thomson, without an analysis of disability, feminism cannot tackle problems like infanticide, selective abortion, eugenic programs, coercive rehabilitation, genocide, and normalising surgical procedures, among other phenomena (2002: 9). Meanwhile, Shelley Tremain demonstrates that the development of a feminist philosophy of disability aids the furthering of feminist philosophy’s conceptual work on "essentialism and constructivism, identity, race, sexuality, agency, experience, and oppression" (2015: 8). Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 29 | Universal Design Foucauldian Analysis The way the French philosopher Michel Foucault historicizes concepts and analyses power, is important in critical disability theory. In Shelley Tremain’s edited collection, Foucault and the Government of Disability (2005), she asserts that Foucault's concepts of biopower and the subject are "indispensable" in the analysis of disability and are consistent with his fundamental beliefs about governance, or the operation of government, and liberalism. A Foucauldian approach challenges the distinction between impairment and disability. Tremain argues that the social model (traditional disability studies) and in the thinking of U.K. activists, fails because of its distinction between impairment and disability (2005: 9). According to Tremain, disability is

of disabled people worldwide, blending them into a silent discourse. According to Foucault, the advent of "bio-power" led to the "objectivization" of disabled people through medicine and science, who started believing this deception and viewed themselves in this constrained way. We find everyday examples of this in the workplace, such as in areas including income support, rehabilitation programmes, changing urban environments, and workplace accessibility. The majority of people largely ignore these routine actions, yet they separate the "normal" population from others into a particular category: those who get labelled as "retarded," "insane," or "handicapped." Further, according to Foucault, this use of bio-power laid the groundwork for capitalism and the emergence of "economy," and as a result, the "able-bodied" and "disabled" were separated in order to maximise the population's economic potential. The disabled community were seen as having no productivity value and as being an expense to the welfare state, they were effectively "pushed to one side" and sent to be "corrected" and "normalised" in various institutions such as asylums and rehab clinics. According to Foucault's studies, one of the main effects of institutions is the social marginalisation of particular people in asylums, prisons, and categories of deviance, with the aim of associating people with the apparatus of normalisation. People with disabilities who have been released from institutions are now examined and assessed for their strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities. The procedure is examined and "historically specific and performative," as opposed to being objective, impartial, and natural (2017: 115; cf. 2005: 11). She works to denaturalize vocabulary such as "people with disabilities," hierarchies of "severity" among impairments, the terminology of impairment itself, and type or kind distinctions among infirmities (e.g., physical or intellectual, among other similar phrases) (2017). She believes that impairment, like disability, is a result of power dynamics. Many critics argue that disability studies are starting to experience a "theoretical deficit" and have started to question the antiquated "social model" of disability in recent years (Corker and Shakespeare 2002; Davis 2002; Shildrick 2002). In an effort to think effectively, these theorists believe that Foucaudian concepts would enhance disability theory in the same manner as queer theory and feminist studies. Petra Kuipper claims that, words like "woman," "gay," or "black," the term "disabled" holds a history of both oppression and pride after a long historical period of predominant negativity. ( Kuippers,2003) Also sharing this outlook, Lennard J. Davis claims in "Enforcing Normalcy" that "these social processes of disability arrived with industrialization as a new set of discourses and practises" (Davis, 1995), while Deborah Stone, in her book "The Disabled State," focuses on how the idea of disability came to be connected to clinical reasoning and medicine (Stone, 1984). According to Critical Disability Theory, it is critical to understand how the development of bio-power altered the realities of millions Universal Design | 30 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23

2 2 assessed, and the individual is under social and professional obligation (McIntosh, 2008). As the result of this surveillance, a "medicalising gaze" is created, which establishes qualification classification and a level of visibility through which disabled people "can be differentiated and judged in the public venue" (McIntosh, 2008). Aimi Hamraie uses Foucauldian analysis to lay out a historical epistemological perspective on disability in her feminist work in critical disability theory, which centres around the aspects of access, technology, and universal design (e.g., 2017), (2015). By examining Foucault's archaeology of cure in History of Madness, she critiques existing moral, medical, and social models of disability, which, while framing disability history as an advancement of moral and medical authority and its replacement by socio-political knowledge, necessitate a greater use of epistemology as an analytical tool for understanding the historical construction of disability. Universal design (UD) can be defined as the design of products and environments that can be used by people of all ages and abilities. This means that the designs are so well made and integrated that they will go unnoticed by those observing or using them. According to the Center for Accessible Housing, universal design is a type of accessible design. A universal design is an accessible design, but not all accessible designs are universal designs. The reason for this is that some accessible designs may segregate people with disabilities from the majority of users. Ramps alongside stairwells or lowered sinks in public restrooms are examples of the same. Another type of accessible design is adaptive design, where certain modifications are made to a design to make it usable for a user, for example, increasing the volume option on a telephone. Since they appear to be an attached feature, they appear stigmatising. The third type of accessible design is transgenerational design. They consider the changes that people undergo as they age but will not necessarily address all types of possible disabilities, not just agerelated ones. A universal design can be adaptable or transgenerational, but it is always more accessible and inclusive than these (a design can be considered a combination of two or all three). There are three ways to improve an individual's capabilities: change the person (by changing the body, training, or therapy), provide the individual with tools (assistive technology is a device or product that assists an individual in accomplishing a task), or use the environment in ways that would have been difficult for them without it. An example of these would be eyeglasses or hearing aids or changing the environment (Vanderheiden 1997). Universal design applies to the third approach, which requires the least from the individual. A lot of Western groups have released guidelines for developing assistive technologies. Universal design lacks such definite criteria for developing assistive devices. The Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University takes a Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 31 | Universal Design Understanding Universal Design

6. PRINCIPLE SIX: Low Physical Effort The design can be used efficiently, comfortably, and with a minimum of fatigue. 7. PRINCIPLE SEVEN: Size and Space for Approach and Use Appropriate size and space are provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of the user's body size, posture, or mobility. It is important to note that universal design only addresses product usability and not other criteria such as affordability and durability (Batavia and Hammer 1990). The principles of universal design should apply to all phases of use. A product should be easy to try in a store environment, set up in the home, use for the first time, use longterm, maintain, repair, and dispose of. While universal design stands above assistive technology in terms of accessibility, it is not possible to design something that can be easily used by everyone at all times; assistance will be required. This implies that the need for assistive technology never subsides. However, this does not mean that attempts should not be made. The mainstream devices should be made as accessible as possible, and if possible, assistive technology should have universal design features to have a wider and broader range of use since it has many advantages such as reliability, feasibility, destigmatising, repairability, and inclusivity, amongst others. broad view of design for people of all ages and abilities, ranging from landscape design to architecture, interiors, and products. Under a funded project titled "Studies to Further the Development of Universal Design" (1994–1997), they designed seven principles of universal design that can be used to evaluate, design, and instruct physical spaces. Each principle contains certain guidelines that further explain the concept. The seven principles, in brief, are: 1. PRINCIPLE ONE: Equitable Use The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities . 2. PRINCIPLE TWO: Flexibility in Use The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities. 3. PRINCIPLE THREE: Simple and Intuitive Use Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level. 4. PRINCIPLE FOUR: Perceptible Information The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities. 5. PRINCIPLE FIVE: Tolerance for Error The design minimises hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions. Universal Design | 32 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23

2 2 The last decades have witnessed a paradigm shift in the understanding of disability, from a medical approach towards a human rights approach, bearing many consequences for policy and legal systems, together with a call for a renewed conceptualization of disability. However, there is a lack of an interpretation of UD that is guided by the political concept of person and disability. Occupational therapist Karen Hammel lays a strong groundwork for an interdisciplinary approach to UD in her critique of the preoccupation of rehabilitation professions encompassing occupational therapy, physiotherapy, social work, speech and language pathology, and nursing with each other rather than with that of architecture, law, economics, politics, social policy, or disability studies. Similarly, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) advances that the intended person for whom universally designed objects aim to be usable includes individuals of different ages and with different physical, mental, and cognitive impairments. A rich understanding of human diversity therefore must guide the interpretation and implementation of UD. At the macro level, UD must correspond to democratic principles and human rights; at the micro level, technical standards are accessible aids. The onus of promoting inclusive environments for citizens lies on both architects, spatial planners, policymakers, and rehabilitation specialists. However, while engaging in interdisciplinary processes with UD revitalises fundamental concepts of citizenship and equal opportunity, the term "universal" does not mean that UD proposes a solution for a single universal citizen. Owing to the differentiation of impairments as human conditions, knowledge of impairments is crucial for the knowledge UD practice builds upon. Accessibility and barriers are both entangled phenomena that involve individual, social, and spatial factors. The individual factors encompass changes over the lifespan and are often analysed from a therapeutic perspective. Spatial theorists have argued along similar lines in the context of the right to the city, urban life, and gender inequalities. At a social level, health, impairments, and prejudices can have effects on an individual’s accessibility, whereas at a spatial level, safety, wayfinding, and architecture are of importance. When working with UD, accessibility must be measured technically and in detail, particularly through the knowledge of differences in needs, relevant for detecting the dilemmas or conflicts from the perspective of a rich human diversity . For instance, one such source of dilemma worth mentioning here is that of long wheelchair slopes, which may be good design for people with wheelchairs but are often experienced as a barrier by people with walking restrictions using canes, crutches, or rollators. Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 33 | Universal Design UD As A Dynamic And Interdisciplinary Field Of Knowledge

issue believe that ensuring democratic professional practice within the profession itself is unlikely and that a full public examination of decision-making is much more likely to determine the boundaries of legitimacy (Weber 1951). Political movements demanding fundamental social change have advanced an argument for a radical rethink of architect-public hierarchies (Krivy 2013). This problematises the very basis of the barriers between architects and users, that must be abolished and the forced passivity of the user that must dissolve in a condition of creative and decisional equivalence (Blundell-Jones 2005). In general, UD proponents haven't commented much on the users' ability to influence design results (Pullin 2009), however, this is not to say that there is no discussion of users in UD. For example, Marten Wijk’s injunction encouraged UD designers to "not think in terms of people, but to look at every aspect of human functioning" (Wijk 2002). While designing architecture necessarily requires some notion of the types of bodies that will use them, despite their preciseness, if citizens are not involved in materially shaping the outcomes of the design process, they risk reproducing a disempowered notion of the user. The accessibility standards in India are prescriptive by nature, which means that they only specify the minimum requirements Human beings are concept-bearing animals, we use abstract entities to organise our experiences. Examples include the terms "patient" and "student," which are frequently used in professional settings in hospitals and universities, respectively. The use of these terms helps organise social situations that would otherwise be more complex (Mills 2014). Universal Design stands as a proxy for a generalised approach to design, which helps in creating structure. Wes Sharrock and Bob Anderson talk about the concepts the designers use to construct their design world. Drawing the conclusion from their ethnographic research they argue that the notion of "the user" is vital for designers. (Ibd.). This leaves out the ability of actual users to influence decision-making. Participatory architecture, which is an umbrella term for practices that challenge problematic, unequal power relations between architects and the public (Barker 1999), challenges the architects' problematic assumptions. Arguing that even with the best technical knowledge, one cannot possibly justify the making of decisions that will directly impact the lives of people without involving them in it (Ibd), participatory approaches are characterised by experimentation with public involvement that is understood to not just ensure democratic legitimacy but also improve the quality of outcomes by bringing the privileged perceptions and expertise of users into the process. Architects involved in this Universal Design | 34 Politics of Universal design: Who is designing and for whom? Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Politics of Universal design: Who is designing and for whom? Universal Design and lack of contextual research

2 2 and validation and assessment. "Universal design" is one step ahead of accessibility and aims to accommodate a larger number of people, talking about the design requirements that ensure quality and security for all. A number of developed and underdeveloped countries have amended their accessibility standards into universal design standards or are in the process of doing so. For example, Canada, New Zealand, and Singapore. Post-independence Indian governments have stressed the idea of "accessibility," and for the implementation of Article 15, they published an Indian Standard (IS) code in 1968, which was later revised as IS 4963: Recommendations for Building and Facilities for the Physically Handicapped, which applies to public buildings and facilities and not private buildings, considering four types of disabilities (the 2011 Census increased it to 11). The National Building Code of 1970 included Annexure D as a special requirement for the planning of public buildings, which was applicable to all public building construction activities but not to private development. In 1968, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) published "Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier Free Environments," which were meant to promote education in accessibility but were not mandatory guidelines for development. These guidelines lacked a contextual connection with Indian society and are not ideal in times of ICTs (information and communication technologies). Finally, the Persons with Disabilities Act (Equal Opportunities and Rights) was passed in 1997. Its chapters promote the removal of architectural barriers from schools, colleges, and other institutions, creating a safe and non-handicapping environment in places where the disabled have been employed, with accessibility only applicable to public buildings and not a mandatory requirement for built environments. Architects rely on unpublished work or foreign literature that is inappropriate for the Indian context since there is a dearth of Indian literature on the provision of accessibility in the built environment. The first accessibility standard in the world was the American National Standard. The idea of accessibility was given a thrust by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 to protect people against discrimination based on disability. Initially, the term used in place of accessibility globally was "barrier-free environment." The main point of difference between accessibility and universal design is that while accessibility is a function of compliance with regulations or criteria that establish a minimum level of design necessary to accommodate people with disabilities, universal design is an art and practise of design to accommodate the widest variety and number of people throughout their lives. According to Jim S. Sadhu, however, the principles of universal design are not applicable or useful for developing countries like India and China. India has a distinct culture. In order to ensure a contextual basis for universal design, experts put forward the principles of Indian universal design, which Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 35 | Universal Design

Accessibility in the built environment is provided in government buildings through ramps, staircases, reserved parking, etc. In the transportation sector, the focus is on providing accessibility in the infrastructure as well as the services of the transportation sector as a whole. For example, the Delhi Metro has taken measures for barrier-free transport for people with disabilities. Similar measures have also been taken by airports, railways, and public transport. The promotion of "accessibility" is also at the level of communications and information technology. This involves making the websites and the public documents accessible through methods such as features for screen readers, colour contrast, and translation; having and training sign language interpreters; having subtitles for movies and TV shows; and having standards for accessible TV viewing for people with hearing impairments, amongst others. These services and environments have to be provided in both urban and rural areas. The monitoring of the campaign is carried out through an MIS portal, where data is uploaded by ministries and departments of different states and union territories. The movement was made more accessible through a crowdsourcing app that had both user-friendly and accessible features. Such large-scale changes are possible only when there is awareness about them. A lot of initiatives were launched for the same, such as the creation of a digital and illustrative handbook titled "Access," which would help professionals and common people demand accessibility. Another unique measure was the creation of the E-Comic/Activity Book on accessibility for school going students. focus on Indianness, inclusivity, and social differences and include: 1) equitability; 2) usability; 3) cultural relevance; 4) Economy, and 5) Aesthetics. These were meant to address the allegations levelled against Universal Design after a comparative analysis of accessibility standards between the USA, India, Australia, Singapore, and South Africa. The Government of India's Accessible India Campaign aims to create an inclusive society in which all individuals can lead independent, self-reliant, and dignified lives and work as efficient members of society, which is currently seen as impossible due to lack of mobility, inaccessible physical environments, and inaccessible services, amongst other factors, particularly for those with disabilities, who number 2.68 crores (Census 2011). Despite signing the United Nations Convention on the rights of people with disabilities, we witness a lack of focus on issues of accessibility, largely due to poor legislative provisions in the 1996 Persons with Disabilities Act, which is largely welfare-oriented. The campaign was inspired by Goal 3 of the Incheon strategy, which endeavours to make the right real and envisages providing features of accessibility in the three verticals of built-up environment, transportation sector, and information and communication technology ecosystem for the creation of a universal barrier-free environment. This was coupled with the passing of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Universal Design | 36 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 An analysis of the Accessible India Campaign

2 2 As mentioned earlier in the paper not all accessible designs are universal designs. Designs which segregate the people using them can not really be categorised as universal, which aims to create a space as inclusive and unnoticed by the users as possible. In the transportation industry, the use of wide doorways and foldable ramps in the buses provides an excellent example of universal design. The use of captions/subtitles in public television aired by the government is another example. Recent studies have shown that captions in the video are not only useful for members of the deaf community but also people like students and educators. Accessible India campaign focuses more on making environments/buildings more accessible for people with disabilities rather than ensuring universality of design for all. Advocates of universal design argue that poorly designed products and environments are discriminatory which disable large sections. People with impairments and older people are particularly disadvantaged. For example, Wylde et al, (1994) suggested that as many as nine out of ten people are likely to experience ‘architectural discrimination’ (Hanson, undated: 10) at some stage in their lifetime. In principle and in practice, universal design has encompassed new meanings and dimensions as it has evolved. Its contextualisation and implementation in a neoliberal paradigm can be a useful way to interrogate its meanings, possible uses, and misuses. While neoliberalism incorporates the principles of choice, adaptability, and deregulation (apparent in the market reforms and policies that aim to increase profits), it should also be recognised as a system that effectively conceals disparities and quickly co-opts ideas like diversity, tolerance, and democracy. Associating Universal Design with these same neoliberal trends would thus bring UD closer to what Lauren Berlant refers to as "cruel optimism"—the state of being attached to an unattainable dream of upward mobility and job security, despite the inadequacy of liberal-capitalist societies to provide for such opportunities. A concept such as "universal design" could simply become a proxy system for demanding the flexibility of bodies, increasing the tenuousness of social and physical structures, constantly moving the target for technological innovation as flows of information are made ever more proprietary, and placing the privilege of "design" in the hands of a narrowing and exponentially profiting few. The premise of reducing public spending so that it can spur private economic growth is connected to the shrinking of the public sphere, the State's renunciation of its duty to provide for social welfare, the reduction of safety nets, and rising structural inequality. These consequences are starkly and brilliantly articulated by Aimi Hamraie in her argument that when neoliberal principles for UD prevail, UD concepts "become marketing tools" and critical discourses "drop out." Similarly, David Harvey brings Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 37 | Universal Design Accessible India Campaign: an application of Universal design? Future scope of Universal Design and possible limitations

Universal design is the consequence of critical disability theory that has its origin in the works of Michel Foucault. It stands as an alternative to the status quo which is driven by the interests of the dominant section of the community and oppresses the marginalised and the “deviant”. The advent of Universal Design, marks a new paradigm in the age of modern architecture where the aim is not just to serve the purpose of functionality or to accommodate the boom in the urban population, rather it is on extending the principles of accessibility and universality to all sections of the population especially those who were erstwhile underrepresented in its larger discourse. Barker, P. "Non-plan revisited: or the real way cities grow: the tenth memorial Reyner Banham memorial lecture." Journal of Design History 12 (1999): 95–110. Blundell Jones, Peter, Jeremy Till, and Doina Petrescu, eds. 2005. Architecture and Participation. London: Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203022863. Imrie, Rob. 2012. “Universalism, universal design and equitable access to the built environment.” Disability and Rehabilitation 34 (10): 873-882. https://doi.org/10.3109/09638288.2011.62425 0. forth the susceptibility of universal design to neoliberal "creative destruction." Due to this destruction, tenaciously negotiated clauses are replaced with new contractual agreements that demand that each person manage their own access and actually relieve the institution or college of its responsibility towards the students’ rights. Another major scepticism that this concept invokes is centred around the inconsistency between aesthetics and accessibility. The popular debate surrounding universal design envisions a standardisation of layouts created for people with limited mobility, inspired by the logic of one user, visitor, inhabitant, or employee who lacks global vision. The crucial question here remains as to how we develop a new urban planning and architecture design framework in order to advocate for the political acceptance of diversely shaped and differently abled beings with diverse abilities, origins, cultures, and customs. Another major question that needs to be addressed in this paradigm is the economic feasibility of this model. Since needs and requirements are subject to change over the course of time, the idea of constantly revising the structures to fit the category of “universal” raises questions as to how much expenditure would be required for the same and whether the State, especially the developing States are in a position to bear such heavy capital expenditure. The burden of imagining all kinds of needs and accessibility issues calls for a lot of research and is not in a position to transcend the barriers of time and space. Universal Design | 38 Sabab, Volume VII, 2022-23 Conclusion References