Dr. Sudarshan Papanna Profile

Assistant Professor,

Centre for Studies in Society and Development,

School of Social Sciences

Education:

• M. Phil. degree awarded by University of Hyderabad in 1998 for the research titled Relocation of Slum Dwellers: a Case Study of Sanjaygandhinagar in Bangalore. The study's focus was to understand the impact of consequences of relocation on the conditions of existence of the slum dwellers.
• M. A. Degree awarded by Christ College, Bangalore University in 1995.
• B. A. Degree awarded by National College, Bangalore University in 1993.

Research Background and Other Credentials:

Ph.D. Thesis (awarded in 2012) titled The Expanding City: Land Development and Urban Planning in Bangalore submitted to Department of Sociology at University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad. The doctoral work broadly focuses on Urban Planning and Land Development in the context of Expanding City of Bangalore. In particular, the thesis views structuring of the city as woven through and by the processes of urbanization, urban planning, legal processes and, responses and initiatives of the various social groups, associations and organizations, to it. Planning and law though are dominant and determining forces in the production of space, but they operate within the practical constraints and contingences of the world of multiplicity of social claims, thus they are also medium and outcome in the process of structuration of urban space.

From the times I can remember, growing up in the periphery, when gardens and tanks were present during the 1970s and 1980s; Bangalore was still a 'city' with a vast agricultural hinterland. Now it has become an urban region making inroads into its hinterlands. The forces shaping Bangalore are multiple. Thinking about the local, or if one were to say from the "below", one can see the complete change in the lives of the local village communities of Bangalore region, apart from what the 'garden city' meant for the urban culture for a long time. It seems, as the need for land for urban usage has increased manifold; governmental and other parties, associations, institutions, individuals, enterprises, etc., have been in the lookout for more and more land. This has called for multiple interventions, both from private and the public. In the process land has been seen as a mere 'usable' or exchangeable 'economic' resource. In the process, what is lost is, land as a part of the community that is deeply embedded in social life. As many local communities are drawn into this process, they are completely fragmented, dislocated and disintegrated. This was the motivating point that took the study further and probably I have succeeded in exploring the strategies of planning, law and other forces that shaped/s the city.

Papers Presented at Conferences/Seminars/Workshops:

• A paper titled The Expanding City: Land Development and Urban Planning in Bangalore was presented at the XX Annual Conference of Gujarat Sociological Society organized by School of Social Sciences, Central University of Gujarat, held during 19^th-20 ^th January, 2013
• A paper titled Expanding City and Asymmetrical Socio-Spatial Patterning: A Study of Land Development Processes in Bangalore was presented at the workshop titled Inequalities and Differences, CSSSC-NRTT Annual Workshop for Doctoral and Post-doctoral Scholars organized by Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, held during 4^th-9^th January, 2009
• A paper titled Expansion of Bangalore City: Nature of Land Development Pattern was presented at the Workshop titled Urban History of Bangalore, organized by Christ College, Bangalore in association with Indian Council for Historical Research, New Delhi, during 22-23^rd March, 2003.
• A paper titled Implications of Sociology of Consumption and Space to the Sociology of Classes and Identities was presented at the National Workshop titled "Classes and Identities in the Age of Globalization" held during 3-4 March 2001, University of Hyderabad.

Research Work Experience

• Worked as a Research Investigator, in a project titled Gender and Urban Governance, funded by UNIFEM, co-ordinated by Prof. Mary E. John, Women Studies Programme, JNU, New Delhi during 2002-2003. Work involved the survey of the wards in Bangalore City and interviews of City Corporation Councillors and Officials, data analysis and documentation.
• Worked as a Research Assistant in a project titled Worlding the City: The Futures of Bangalore City, a SEPHIS sponsored project co-ordinated by Prof. Janaki Nair, during 1998-1999, Centre for the Study of Culture and Society , Bangalore. Work involved interviews with the people of the city from various walks of life and documentation by culling out multiple sources of information concerning Bangalore City. An archive was built from various sources of State's planning agencies- B.D.A., B.M.R.D.A., Bangalore City Corporation, High-Court Library, as well as non-State agencies- 50 years of local Newspapers, Local Periodicals, etc.
• Worked as a Research Associate in Department of Science and Technology (DST) sponsored project titled Professional Women in Agriculture, at National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad- from 28^th August 1997 to 13^th April 1998. Research tasks involved providing conceptual inputs and collecting of the data by a survey from a network of Agricultural research institutions and Universities at an all India level, classification and analysis of data, and preparation of the report.