ABSTRACT

This book presents a broad overview of the challenges posed by COVID-19 in India and its neighboring countries. It studies the differing responses to COVID-19 infections across South Asia, the variegated impact of the pandemic on its societies, communities and economies, and emerging challenges which require an interdisciplinary understanding and analysis.  

With a range of case studies from India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, this book,  

  • Analyses the socio-economic impact of the pandemic, including the structural challenges faced by farmers in the agricultural production and migrant workers in the informal sectors;
  • Examines the shifting trends in migration and displacement during the pandemic; 
  • Explores the precarity faced by LGBTQ+, transgender, Dalit, tribal, senior citizens, and other marginalized communities during the pandemic; 
  • Discusses the gendered impact of the pandemic on women and girls, combining with multiple and intersecting inequalities like race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, age, geographical location, and sexual orientation; 
  • Sheds light on the position of health infrastructure and healthcare services across different countries, and the transitions experienced in their education sectors as well, in response to COVID-19.

A holistic read on the pandemic, this book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of sociology, medical anthropology, sociology of health, pandemic and health studies, political studies, social anthropology, public policy, and South Asian studies.

chapter |8 pages

Introduction

part II|58 pages

Unforeseen Transformation

part III|70 pages

On the Periphery

chapter 8|13 pages

Home, Violence, and the Pandemic

Sociological Discourses and Re-imagination in India

chapter 9|13 pages

The Unwanted Citizen

Dalit Precarity and the Pandemic in India

chapter 10|13 pages

COVID-19 and Queer Community in India

Transgender Precarity Versus Homovivah

chapter 11|14 pages

Life of the Marginalised and the Pandemic

The Case of Tribes in India

part IV|89 pages

Regional Narratives

chapter 13|15 pages

Socioeconomic Impact of COVID-19 and Lessons

Bangladesh

chapter 14|12 pages

A Neighbour's Anguish

Myanmar's Response to the Pandemic

chapter 16|15 pages

The Crown and the Corona

A Close-up on Bhutan's Successful COVID Response Led by the King

chapter 17|14 pages

Risks, Livelihoods, and Family Life

Negotiating the COVID-19 Pandemic in Urban Pakistan

chapter 18|17 pages

“New Normal” in Sri Lanka

The Impact of Local Reaction to a Global Pandemic in Shaping Everyday Lives of the Citizens