ABSTRACT
Rural–urban divide is a perennial phenomenon in any civilisation indicating a hierarchical relation between the two settlements existing in a continuum. There is a subordinate position assigned to the rural vis-à-vis urban setting which appears to be a manifestation of certain indicators being considered as a parameter for development. With this subordination, marginalised status becomes conspicuous and critical. The present paper attempts to understand the veracity of such an imposition through critical ethnography in a rural setting of Bihar. It appears that othering (of rural setting) takes place through different instruments prominently being the schooling pattern which helps in formalising and (re)producing this process. It is revealed that subordination in the hierarchy is maintained through othering along a continuous process emanating from the discourse of negotiation between two cultures with an element of politico-economic exploitation, cultural subjugation, discursive violence, and resultant intersectionality of migration (towards urban setting) as one of the critical factors in negotiating hierarchised relation between rural and urban duality. However, this subordination is contested and negotiated through local resources, tricks, and counter-discursive actions.
