Rethinking Aspiration in India

Despite shrinking government employment, an agrarian crisis, and increasing inequalities, aspirations for a better life continue to rise in India.

The King Center on Global Development hosted a workshop on the new aspirations emerging across contemporary India. Historical shifts – from the Green Revolution to economic liberalization and increased educational opportunities – have shaped today’s possibilities as to who can aspire, as well as where and what one can aspire to. In this workshop, participants explored the ways that the aspirations have become tied to new and longstanding caste and class identities, rural/urban geographies, and forms of (non-)labor.

The workshop was held for students and faculty focused on development, identity, and labor in South Asia. Led by Alexa Russo and Isabel Salovaara, both PhD candidates in Stanford's Department of Anthropology, it included participants such as faculty members from Stanford, the London School of Economics and Political Science, Binghamton University, and other universities.

This workshop was made possible with the support of the Center for South Asia and of the Department of Anthropology.