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What can postcolonialism tell us about international relations? What can international relations tell us about postcolonialism? In recent years, postcolonial perspectives and insights have challenged our conventional understanding of international politics. Postcolonial Theory and International Relations is the first book to provide a comprehensive and accessible survey of how postcolonialism radically alters our understanding of international relations. Each chapter is written by a leading international scholar and looks at the core components of international relations - theories, the nation, geopolitics, international law, war, international political economy, sovereignty, religion, nationalism, Empire etc. - through a postcolonial lens. In so doing it provides students with a valuable insight into the challenges that postcolonialism poses to our understanding of global politics.

Children form the most vulnerable strata of the society and the tobacco industry is known to target them. Article 16 of the Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) calls for prohibition of tobacco sales to and by minors. Although interventions to stop such sales are based on sound science, it is widely acknowledged that many countries find implementation, full of challenges. In India, sales near educational institutions are banned by law, Section 6b of the Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). We conducted a survey of violations in four states [Andhra Pradesh (AP), Karnataka (KA), Meghalaya (ML), Uttar Pradesh (UP)] of India to report the number of violations and to assess if there was an association between the schools with violations and variables such as gender, size, category, location of schools. Schools in these States were asked to report the number of shops selling tobacco within 100 yards on an App circulated to all schools (289,392 in number). Chi-square tests, univariate and multivariate logistic regression performed to find association between schools with violations by Category of School, Size of School, Gender of students and location (Urban/Rural). Responses were received from 61,748 (21.3%) schools of which 16,193 (26.2%) reported violations. It was observed that the percentages of the schools with violations were similar to the prevalence of tobacco usage in the state. Four states AP, KA, ML, UP reported violations 22.2%, 17.5%, 42.9% and 31.4% respectively. On chi-square tests, there was a significant association for the states of KA and ML with regards to variables like size, category, location of schools (p-value <0.001). For AP, all variables were significantly different (p-value <0.001) while for UP variables like size and gender were significant. On logistic regression, there was significant association between the variables like size (>100), category (Upper Primary) and location (urban) for tobacco shops violations in both KA and ML except for the school category that was secondary in ML. While for AP and UP, only size (>100), location (urban) of schools have a significant association with the violations of tobacco shops. Logistic regression of pooled data of four states school size (>100) and school category (primary) and location (urban) had significantly higher association of violation of tobacco shops. This is the first large survey with responses from almost all parts of the four states in India. This study shows significant association with the size, category and location of schools. We anticipate that the lists of schools which have such violations can be used by enforcement agencies to take focused action. Such models will help develop effective tobacco control policies in developing countries with large populations where implementation remains a big challenge.

Abstract Background: In common with many countries globally, India has a history of graphic health warnings (GHWs) being weakened or delayed due to tobacco industry influence. If tobacco is eliminated from society, nearly 30% of all cancers can be prevented. Objectives: This study examines the role of the media in the recent changes to the 85% GHWs implementation in India. Materials and Methods: Media articles from the date of notification of 85% GHW (October 15, 2014) to the date of its implementation (April 1, 2016) were collected and coded as pro, anti, or neutral. These were compared, correlated to significant government actions during the time period to determine if media influenced the government actions on the implementation of GHWs. Results: A total of 3301 media articles regarding 85% GHWs were found during the study period, of which 2961 were pro, 333 were anti, and seven were neutral. The results showed that there was a positive correlation of media on the implementation of GHWs. Conclusion: Media coverage of the issue did appear to have an impact.

Some years ago, in an introduction to a collection of essays on postcolonialism and IR, I wrote that the Anglo-American dominance of the discipline was much to be regretted and that “a plurality of voices in the discipline, actually refecting the plurality of voices in the world that the discipline seeks to describe and comprehend, would be a very good thing indeed” (Seth, 2013). I also went to say, however, that even a pluralized IR, inasmuch as it continued to draw upon the concepts and categories of the discipline, would not be the same as a postcolonial critique, for the ambitions of postcolonialism were other and went further, seeking to call into question the categories of modern social scientifc thought (on which see Seth, 2020). In this contribution, I seek to develop this argument, suggesting that inasmuch as the homology of people, territory and state that is assumed and efected by the concept/category of ‘sovereignty’ is constitutive of IR, a postcolonial critique is corrosive of all forms of IR, and not simply its Anglo-American point of departure.

The nationalist struggle to bring about the end of colonial rule in India, and the Republican and communist struggles to arrest and reverse the humiliation and the “carve-up” of China by foreign powers, were both closely allied to the struggle to become modern. Indeed, the two goals were usually seen to be so closely related as to be indistinguishable: a people had to start becoming modern if they were ever to be free of foreign domination, and they had to gain sovereignty and state power in order to undertake the laborious but necessary task of building a strong, prosperous, and modern nation. Thus in India, as in China, political movements from the latter nineteenth century sought to found a sovereign nation free from domination by a Western power or powers, and also sought to make this putative nation and its people “modern,” both as a necessary means towards the nationalist end and as an end in itself.

Seth suggests that the \"crisis in the humanities\" in India is part of a more general crisis in higher education there. He examines the place that modern Western knowledge and the university, the institution tasked with disseminating this knowledge at its higher levels, has occupied in the Indian social imaginary in the last 150 years. When the first Indian universities were established in the mid-19th century, Indian elites, as well as their colonial masters, invested higher education with huge symbolic significance. Today education has become an everyday aspect of the Indian social landscape, and the numbers affected are much larger, and growing; but discourses surrounding it indicate that it remains invested with a symbolic load disproportionate to any \"realist\" or instrumental measures of its significance. Inquiring into the nature of this symbolic investment, and tracing the ways in which it has changed over time, he concludes by speculating as to whether people may be reaching the point where higher education will become incapable of being the bearer of such cultural capital, with the prospects of an ensuing crisis that goes well beyond the confines of the university and Indian intellectual life.

To determine the awareness about and willingness to donate eyes among ambulance drivers in Central India. Prospective, observational, noncomparative, and cross-sectional survey study. Tertiary eye care center in Central India. The present study used a structured questionnaire distributed to ambulance drivers during the eye donation fortnight (August 25-September 8, 2022). The questionnaire comprised four domains: awareness, knowledge beliefs, and willingness to donate eyes. The collected data were entered into an Excel sheet and analyzed using SPSS software. Forty-seven ambulance drivers participated in the study. All participants were men. The results showed that 48.9% (n = 23) of the ambulance drivers had completed elementary or middle school education. Furthermore, 27 (57%) participants were aware of eye donation; however, only 14 (29.7%) realized its importance. The source of information was mobile phones (n = 20, 42.6%). The common reason for the nondonation of eyes was lack of awareness (n = 14 29.7%). Thirty-five (74.5%) ambulance drivers were willing to donate their eyes, and the most common reason was the gratification derived from helping blind people. The study revealed the need to improve awareness and knowledge about eye donation among the participants. Arranging short sessions round the year, addressing the myths associated with eye donation, and sharing motivational stories may help create awareness. Display of information and booklets on eye donation in the ambulance is likely to help in obtaining more corneas for transplantation.

Introduction: The National Service Scheme (NSS) is an Indian Government sponsored public service scheme conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, aimed at developing student personalities through community service. Young people in colleges, universities and in 12th standard volunteer their services. At State-level NSS is run by state governments with each university having a NSS Coordinator under whom school and college based NSS “units” operate. Each Unit is managed by a Program Officer (PO) and has about 100 volunteers. NSS volunteers who have served NSS for at least 2 years and have performed 240 hours of work under NSS are entitled to a certificate from the University. As an existing large organization of youth focused on social service, the challenge was to motivate them to work on tobacco control activities. Objectives: The goal was not just to get a large volunteer force working on tobacco control activities, but also to protect the volunteers and their fellow students, themselves a vulnerable group, from using tobacco. Methods: Workshops were held to sensitize NSS POs impacted by the burden tobacco users paid. They took up the “Pledge for Life – Tobacco-free Youth” campaign and they and NSS volunteers organized anti-tobacco events such as giving the pledge to students, doing street plays, rallies, poster competitions and even warning tobacco vendors not to sell near educational institutions. After a pilot starting August 2018 with three Universities in Assam, the Ministry of Youth Affairs endorsed the campaign and it has been taken to the states of Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Karnataka. Results: By the end of September 2019, NSS units from 540 colleges had participated and 7,312 NSS Volunteers had organized 947 events during which they sensitized more than 176,000 students. Conclusion(s): Youth groups are a tremendous force for change. Enlisting youth groups like NSS can be a game-changer in tobacco control.

Introduction: COTPA enforcement is inadequate across the country and during 2013-17 only 10154 people had been fined for COTPA violations in Delhi. Police, the main enforcing agency under COTPA, had taken very little action as their priorities are crime and law & order. The major challenge was to engage the Police officials for COTPA enforcement. Sambandh Health Foundation team took up the challenge to involve the police officials in enforcing the Act and institutionalizing it. Objectives: Our Main objective to protect 82.2% of non smoker from deadly tobacco by using effective enforcement model on public place. In Delhi 17.8% (25 Lac) of adult population (15+ years) consumes tobacco in some or the other form. Nearly 14.6% of the youth (13-15 years) consume tobacco in some form or other (Global Youth Tobacco Survey - 2009). Also we have to reduce initiation of tobacco. now Every day more than 80 children in Delhi initiate tobacco consumption. Methods: The steps taken to activate the police step1: sensitization and advocacy with the top most officials of Police. Step2: District-wise Training and police station-wise hands-on training on COTPA and how to enforce step3: monitoring and motivating police. Results: This approach is a sustainable model of enforcement. Before the intervention, Delhi police had done 796 challans (fines) - during FY 2016-17. After SHF team intervened the number of fines rapidly went up to 30334 during FY 2017-2018, 49693 in FY 2018-2019 and 41286 in FY 2019-2020 September 2019. In Delhi I found more than 90% People fined for smoking on public place, which was the main cause for passive smoking in Delhi. Conclusion(s): It was difficult to get attention of police officials on regular basis but proper sensitization led to putting COTPA enforcement on police’s priority. Proper enforcement of COTPA leads to reduced prevalence of tobacco use and saves lives.

Introduction: Typically tobacco users start in the age group 13 to 20 years and once addicted find it very difficult to quit – the quit rate in India is less than 5%. The Pledge for Life Campaign – tobacco free youth is focused on getting youth to participate in anti-tobacco activities which leads to protecting them from initiating tobacco. To start with school students take an anti-tobacco pledge. Monitoring and reporting from thousands of schools was a challenge since there is a tendency to over-report activities. Objectives: To develop a technology solution which would enable monitoring of the actual activities conducted and help ensure that large numbers of schools actually did it. Methods: A mobile application (app) was developed whereby anti-tobacco videos or presentations could be distributed to schools and their activities reported. Education Departments sent out circulars to all government and government aided schools to download videos, do the activity and then report it on the app. After conducting the activity, the Heads of institutions were to give their school details, number of students participating and upload two pictures of the event on the App. At the back end the pictures could be used to verify if the numbers reported were correct. The compliance data was also evaluated in real-time and the sub-district and district-wise data used to drive the campaign. Thus District Education Officers were given daily updates on the level of compliance in their district. This prompted them to focus attention on areas where compliance was low. Results: Campaigns were run in 8 districts of Maharashtra where about 20000 and 2.6 million students participated. In Assam about 18000 schools and 1.5 million students took the pledge. A campaign for colleges was also run in Maharashtra where more than 909 colleges and 150000 students participated Conclusion(s): Using technology effectively can tobacco control campaigns successful.