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Working Group Members: Umashankari Narendranath (Convener), O Ramasubramanian (Co-Convener), Rajeev Sangal, Rahul Goswami, Sunil Sahasrabudhey, Veena Joshi

 

The Session on Knowledge in Discourse & People’s Knowledge interrogates the intersectionality of epistemic hierarchies, development paradigms, and indigenous knowledge systems through three critical discursive frameworks. First, it examines the emergence of neo-localism as a counter-narrative to the hegemonic globalization discourse of the 1990s, positioning it within the context of three decades of economic reforms that have exacerbated structural inequities. This dialectic between the local and global raises fundamental questions about the commons' knowledge and its reclamation in contemporary socio-economic structures.

The second framework delves into the epistemological violence inherent in modern agricultural systems, where cultural knowledge systems are subordinated to mechanistic, capital-driven paradigms of food production and food security. This session problematizes the binary between traditional farming knowledge and contemporary agricultural discourse, examining how multilateral organizations' definitions of food security systematically marginalize the livelihoods of farmers and the cultural dimensions and indigenous agricultural wisdom.

The final framework critically examines development as a vector of violence. By examining the intersection of gender, food systems, and epistemic violence in defining gender, this session deconstructs the embedded power structures within development discourse while questioning the potential for transformative change within existing paradigms.

Together, the session aims to construct a critical examination of knowledge systems in relation to development, challenging conventional narratives while proposing alternative epistemological approaches that center marginalized voices and indigenous knowledge/wisdom; thereby shaping a crucial intervention in contemporary debates about development, sustainability, and democratization.

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