Knowledge Democracy
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Item Participatory research as a methodology of development(Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 0000) Tandon, RajeshThis paper questions how development research has usually been done. It points out that classical research keeps a firm line between the researcher and the people being studied, treats the researcher's own values as something to be kept out of the picture, and leaves control of the whole process in the researcher's hands alone. Participatory research is put forward as a way of working that sets these assumptions aside. Here the problem to be studied comes from the community itself, the people affected take an active part in the inquiry, and the researcher works alongside them rather than above them. Three examples from India carry the idea forward. In West Bengal, sharecroppers were registered through village camps under what became known as Operation Barga. In southern Rajasthan, twelve tribal families built a shared irrigation system by reviving an old local practice of water-sharing. In Maharashtra, an organisation called Shramik Sanghatana brought together landless labourers and tribal women around wages, land rights and the effects of alcoholism on their households. Through these cases, the paper highlights some of the more challenging issues that participatory research raises, such as its closeness to political action, the difficulty of applying it in unorganized communities, and the need for a researcher's personal perspective before people are willing to trust the process.Item From action research to knowledge democracy Cartagena 1977-2017(Colombian Journal of Sociology (RCS), 2018) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, RajeshWhat can we learn from the histories of participatory research? In this article, Dr. Budd Hall and Dr. Rajesh Tandon reflect on the historical and political trajectories that shaped participatory action research in its current form. In conversation with pioneers such as Orlando Fals Borda, they situate participatory research within wider struggles for adult education, liberation and democratic knowledge production. Drawing from personal reflections and histories of adult education institutions, Hall and Tandon write about their own journeys into participatory research and the relationships that sustained these practices across continents. The article highlights the need for a non-fragmented methodology of action research, rooted in political praxis and committed to societal transformation. Through the work of Borda, particularly the landmark 1977 Cartagena conference that brought together over 4000 delegates to deliberate on people’s participation, the authors highlight the importance of challenging unequal relations of power and control. In revisiting these histories, the article affirms participatory action research as an ongoing project of epistemic justice and social transformationItem Participatory Evaluation and Research: Main Concepts and Issues(Indian Social Institute, 1981) Tandon, RajeshFrom the days in the 1930s when the University of Bombay first introduced a post-graduate course in sociology, to our days, there has been a gradual change to the professionalization of the social sciences. With professionalization came specialisation and its acceptance as a science that can be considered objective by creating a distance between the researcher and the 'object' of study i.e., the people studied—actors in the social setting.Item Knowledge participation and empowerment(1997-11) Tandon, RajeshThe article by Dr. Rajesh Tandon talks about the practices of participatory research as a philosophy of subaltern knowledge systems. He states how historically, knowledge systems have been dominated by elites who maintain hegemonic control over them while negating the perspectives of marginalized people, and defines participatory research as an alternative process and method. The article goes on to trace the origins of participatory research to the practice of Adult Educators in poor communities of Asia, Africa, and Latin America and lists networks promoted by organizations that became the breeding ground for experiments in participatory research. Dr. Tandon further mentions PRIA (Participatory Research in Asia) and documents its evolution and interventions in the work of participatory research in various fields like environment, workers' education, occupational health, and women’s issues. The article ends by identifying challenges in the form of bureaucratic state institutions, statism, and emerging technologies, also placing emphasis on the role of adult education to help citizens regain their capacities.Item Knowledge as power: Participatory research as alternative(Indian Social Institute, 1985) Tandon, RajeshThis paper by Dr. Rajesh Tandon revolves around the concept of knowledge as a source of power and how participatory research has emerged as a solution against the monopoly of knowledge. The article argues that a major, yet subtle source of exploitation of people has emerged since World War II, through control exercised using knowledge. It explains how the professionalization of knowledge production has devalued ancient, popular knowledge and denied ordinary people access to professionally produced knowledge, leading the weaker sections of society to become even weaker. The article further presents participatory research as an alternative to help the weaker sections engage in knowledge production and its utilisation. A few key elements of participatory research it expands on are- recognizing and valuing existing popular knowledge, building new knowledge from authentic elements of existing knowledge, enabling ordinary people to exercise control of knowledge production and dissemination- promoting collective analysis and responsibility. This creates informed opinions, and enables concrete actions to transform the situation of the have-nots. The article concludes by providing examples of local organisations in India that have undertaken this process and emphasizes the need to promote popular knowledge and research that can function as a tool of collective action in favour of the minority.Item The Historical roots and contemporary tendencies in participatory research: Implications for health care(1996) Tandon, RajeshThis chapter by Dr. Rajesh Tandon, it focuses on researching the notion of participatory research that has been developing for quite a long time. It refers to such movements as the sociology of knowledge, the adult education in the South, Paulo Freire’s popular education, action research, phenomenology, and participatory development. The chapter discusses that participatory research was developed to oppose to the dominant research the statements about neutrality, objectivity, separation between the subject and object of research, and quantitative approach. The chapter notes that participatory research focuses on participation, experience, action, reflection, and recognition of the oppressed. It underlines that participatory research in health aims to contribute to a holistic understanding of health and illness, including the role of people’s lifestyle and everyday life, to recognize the importance of indigenous knowledge and approaches, and to promote their visibility. It reveals that participatory research in health tries to give access to knowledge and empower both laymen and marginalized groups as well as to contribute to a democratic and equitable society by seeking to challenge who owns what we know about health, science, and the health sector in general.