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Brushing with Organized Crime and Democracy: The Art of Making Do in South Asia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 October 2018

Ashraf Hoque  and
Lucia Michelutti
Ashraf Hoque
Affiliation:
Ashraf Hoque (a.hoque@ucl.ac.uk) is Teaching Fellow at University College London.
Lucia Michelutti
Affiliation:
Lucia Michelutti (l.michelutti@ucl.ac.uk) is Professor of Anthropology at University College London.
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Abstract

This article explores the performances of a particular category of young men often derogatively referred to as “chamchas” (sycophants) who are using the art of making do (jugaad) by exploiting and bluffing links with powerful political networks and political parties, as well as friendships with strongmen and their criminal crews. Crucially, the comparative ethnography across India (western Uttar Pradesh) and Bangladesh (Sylhet) introduces readers to the “contact zone” where legality, semi-legality, and organized criminal systems meet. In so doing, the article unravels the working of the democratically elected “Mafia Raj.”

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 77 , Issue 4 , November 2018 , pp. 991 - 1011
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 2018 

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