The present paper explores livelihood strategies of the women of Ghasi community in Rairangpur of Mayurbhanj district, Odisha an underrepresented Scheduled Caste (hereafter SC) group historically relegated to stigmatized occupations such as scavenging, sweeping, and labourer. The objective of the paper is to examine the traditional and contemporary livelihood practices adopted by women of the Ghasi community and to analyze the socio-cultural, economic, and caste-based constraints that shape and limit their access to sustainable employment and social mobility. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork, interviews and case studies data was collected the multifaceted roles played by Ghasi women, particularly as traditional midwives, sweepers, and maidservants, in sustaining household economies and preserving cultural knowledge under conditions of caste-based exclusion. Despite constitutional safeguards and targeted welfare schemes, Ghasi women continue to face occupational immobility, wage exploitation, and social ostracization, all exacerbated by gendered norms and informal labour arrangements.

Keywords: Ghasi Women, Occupation, Livelihood, Discrimination, Inequality, Poverty.

The Maha Kumbh 2025, held in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, was not only a religious congregation of unparalleled scale but also a transformative event with far-reaching socio-economic and cultural implications. Hosting over 663 million pilgrims, the event acted as a catalyst for urban development, social integration, and economic activity in the region. While traditional rituals and spiritual practices remained central, the incorporation of smart city technologies, infrastructure expansion, and public health measures reflected a shift towards modern event governance. The festival spurred significant growth in sectors such as tourism, hospitality, retail, and handicrafts, reportedly generating revenue of approximately Rs. 3 lakh crore. Importantly, it fostered social cohesion by uniting diverse communities through shared cultural and religious experiences, while also promoting volunteerism and charitable engagement. However, the scale of the event brought environmental concerns, particularly around waste management and water quality, underscoring the need for sustainable planning in future iterations. This paper explores how tradition and modernity coalesced during Maha Kumbh 2025, reshaping Prayagraj’s social and developmental landscape and offering insights into the broader dynamics of cultural festivals in contemporary India.

Keywords: Maha Kumbh 2025, Prayagraj, Socio-Economic Impact, Religious Tourism, Urban Transformation, Social Cohesion.

Everyone sees, hears, and reads about idiotic actions every day. At the same time, we are all guilty for generating it, thinking about it, repeating over it in our minds, and expressing it out loud. Stupidity will always have the upper hand. If there are various types of intelligence, as psychologist argue, there must also be wide range of stupidity. This paper aims to understand why people describe some actions stupid, regardless of their cognitive capacity, through an integrative study of articles, media blogs, and books on the theory and laws of stupidity. Also attempt has been made, to find out what people want to say when they call stupidity in social, collective, and political arenas, as well as whether stupidity has become more prevalent in the modern day. Relevant published documents and articles examined for the purpose through online search of open access documents. The paper’s composition is simple i.e. beginning with set of definitions given by the philosophical canon in recent centuries, briefly discussing the Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s theory of stupidity with five laws of stupidity as Carlo M Cipolla, and then discerning the ascending levels of stupidity in social collective and political spheres.

Keywords: Stupidity, Idiotic Actions, Social, Collective, Political, Arena.

Globalization has significantly transformed career aspirations and educational choices among Indian adolescents. Global influences have broadened career prospects beyond traditional professions such as medicine, engineering, and government services. The digital learning and international exposure have broadened career possibilities, issues such as socio-economic disparities, digital literacy gaps, and increased global competition continue to impact students’ career trajectories. By implementing some educational reforms and policy initiatives, India can create an inclusive environment where adolescents from all socio-economic backgrounds can compete in a globalized job market. This paper examines how globalization impacts the career aspirations and educational choices of Indian adolescents, focusing on key challenges and opportunities in the evolving landscape.

Keywords: Globalization, Digital learning, Educational choices, Adolescents.

The Koraput district in Odisha is actively engaged in promoting sustainable tourism as a key strategy to catalyse social development, preserve the environment, and drive economic growth in the region. In this endeavour, the government is undertaking various initiatives such as developing ecotourism industries, constructing eco-cottages, and establishing eco-parks that not only showcase the natural beauty of the area but also provide a sustainable source of income for local communities. The objectives of the paper are to know the current status of tourist place in Koraput district and to know the changes that have come to the tourist places of Koraput district from past few years ago. The district attracts a diverse visitor base, with 86% of visitors hailing from Odisha itself and the remaining 14% traveling from other regions. Understanding the unique dynamics of these visitor segments can provide valuable insights for crafting targeted marketing strategies that resonate with different demographics and preferences. By nurturing long-term relationships with visitors, the district can cultivate a loyal and engaged tourist community that is invested in the sustainable development and prosperity of Koraput. The study employs purposive sampling, selecting 80 households from 5 different places and will collect primary data through personal interviews and standardized questionnaires, as well as secondary data from various tourist sites. The study explores tourism in Koraput district, focusing on infrastructure development, tribal tourism, ecotourism, adventure tourism, sustainable development policies, cultural festivals, community involvement, digital platform, and collaboration with government department.

Keywords: Sustainable Tourism, Economic Growth, Environment, Ecosystem, Koraput, Tourism.

In India, the sudden imposition of the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown—with less than four hours’ notice—had devastating effects on the poor, who already faced challenges due to limited healthcare access and unstable incomes. Child trafficking and child labour are closely linked; trafficked children are often pushed into exploitative work for minimal pay, and in more severe cases—particularly involving girls and young boys—they are subjected to sexual abuse. Predatory money lending practices and debt bondage further enable trafficking, as they exploit financially distressed rural families. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Odisha reported the highest number of human trafficking victims in India during 2021–22. The state has seen a significant rise in child trafficking, especially in tribal areas, following the resumption of train services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis heightened the vulnerability of impoverished communities, allowing traffickers to move children across state lines using pre-existing networks. Labour exploitation reveals the overlap between migration for work and trafficking, with child marriages and child labour being the most prevalent outcomes. A large number of tribal individuals from rural Odisha migrate to other states for employment or marriage. Gender-based discrimination is evident in these migration patterns, often leading to bride trafficking, forced sex work, and related abuses. This paper explores the issue of child trafficking in Odisha, with a particular focus on the heightened vulnerability of children in tribal regions and the legal measures implemented to prevent trafficking and protect victims during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings are drawn from an ICSSR minor research project focused on the trends and challenges of child trafficking in Odisha, particularly in the Rayagada district.

Keywords: Child trafficking, COVID-19 pandemic, Migration, Vulnerability, Child labour.

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is unsettling long-held assumptions about what it means to know, interpret, and represent human worlds. This paper argues that the meeting of ethnography and algorithms marks not only a technological development but an epistemic turning point that compels anthropology to rethink its foundational categories. Drawing on debates in decolonial theory, sociology of knowledge, and anthropological method, the paper moves beyond binary framings of Western science versus Indigenous knowledge to show how computational and cultural knowledge systems emerge through entanglement, translation, and power. Using examples from Indian digital governance, the politics of biometric identification, tribal data vulnerabilities, and the automation of analytic labour, the paper examines how algorithmic systems actively shape categories of personhood, authority, and authenticity. Rather than viewing AI as a threat to ethnographic craft, the paper proposes a reconceptualised notion of Anthropological Intelligence as a framework for understanding the ethical, semiotic, and political complexities of contemporary human-machine relations. The analysis demonstrates how anthropology can illuminate the mutual constitution of culture and computation, and why the discipline’s interpretive ethos remains essential in the context of expanding algorithmic infrastructures.

Keywords: Anthropological Intelligence; Algorithmic Governance; Ethnography and AI; Knowledge Systems; Digital Epistemologies.

This paper addresses the comparison of course learning Outcomes (CLOs) and the institutional Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) of 272 in 34 minor and interdisciplinary courses of the B.Ed program at Virtual University of Pakistan. The study used the mixed-methods sequential explanatory design to construct CLOs as qualitative thematic content analysis comparing the same to PLOs. Specific themes are pedagogy, assessment, ethics and digital literacy that were manually mapped through validated coding schemes through an excel/NVivo matrices. The quantitative phase used descriptive statistics to issue frequencies of alignment. The findings demonstrate that the core teaching areas are well aligned (PLO1-PLO5), but there is a lack of incorporation of the two PLOs: digital competence (PLO6) and innovation/social responsibility (PLO7). A Three-Level Curriculum Model is then suggested in response to improve virtual teacher training. The implications made by the study are focused on strategic restructuring of the curriculum, whereas its relevance is the ability to provide the replicable model of the outcome-based education quality assurance in the institutions of distance education.

Keywords: Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs), Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs), Digital Literacy, Curriculum Alignment.

This study analyses the socio-cultural and economic significance of the International Gurna Wina Toupouri Kera Festival for local development in the communities of Doukoula in Cameroon and Fianga in Chad. The research employed a mixed-method explanatory sequential design. The quota and systematic sampling methods were used to administer 300 questionnaires and 25 semi-structured interviews were carried out using the purposive sampling method. The quantitative results demonstrate that education and ethnicity and not age determine dance participation. Qualitative findings highlight the festival’s role as a crucial platform for the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, the reinforcement of cultural identity, and the fostering of social cohesion. The festival is a powerful instrument for sustainable rural development, effectively leveraging cultural heritage to stimulate social capital and community empowerment amidst socio-economic challenges.

Keywords: Festival, Local development, Cultural heritage, sociocultural animation, Social Capital.

There was a lake named Gohna Tal, bigger than the lake of Nainital, in the district of Chamoli of Garhwal, in India, which existed from 1894 to 1970 (only for 76 yrs). In its heyday, it had spectacular dimensions, having nearly 4.2 km in length, 2.7 km in width, and 150 m in depth. It was formed in 1893 due to the blocking of the Birehi Ganga stream, a tributary of the Alakhnanda River, due to a mountainous landslide. The author was among a few persons who, after the Britishers, had visited the lake, enjoyed its serene beauty and seeing the Himalayas from boating in it, and tasted the trout fishes from the lake. The vivid history of the lake from its formation and its two times bursting to the catastrophic losses and devastation caused to human lives and property, is discussed by the author, along with its long history with its photographs taken in the past by the author and from the websites taken by the Britishers at the time when it burst out for the first time.

Keywords: Birehi, Crookshank, Fallstruz-lake, Flood-management, Heim & Gansser, Osmaston, Percy-Wyndham, Pulford, Trout, Durmi Tal, Durmi village.

The paradigm shift from entertainers to entrepreneurs in the context of Indian women reflects a transformative approach in sociological perspective. Traditionally, welfare programs aimed at providing support and assistance to marginalized groups, including women. However, the shift towards empowerment signifies a move beyond mere assistance towards fostering self-reliance, agency, and socio-economic independence. This theoretical shift aligns with feminist theories that emphasize dismantling systemic barriers and promoting equality. Empowerment theory, within the realm of sociology, posits that individuals and communities should be equipped with the tools and resources necessary to control and improve their own lives. In the context of women entrepreneurs, this entails creating an environment that goes beyond addressing immediate needs to fostering conditions for sustained autonomy and influence.

Keywords: Entertainers, Entrepreneurs, Indian women, Empowerment.

This study examines gold investment decisions by identifying parameters influencing investor choices and analysing the working of the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Scheme in India in comparison with Gold Exchange Traded Funds, physical gold, and Gold Funds using both qualitative and quantitative measures. The research first focuses on understanding the SGB Scheme and then identifies and analyses the parameters impacting gold investment decisions. It compares SGBs, Nippon India Gold Savings Fund, Nippon India ETF Gold BeES, and 24-karat gold coins by investing an equal amount of Rs.100000 in each option for a eight-year period from November 2017 to November 2025, using traditional and modern capital budgeting techniques, including Pay-back period, Discounted Pay-back period, Internal Rate of Return, Net Present Value, and Profitability Index methods. Secondary data from public and private organisational websites has been used. The study identifies twenty parameters, with seven quantitative parameters and nine qualitative parameters favouring SGBs, while eight qualitative parameters support both the Gold Savings Fund and ETF Gold BeES, and six support 24-karat gold coins. Overall, sixteen parameters indicate SGBs as the optimal long-term gold investment option, with the Gold Savings Fund and ETF Gold BeES tied being the second-best alternatives and 24-karat gold coins least recommended.

Keywords: Sovereign Gold Bond, Gold Investment, Capital Budgeting, ETF Gold Bees, Gold Savings Fund, Physical Gold.