Neoliberal disorientations: changing landscapes of disability and governance in India

Abstract

This article delves into questions of neoliberal disorientations experienced by disabled people in the context of a participatory development self-help group project from the World Bank in south India. I explore ways in which neoliberal development regimes produce exclusionary forms of inclusion by producing subjects who are ‘able-disabled’. I ethnographically examine ‘who gets counted’ and ‘what gets counted’ within the neoliberal governance framework, and what remains outside. Deconstructing participatory development approaches from a critical disability perspective, the article sheds light on processes of inclusion through exclusion in the neoliberal framework of governance. It highlights what is at stake for disability futures in the context of austerity in the Global South.

Keywords:

• neoliberal governance
• India
• Global South
• development
• labor affect subjectivity
• Foucault

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful for the generous financial support from the National Science Foundation and the City University of New York. The author also acknowledges the tremendous support received during the fieldwork from various disabled people’s organizations and individuals. The author also wants to extend heart-filled appreciation to Kiran Ponada and Anders Wallace for providing editorial expertise on the manuscript. Finally, the author wants to thank Himika Bhattacharya for her comments on earlier versions of the article. All views expressed in the article are those of the author and do not represent views of any institution.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Telangana, located in southern India, gained its statehood from Andhra Pradesh in early 2014 after a prolonged separatist movement. Largely considered to be underdeveloped, it is a semi-arid region characterized by hot and dry weather.

2. Super-crip is a disabled person who is determined to overcome or compensate for his/her disability by being an over achiever. Opposite of pity, it is another form of disability othering process.

Additional information

Funding

Fieldwork for this research was supported by research grants from National Science Foundation [Award no. SES-0752982] and the City University of New York [Award no. 67271-00 45].