Abstract
dc:description.abstractgeneralThis project explores how Christians in India, especially those from caste-marginalized backgrounds, experience citizenship, along with the challenges Muslims also face. It focuses on how people from these communities often struggle to be seen as full and equal citizens. The study digs into history to understand how events after colonial rule still affect these groups today. It also looks at how politics, culture, and religion shape their place in society. Citizenship here isn't just about legal papers; it's about whether people feel they truly belong. Many religious minorities, especially Christians and Muslims, often feel excluded or treated as outsiders. The research turns to stories, books, and films created by Christians to hear their own voices. These works haven't received much attention before, but they reveal how people live through discrimination and hope for change. By reading these texts together, the project shows how different forms of expression connect to larger ideas of identity and belonging. It examines how institutions, popular culture, and everyday life shape what it means to be a citizen. The research also looks at the impact of social status and access to institutional resources. These material conditions often keep minority communities stuck on the margins. Through this analysis, the project challenges mainstream ideas about citizenship. It argues that being a citizen should mean more than just holding legal status; it should also mean feeling accepted, valued, and included. The goal is to bring a new understanding of how justice and equality work in real life, especially for those whose stories are often ignored. This research matters because it uplifts the voices of those lesser citizens who are too often silenced and invites us to rethink what true belonging in the Indian subcontinent really means and unveils the techniques and strategies through which such belonging is enabled and disabled.
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Level thesis:degree_level
- doctoral
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought
- Department dc:contributor.department
- Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought
- Grantor dc:publisher
- Virginia Tech
- Year dc:date.issued
- 2025
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Jeyaraj Samraj, Trevor Jeyaraj
- Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair
-
- Agozino, Onwubiko
- Johnson, Sylvester A.
- Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
-
- Armstrong, Amaryah Shaye
- Gill, Bikrum Singh
- Upadhyay, Nishant
Subjects
dc:subject × 13Rights
dc:rights- Statement dc:rights
-
- In Copyright
- Licence dc:rights.uri
- Language dc:language.iso
- en
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Dc Identifier Other
- vt_gsexam:44214
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/135514