Volume 14 | Issue 3 |

 Abstract

This paper examines the trajectory of poverty and inequality in Karnataka in the post-2020 period, focusing on the socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the nature of the subsequent recovery. Despite Karnataka's strong pre-pandemic growth driven by the services sector, particularly information technology, significant intra-state and social disparities persisted. The pandemic disrupted labour markets, household incomes, education, and access to healthcare, disproportionately affecting informal workers, women, migrant labourers, and economically weaker districts. Drawing on secondary data from national surveys and state reports, the study assesses income poverty, multidimensional poverty, vulnerability, and inequality using indicators such as consumption trends, labour market outcomes, and regional disparities. The findings suggest a temporary rise in income poverty during 2020-2021 and a K-shaped recovery that widened income and regional inequalities. Northern districts continued to exhibit higher deprivation levels compared to southern regions, while digital exclusion and gender disparities intensified structural inequalities. Although central and state government interventions mitigated extreme hardship through food security measures, employment programs, and fiscal support, recovery has been uneven and distributionally skewed. The paper argues that sustained inclusive growth in Karnataka requires targeted regional investment, labour market formalization, gender-responsive policies, digital infrastructure expansion, and strengthened social protection systems. Economic resilience alone is insufficient without deliberate efforts to address structural inequalities.

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Poverty, Inequality, Karnataka, COVID-19, Multidimensional Poverty, Regional Disparities, Labour Market, Digital Divide , Gender Inequality, Inclusive Growth ,

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This research examines the ethical implications of human-artificial intelligence (AI) romantic relationships in a comparative study of Rose Clarke's The Mad Scientist's Daughter (2017) and Tanith Lee's The Silver Metal Lover (1981). Situating itself within the current discourses of posthumanism, affect theory, feminist technology studies, and ethics of care, this research explores how these texts reimagine love, agency, and ethics of responsibility in the context of human-AI relationships. As AI is increasingly entering the social and emotional spaces of the contemporary world, the literary representation of human-AI relationships becomes a critical site for examining the ethics of attachment.

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Human-AI Companionship; Romantic Ethics; Posthumanism; Affect Theory; Feminist Technology Studies; Ethics of Care; Speculative Fiction; Artificial Intelligence and Intimacy.

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Technological innovation has fundamentally redefined the delivery of financial services in India, placing the mobile device at the centre of the modern banking experience. The synergy between rising digital literacy, smartphone penetration, and a robust regulatory environment has accelerated the decline of traditional banking methods in Favor of automated, AI-enhanced platforms. This evolution allows for a borderless banking experience, catering to the demand for instant service. However, this transition is not uniform; while it represents a leap in operational efficiency for many, it also presents challenges in adoption for those accustomed to traditional banking interactions. This paper examines the factors influencing the transition toward mobile banking platforms among Generation Z residents in Ernakulam City, Kerala. As the first demographic to achieve maturity in a fully digitized economy, Generation Z--defined as individuals born between 1997 and 2012--exhibits financial behaviours fundamentally different from their predecessors. This cohort has matured in a global environment dominated by pervasive technology and internet connectivity. These age category people have a more accessible usage of smartphones, social media, and other digital platform aids from a young age. This study investigates how this cohort's inherent technological fluency shapes their expectations and interactions with modern banking institutions. The primary objective of this study is to identify the core motivations and systemic obstacles that dictate digital financial engagement in Ernakulam's urban environment. The research adopts a structured methodology, gathering qualitative and quantitative insights from a diverse participant pool consisting of students, young professionals, and entrepreneurs.

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Keywords: Mobile Banking Adoption, Generation Z (Gen Z), Digital Nativity, Consumer Behaviour, FinTech (Financial Technology), Digital Transformation, User Experience (UX).

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The brahmins who migrated and settled in southern regions of peninsular India had made an exerting influence and molded the society in a way to maintain their supreme power and authority. They introduced new policies to safeguard their supreme position. Introduction of caste and the jenmi system had a negative impact in the society. Namboodiris were the men of letters and masters of literature and produced many literary masterpieces. They contributed in the field of astrology and astronomy greatly. They sanskritised the religious worship and performances in Kerala. They also contributed greatly for the development of ayurveda or the Indian system of medicine also. They cast their influence in all fields of society with their unique cultural heritage.

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Caste System, Jenmy System, Marumakkathayam, Bhakti Cult, Philosophy and Literature.

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Abstract: One of the most painful events in Indian history has been the Partition of India in 1947. Historians and authors have sought to reflect the profound trauma, impact on human values and its enduring consequences in various literary writings , capturing the human tragedy of unforeseen violence, loss of human identity, displacement and loss of domestic identity, trauma of sexual violence faced by women and just the unmeasurable extent of violence that was experienced by people impacted by this tragedy. The literature available captures not merely the facts and numbers but also the emotional personal experiences of people who experienced the tragedy. One literary piece that really captures the pain and tragedy of partition is the "Train to Pakistan" written by Khushwant Singh. Published in 1956, this is a very powerful rendition of the impact of partition and the tragedy that followed the partition, while at the same time, sharing a message of hope that amidst all this, humanity is still alive and it wins in the end. Victory of good over evil. The story is based in a fictional town of Mano Majra along the border of India and Pakistan, a village like any other where people from all communities lived peacefully and in harmony with each other. However, on a fateful day during the partition period, this peace was shattered when a train arrived in the village from Pakistan carrying bodies of slain Hindu and Sikh who were fleeing from current Pakistan to India. The troublemaker (Hukum Chand) strokes communal tension and lights up the fire of conflict in the erstwhile peaceful village, but hope still prevails when Juggut Singh, against all odds, helps Muslims fleeing from the village to reach current Pakistan, safely. The story is written beautifully capturing the impact of politics on human life and how human beings react to an event that they did not create, both tragic and hopeful. Another powerful literature reflecting the human angle of the impact of the struggles of partition is the "A Bend in the Ganges" by Manohar Malgonkar, written in 1964. This story spans a period from the civil disobedience movement to the time of partition in 1947, and weaves through various twists and turns in the lives of its two characters - Gian Talwar and Debi Dayal. These are two revolutionaries, jailed in Andamans, however, while Debi is depicted as a revolutionary who is willing to go to every extent including using violent means to fight the British, Gian is a staunch Gandhian, believing in the principles of non-violence. As the story unfolds it weaves through the trials and turbulations in the relationship between the two characters and how it tests their friendship, as both seek to achieve a common goal while treading different paths, very vividly taking us through the minds of people impacted by the tragedy of partition and the harsh realities of life Literary phrases such as "Revolution is not a meal consumed at night; it is an act of blood and fire" illustrate the viewpoint of Gian's who sought the aggressive and violent approach in dealing with the enemy , while on the other hand another phrase in the book - "Friendship is not measured in tranquility, but tested amidst the turmoil of politics" highlights the strain in the relationship between Gian and Debi as both the characters seek to pursue different paths in achieving their nationalistic objectives. Unlike Debi, Giani believed that to love one's own country does not necessarily mean harming people or having an aggressive attitude. These characters with such different ideologies and assertions signify the impact of political occurrences in a society and how they shape the personal destinies of ordinary individuals as they pass through this socio political turmoil. In both the literary marvels, one very beautiful common thread that emerges is that, during difficult times, many regular people merge as heroes while those that always seemed to be heroes, can at times turn out to be ordinary when the going gets tough. It is the trying and adverse moments, when there is a clash between lofty ideals and harsh realities, that the decisions made by individuals, reflect their true character and strength.

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Keywords -Revolutionary Violence ,Nationalist Resistance ,violent resistance

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With an emphasis on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Picture of Dorian Gray, this essay explores the connection between repression and identity crises in late nineteenth-century Gothic fiction. These books, which emerged from the moral and cultural conflicts of the Victorian era, depict a society that encouraged the concealing of socially inappropriate urges while demanding external respectability. The idea of a cohesive self is eventually undermined by such repression, which causes a psychological struggle between private urge and public identity. This study examines how both Stevenson and Wilde depict identity as brittle and divided when moral and emotional urges are repressed rather than integrated through in-depth textual analysis guided by psychoanalytic viewpoints. In Stevenson's story, suppression takes the form of Jekyll and Hyde's bodily separation, signifying the effort to separate impulse from morality. In Wilde's book, Dorian Gray's image serves as a metaphor for the accumulation of covert corruption while the protagonist pretends to be innocent. Both pieces demonstrate how repression exacerbates internal conflict and results in an identity crisis, despite their disparate narrative techniques. The study makes the case that Gothic fiction reveals the psychological effects of a society that prioritizes moral image over emotional authenticity by looking at various depictions.

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Gothic Literature

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This study compares Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and Jeanette Winterson's Frankissstein (2019) through the posthuman theory of Rosi Braidotti. It questions the traditional humanist belief that humans are autonomous, superior, and separate from other forms of life. Using close textual analysis, the research examines Victor Frankenstein's experiment and the Creature's emotional and physical suffering, alongside Winterson's exploration of artificial intelligence, cryonics, and emerging technologies. Through Braidotti's concepts of post-anthropocentrism and relational subjectivity, the study argues that both novels destabilize the boundary between human and nonhuman, natural and artificial. While Shelley anticipates these concerns in a nineteenth-century scientific context, Winterson revisits them within contemporary technological culture.

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Keywords: Posthumanism; Human-Nonhuman Boundary; Identity; Artificial Intelligence; Anthropocentrism; Ethics; Technology; Relational Subjectivity.

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This study examined whether peer-to-peer (P2P) lending in India acts as a substitute for or a complement to conventional bank credit. P2P platforms in India operate under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) framework as NBFC-P2P entities and are prohibited from accepting deposits, lending from their own balance sheets, or providing credit guarantees. Two significant regulatory events were used for empirical identification: the tightening of risk weights on unsecured consumer credit by the RBI in November 2023, and the revision of conduct and disclosure norms for NBFC-P2P platforms in August 2024. Using event-study and difference-in-differences (DiD) methods robust to staggered timing and heterogeneous treatment effects, the study tested whether P2P lending volumes increased when bank consumer credit supply was restricted and whether bank credit expanded in overlapping segments when P2P activity was curtailed. Data access constraints relating to RBI-hosted attachments and fragmented platform disclosures meant that all reported coefficients are simulated placeholders, clearly labelled as such throughout. The study offers substantive insights for India's financial stability agenda, consumer protection frameworks, and the evolving role of credit information reporting infrastructure.

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Peer-to-peer lending, fintech credit, NBFC-P2P, bank credit supply, difference-in-differences, event study, consumer credit regulation, India, credit information reporting

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Psychological and physiological stress is a well-established contributor to the onset and progression of multiple chronic disorders, mediated primarily through neuroendocrine pathways involving stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline. Despite extensive biomedical research, individual variability in stress response and disease susceptibility remains inadequately explained. Ayurveda, through its holistic understanding of mind-body interaction, offers a constitution-based framework that may elucidate this variability. This paper proposes a hypothetical framework correlating stress hormone dysregulation with Dosha Prakopa, emphasizing the role of Manasika Nidana, Agni, Ojas, and Srotas. Classical Ayurvedic concepts such as Chinta, Bhaya, Krodha, Shoka, and Vishada are examined alongside modern stress physiology, particularly hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation. A Dosha-specific interpretation of stress hormone effects is proposed, suggesting that chronic stress leads to predictable Dosha imbalance patterns depending on individual Prakriti. By integrating Ayurvedic psychopathology with contemporary neuroendocrinology, this conceptual model provides a novel explanation for stress-related disorders and inter-individual variability in stress resilience. The framework highlights potential clinical and research implications, including personalized stress management, preventive strategies, and integrative therapeutic approaches. The hypothesis warrants further validation through observational, clinical, and experimental studies.

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Stress Hormones; Dosha Prakopa; Cortisol; HPA Axis; Manas Roga; Prakriti; Ayurveda; Psychoneuroendocrinology

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Drug resistance has emerged as a major challenge in the management of chronic, infectious, metabolic, and inflammatory diseases in contemporary medicine. Despite appropriate diagnosis and standard therapeutic regimens, a subset of patients shows poor or diminishing response to pharmacological interventions. Ayurveda, with its individualized approach to diagnosis and treatment, offers a unique framework to understand inter-individual variability in drug response through the concept of Prakriti. Prakriti, the innate psychosomatic constitution of an individual determined at conception, governs physiological functions, metabolic capacity, disease susceptibility, and therapeutic responsiveness. This paper proposes an Ayurvedic hypothesis that drug resistance may be partially explained by Prakriti-specific variations in Agni, Dhatu Paka, Srotas, and Koshta, leading to altered drug assimilation, metabolism, distribution, and action. The article critically examines classical Ayurvedic principles, correlates them with contemporary concepts of pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine, and proposes a Prakriti-based model for understanding drug resistance. This conceptual framework opens new avenues for integrative research, individualized therapeutics, and optimized drug selection in both Ayurveda and modern medicine.

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Prakriti; Drug Resistance; Personalized Medicine; Agni; Pharmacogenomics; Kayachikitsa; Ayurveda

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