Papers by Kunaljeet Roy
Curator: The Museum Journal, Nov 28, 2023
Fudan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
A Chinatown is a section of an urban area with a large number of Chinese outside China. The prese... more A Chinatown is a section of an urban area with a large number of Chinese outside China. The presence of areas known as 'Chinatown' across all the continents of the world exemplifies the strong presence of the Chinese Overseas. This research has focused on the unique and exclusive Chinese space of Calcutta (renamed to Kolkata in 2001) with its twin Chinatowns (Cheenapara and Tangra) where the Chinese-Indian community established their ethnic and economic niche. Their cultural identity and belongingness of this vibrant community establishes permanent mark on the cultural landscape of the city. The long-dominant territorially based construction of collective identity; an adopted territorial homeland only to be refashioned in the global-local phenomenon, is exemplified in the Chinatowns of Kolkata. The subgroups inside the Chinese neighbourhood in Kolkata's Cheenapara are demarcated according to the source region they initially migrated from. These groups (Cantonese, Hakka, Hubenese, Shanghainese) established separate ethnic institutions, Huiguans, temples, cemeteries, enterprises so as to pass on their cultural traits to the successive generations. This work has restricted its scope to the 'space' and 'identity' outcomes for both the Chinatowns by applying this celebration and preservation model approach after 'HUL' 2011 and analysed through the qualitative research framework of 'visual ethnography' to interpret the relationship exists between the 'ethnicization' of city fabric and community belongingness with surrounding geographical 'space'.
Key challenges in geography, Dec 31, 2022
Curator- The Museum Journal, 2023
Man in India, 2022
Many social scientists particularly geographers prefer to operationalize seemingly more enculture... more Many social scientists particularly geographers prefer to operationalize seemingly more encultured and embodied concepts, such as place, environment, landscape, etc., in their studies than the earlier abstract concept of space. Now qualitative inquiries into human behaviour in a spatial context emphasizes on studying everyday activity patterns by spatial scientists, geographers and social anthropologists. The concept of territoriality and significance of a section of the River Hooghly is emphasized in the paper focusing on the banks (ghats) that evolved in pre-colonial native Calcutta. The paper strives to examine the complex and multifaceted ways in which aspects of religious practice interact with processes of social construction on the ghatscape and the ritualscape; the rituals taking place in special sacred spaces. Associated with this sacred sociocultural aspect is social and economic cohesion through the various rites and related trade and commerce of religious ingredients. Based on literature survey the work is supported with primary data adopting a qualitative 'micro scale' and a 'practice-oriented' research approach. It is only through ethnography that religious meanings can be perceived and analysed so an ethnographically grounded theory has been put forth explaining the notions of place and space. Classification of ghats were done based on observation of functions on a socio-cultural and socioeconomic basis and mapping based on Google Earth. This paper attempts conceptualizing the relationship between the significance and meaning of micro-social actions and larger-order structures such as institutions, and to understand the socio-spatial dynamics driving socioeconomic phenomena. This study is unique in that it attempts to showcase how early religious significance of the ghats is still vibrant in this present day neo liberalised contemporary urban cultural setting. The field study was done in the pre Covid period and so the Covid 19 and post Covid19 situational analysis is beyond the scope of this paper.
Springer Nature Social Sciences, 2021
The contribution of migration to global demographic dynamics has resulted in a growing public and... more The contribution of migration to global demographic dynamics has resulted in a growing public and academic interest. The landscapes of Chinese overseas ethnic economy and associated migrant Diaspora networks require special scholarly attention from cross-disciplinary perspectives. The present study seeks to understand the same from geographical viewpoints and thus selected international migration theories have been applied upon the trajectory of Chinese overseas migration. For the last two centuries, this particular stream portrayed dimensional and structural shifts from single male sojourning to transnational family entrepreneurship. The global Chinese overseas associations promote ethnic solidarity, kinship ties and the sentiment of 'Greater China' over the foreign soils. The strategic geographical location of Calcutta, the then colonial capital of India played a vital role in the evolution of the ethnic enclave economic landscape in the spatial context. Hence, the authors by applying both theoretical and empirical methods have represented the Chinese migration to Kolkata (Calcutta) through twin Chinatowns as a case study with its varied dimensions to harness the perspective from spatial magnitudes.
GeoJournal, Springer, 2020
Locational perspective plays an important role in nurturing and shaping ethnic economies. Be it L... more Locational perspective plays an important role in nurturing and shaping ethnic economies. Be it Little Italy, Little Portugal or Chinatown; ethnic economic ventures fabricate the neighbourhood spaces by creating sincere impression on existing urban landscapes. The Chinese enclaves in Kolkata are a unique case to study because of the existence of a pair of Chinese lived spaces in different portions of the city with their distinctive characters. The old Chinese lived space/enclave was established at the heart of the city bearing cosmopolitan notion of shared community domains while the newer one has been constructed at the city's periphery with restricted, fortified Hakka entrepreneurial activities. The chain of successive migration by Cantonese, Hakka and Hubeinese Chinese helped the community to build a strong co-ethnic network of occupations. Later, the changing socioeconomic and political circumstances made these clustered enterprises spread across the city. The present paper deals with aspects of sectoral specialisation and spatial dynamics of ethnic Chinese economic spaces of Kolkata by applying both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Indian Journal of Spatial Science, 2018
The ‘Silk Route’ consisted of many crisscrossing caravan routes stretched about 5000 miles of mos... more The ‘Silk Route’ consisted of many crisscrossing caravan routes stretched about 5000 miles of mostly inhospitable mountains and desert tracts. The movements of traders, porters, artisans and priests had created the dissemination of culture both materially and spiritually. The trading cities like Kashgarh, Samarkhand, Bukhara, and Xinxiang had became the hub of commodity and cultural exchange between the Greeks, Scythians, Cimmerians, Chinese and Indians. So, the Indo-Chinese trade and cultural relations are century old and Buddhism had been the major amalgamative factor. The northern, southern and central silk routes encircling China, India and adjacent nations played pivotal role towards spreading of inter-mixed cultural practices like, the ‘Gandhara’ or Greko-Indian art, Mahayana Buddhism, ‘Karez’ system of irrigation etc. However in recent times, ethnic tensions engulfed in Xinxiang among the Chinese authorities and Uyghur minorities resulted into the rebirth of religious fanaticism. Besides, China’s strategic decision for rebuilding Silk Road Economic Belt created geopolitical dilemma among its neighbours notably India and adjacent nations. So, the changing dynamics of Silk Route in context to its revival strategies and the urge for re-creation of cultural ties among states are the focal themes which the present paper addresses.
The city of Kolkata (Calcutta)
Conference Presentations by Kunaljeet Roy
Vivekananda College Kolkata welcome all researchers from different academic disciplines to contri... more Vivekananda College Kolkata welcome all researchers from different academic disciplines to contribute their unique research findings to the forthcoming International conference.
Book Chapters by Kunaljeet Roy
Swamiji: Fabulous Facilitator and Ideal Philosopher, 2021
The present paper deals with the great saint's spiritual and motivational journeys across this na... more The present paper deals with the great saint's spiritual and motivational journeys across this nation for the period of five years between 1888 and 1893. The geographical perspective of such journeys to various corners of this culturally vast nation has not been discussed before in a geographical scale. However, it's quite hard to cover all the aspects of Swamiji's journeys across India but it's a tiny contribution to the existing arena of research on this great personality from spatial and social point of view. How he gained knowledge of his country from these journeys, how he mesmerized people with his divine personality and how he crafted the very essence of real 'spiritual' India, is the most sacred task which a researcher has to hunt about.
Springer, 2023
The relationship between an ethnic group and the physical environment
is a reflexive set of soc... more The relationship between an ethnic group and the physical environment
is a reflexive set of social, spatial and economic interactions. The urban environment
inside an ethnic enclave within a globalized World is getting constantly affected by
multiple socio-political and identity making forces. Under such forces, there are
regular conflicts between economic and social drivers within the space and these
two forces create the nature of the said enclave concurrently. The visual outcome of
an urban space reflects the changing dynamics of a neighbourhood by connecting
and reinforcing Soja’s notion of ‘third space’ between ethnic (enclave) culture and
the host culture. Scholars of urban ethnography argue about Chinatowns as a social
construction with a cultural history and a tradition of imagery and institutional practice which gives it the cognitive and physical reality. Residents of Chinatowns act as
prime agents towards constructing their own ‘place’ and ‘imaginary geographies’
of ethnic place-making. Here Kolkata is considered as a unique urban space where
two separate Chinatowns (Cheenapara and Tangra) exist with striking variations in
its physical and cultural form. By keeping in mind Lynch’s concept of ‘image of
the city’, the author explored street elements consisting paths, edges, nodes,
landmarks and community ‘emotional’ points in and around the twin Chinatowns. To understand the in-depth connection between the space-ethnicity notions
of ethnographic city elements, this research has focused on the visual observations
of streetscape elements through purposive walking. This was done to understand
the role of activity and awareness space in the course of everyday life and placemaking as a part of symbolic identity formation of the Chinese. The building porticos
of ‘huiguans’ and the Chinese living quarters found in Kolkata, with their paths
and streets, bear explicit characteristics making the Chinese identity through their
physical and visual image landscape. These unique characteristics are determined
by continuous and homogeneities of topography, materials, textures, spaces, forms,
symbols, building patterns, activities, inhabitant characters, colours and exterior arts
etc. ....
"Climate Change, Community Response and Resilience" - Elsevier , 2023
Uploads
Papers by Kunaljeet Roy
Conference Presentations by Kunaljeet Roy
Book Chapters by Kunaljeet Roy
is a reflexive set of social, spatial and economic interactions. The urban environment
inside an ethnic enclave within a globalized World is getting constantly affected by
multiple socio-political and identity making forces. Under such forces, there are
regular conflicts between economic and social drivers within the space and these
two forces create the nature of the said enclave concurrently. The visual outcome of
an urban space reflects the changing dynamics of a neighbourhood by connecting
and reinforcing Soja’s notion of ‘third space’ between ethnic (enclave) culture and
the host culture. Scholars of urban ethnography argue about Chinatowns as a social
construction with a cultural history and a tradition of imagery and institutional practice which gives it the cognitive and physical reality. Residents of Chinatowns act as
prime agents towards constructing their own ‘place’ and ‘imaginary geographies’
of ethnic place-making. Here Kolkata is considered as a unique urban space where
two separate Chinatowns (Cheenapara and Tangra) exist with striking variations in
its physical and cultural form. By keeping in mind Lynch’s concept of ‘image of
the city’, the author explored street elements consisting paths, edges, nodes,
landmarks and community ‘emotional’ points in and around the twin Chinatowns. To understand the in-depth connection between the space-ethnicity notions
of ethnographic city elements, this research has focused on the visual observations
of streetscape elements through purposive walking. This was done to understand
the role of activity and awareness space in the course of everyday life and placemaking as a part of symbolic identity formation of the Chinese. The building porticos
of ‘huiguans’ and the Chinese living quarters found in Kolkata, with their paths
and streets, bear explicit characteristics making the Chinese identity through their
physical and visual image landscape. These unique characteristics are determined
by continuous and homogeneities of topography, materials, textures, spaces, forms,
symbols, building patterns, activities, inhabitant characters, colours and exterior arts
etc. ....
is a reflexive set of social, spatial and economic interactions. The urban environment
inside an ethnic enclave within a globalized World is getting constantly affected by
multiple socio-political and identity making forces. Under such forces, there are
regular conflicts between economic and social drivers within the space and these
two forces create the nature of the said enclave concurrently. The visual outcome of
an urban space reflects the changing dynamics of a neighbourhood by connecting
and reinforcing Soja’s notion of ‘third space’ between ethnic (enclave) culture and
the host culture. Scholars of urban ethnography argue about Chinatowns as a social
construction with a cultural history and a tradition of imagery and institutional practice which gives it the cognitive and physical reality. Residents of Chinatowns act as
prime agents towards constructing their own ‘place’ and ‘imaginary geographies’
of ethnic place-making. Here Kolkata is considered as a unique urban space where
two separate Chinatowns (Cheenapara and Tangra) exist with striking variations in
its physical and cultural form. By keeping in mind Lynch’s concept of ‘image of
the city’, the author explored street elements consisting paths, edges, nodes,
landmarks and community ‘emotional’ points in and around the twin Chinatowns. To understand the in-depth connection between the space-ethnicity notions
of ethnographic city elements, this research has focused on the visual observations
of streetscape elements through purposive walking. This was done to understand
the role of activity and awareness space in the course of everyday life and placemaking as a part of symbolic identity formation of the Chinese. The building porticos
of ‘huiguans’ and the Chinese living quarters found in Kolkata, with their paths
and streets, bear explicit characteristics making the Chinese identity through their
physical and visual image landscape. These unique characteristics are determined
by continuous and homogeneities of topography, materials, textures, spaces, forms,
symbols, building patterns, activities, inhabitant characters, colours and exterior arts
etc. ....