Into the Work of Veena Das

Veena Das is currently an anthropology professor at Johns Hopkins University. She has worked extensively on researching the impacts of violence, health, and more, specifically in relation to India and Indian society. I recently read her book Life and Words: Violence and the Descent into the Ordinary, which inspired me to research more of her work and write this blog article.

Life and Words: Violence and the Descent into the Ordinary was Veena Das’s most influential work. It is essentially an ethnographic and philosophical investigation into the brutality of the India–Pakistan Partition and how that has affected people’s daily lives. Her book includes interviews and letters with survivors of the 1947 Partition, women affected by the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, and families in Delhi’s urban poor neighborhoods. Das beautifully connects the stories of Partition survivors, teachings and ideas of philosophers like Wittgenstein, along with different political events that occurred in India after the Partition such as Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the anti-Sikh riots, and the National Emergency period. One major takeaway from this is that the society survivors dealt with did not help the situation and, in fact, often worsened it; we should learn from this how to better address trauma within society and for trauma survivors.

Another topic that Das researched was the issue of poverty, illness, and care in the slums of Delhi. Delhi is the second most populated city in the world, and with this title comes many challenges. Her research navigates the fractured medical system, familial and societal obligations, and more. One concept that particularly stood out was the idea that the poor in Delhi did not rely on formal medical institutions but rather on acts of care through kinship, neighborhood solidarity, and similar networks. Examples of this include providing food, lending money, or even just sharing information. This reinforces the concept of Indian society being a collectivist culture: a culture that prioritizes being part of a community rather than just being an individual. This idea has both positive and negative implications for how systems and institutions function in India. While these deep societal bonds result in patients being treated at a more personal level, they also lead to encounters filled with power imbalances and negotiations stemming from differences in caste, gender, and hierarchies.

Another major focus of Das’s work has been studying traumas resulting from the violence Indians suffered during the Partition. Through various essays and books, Das combines the psychological impact on the individual and society to give an anthropological perspective on how the Partition impacted Indian society. While traditional Indian society often follows the ideas of objectivity and distance, her ideas on reflexive anthropology introduce a new method of understanding and coping with trauma in societies and individuals. This more ethical, reflexive anthropology involves listening and sitting with the discomfort without the goal of “explaining away” the pain. It introduces her idea of “ordinary ethics,” where how people interact and respond to each other in everyday life becomes the greatest example of ethics due to the large impact such actions can have.

Das’s research and publications allow for important understandings of Indian society. Moreover, they offer potential pathways for improvement in many areas such as healthcare systems, dealing with societal and individual traumas, and addressing social stigmas. Understanding problems through such research is a valuable approach to improving the lives of so many Indians.