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‘Tayyari Jeet Ki’: The Production of Childhood as a Cultural Trope of Developmentalism

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Investigating Developmentalism

Abstract

The chapter explores the cultural investment in the notions of development that make grand political ideologies relevant through everyday practice. Through wide range of materials including films, magazines and advertisements, this chapter delineates how childhood becomes the site of performing caste/class-based differences and not simply a stage of natural development of man. The use of visual representation is meant to emphasize the recent focus on the middle-class child as the repository of natural talent that must be nurtured through ‘proper’ parental investment. In the wake of education seemingly becoming more accessible to members of lower castes, the production of difference is redesigned. The disillusionment with the Nehruvian model of development has given way to notions of developmentalism that require dangerous yet potentially rewarding engagement with ‘modernity’. The performance of childhood is integral to the production of the new middle-class citizenship.

‘Prepare to win’ is the slogan for Bournvita, a popular malted and chocolate malt drink mixes for children, manufactured by the parent company, Cadbury.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA

    Lakshita Malik

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  1. Lakshita Malik
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. South Asian University, New Delhi, India

    Dev Nath Pathak

  2. Tezpur University, Tezpur, India

    Amiya Kumar Das

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Malik, L. (2019). ‘Tayyari Jeet Ki’: The Production of Childhood as a Cultural Trope of Developmentalism. In: Pathak, D., Das, A. (eds) Investigating Developmentalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17443-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17443-9_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-17442-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-17443-9

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