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Agrarian Studies, Caste, Social Policy, Social Movements.

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Personal profile

Biography

I joined the University of Edinburgh as a British Academy Newton International Fellow in March 2021. 

I have worked most recently as Assistant Professor in the School of Development at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru (from July 2020 to March 2021), and Department of Public Policy at St Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai (from June 2015 to June 2020). I also serve as the Book Reviews Editor at the Economic and Political Weekly, Mumbai, since 2018.

I hold a PhD in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. My doctoral research explored the Dalit land question in India, drawing from the writings of Dr B R Ambedkar and a land movement waged by Dalits in Maharashtra (west India).

My training is in the area of political economy of development, with research focus on caste, agrarian studies, social policy, and social movements. The geographical focus of my work is India. I specialise in village studies as a methodology and have conducted intensive fieldwork in the rural areas of Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand.

My current research is located at the intellectual and political intersections of Marxism and Ambedkarism, especially in the fields of agrarian political economy, public health, and social movements. My empirical work is focused on land and agrarian relations in rural Maharashtra, Punjab, and Bihar. Alongside, I am trying to conceptualise the emergent caste and class relations in rural India, while working to better understand the social and economic thought of Dr Ambedkar.

Education/Academic qualification

Sustainable Development, Postgraduate Diploma, International Graduate School North South

Award Date: 8 May 2019

Development Studies, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Land & Dalits in Maharashtra: A Study with Special Reference to the Dalit Land Movement in Marathwada, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India

Jun 2012May 2019

Award Date: 6 May 2019

Development Studies, Master of Philosophy (MPhil), Features of Agrarian Change in a Maharashtra Village: A Study in Karkatta, Latur District., Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India

Jun 2010May 2012

Award Date: 7 May 2012

Development Studies, Master of Arts, Temporal and Spatial Changes in the Incidence of Agricultural Labourers: A Study in Maharashtra, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India

Jun 2007May 2009

Award Date: 8 May 2009

Economics Honours, Bachelor of Arts, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi

Jun 2004May 2007

Award Date: 4 Jun 2007

External positions

Visiting Faculty, School of Development, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

31 Mar 2021 → …

Consulting Editor (Book Reviews), Economic and Political Weekly

21 Nov 2018 → …

Keywords

  • HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
  • HT Communities. Classes. Races
  • HX Socialism. Communism. Anarchism
  • RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
  • JQ Political institutions Asia

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