Mahanirban Calcutta Research group

Dealing with Illegal Immigrants in Assam Understanding the Jurisprudence in Past, Present and Future

Abstract

Anjuman Ara Begumis a human rights researcher and women rights activists based in Guwahati. She studied law and a member of Calcutta Research Group. She is currently associated with PurbaBharati Educational Trust and WinG Assam, Guwahati and working on gender education and human rights.

Invisibility of Deceased International Labour Migrants: Politics of Rrecognition

Abstract

Francis Adaikalam is an Assistant Professor at Loyola College, Chennai. He had done his MPhil on Social Medicine and Community Health from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. His publications include “The implications of neo-liberalism for social work: reflections from six country international research collaboration” at International Social Work Journal for a special issues on Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development. Accepted and Manuscript submitted for publication. Manuscript ID: ISW-13-0055.RI. “ Microfinance System and Rural Housing: Generation of a Model from the Case of Sivagangai District, Tamil Nadu, India” in a edited book Volume II: Environmental Change and Sustainable Social Development by Sven Hessle. Publisher Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Surrey, U.K. 2014.

Life after Floods: Coping with Livelihood Uncertainties in Post-Flood Kerala

Abstract

Jyothi Krishnan is an independent researcher and has worked on various aspects of marginalisation and vulnerability in the state of Kerala in India. She has worked on issues related to forest conservation and livelihoods of tribal communities, local governance reforms, social protection measures, social audit and accountability initiatives.

How Protected are the Refugees: A Comparative Study of the Contemporary States of Germany and India in Light of the Geneva Convention, 1951

Abstract

Kusumika Ghosh holds a Master degree in Peace and Conflict Studies with the Institute Gold Medal from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. Her research interests centre on the issues of gender, citizenship and socio-political implications of the two when combined, particularly in Northeast India. In 2019, she co-authored and published a volume of the Peace Studies Series at the North Eastern Social Research Centre titled Landscape of Conflicts and Peace in the Northeast: the role of Religion. She is currently associated with the Forced Migration Studies desk at Calcutta Research Group, India as a Research & Programme Assistant.

Biometrics and the Notion of Governmentality in Rohingya Refugee Camps

Abstract

Nasreen Chowdhory teaches in the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. She has completed her PhD in Political Science from McGill University, Canada, and Masters and MPhil from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has published several research papers in national and international peer-reviewed journals, and guest edited of a special issue on “Displacement: A ‘state of exception’” in the International Journal of Migration and Border Studies, 2016. Some of her significant publications include Refugees, Citizenship and Belonging: A Contested Terrains (Springer 2018) and edited volume on Deterritorialised Identities and Transborder Movement in South Asia with Nasir Uddin with Springer 2019. Citizenship, Nationalism and Refugeehood of Rohingyas in Southern Asia with co-edited with Biswajit Mohanty, Springer 2020, She is presently working on two edited volume on Gender, Identity and Migration in India (Palgrave 2020, forthcoming) with Paula Banerjee. She is holding the position of Executive member in International Association for the Study of Forced Migration and of Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group, Kolkata.

ShamnaThachampoyil is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Delhi. Her research focuses on the narrative of statelessness of the Rohingyas and the politics of exclusion where denial of citizenship is used as a strategy for ethno-political nation building in Post-colonial Burma, rendering minorities like Rohingyas Stateless. Her M-Phil dissertation titled “Birds of Freedom: Depiction of LTTE militant women in Tamil Cinema” explored the representation of militant women challenging the binary of agency and victimhood. Apart from holding a Bachelors degree in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, she graduated summa cum laude from her Masters in Conflict studies and peace building from Jamia MilliaIslamia, New Delhi. Her recent publications include ‘National Identity and Conceptualization of Nationalism among Rohingya’ in Citizenship, Nationalism and Refugeehood of Rohingyas in Southern Asia (2020), ed. Nasreen Chowdhory& Biswajit Mohanty; ‘The Global Compact of Refugees: A viewpoint of Global South’, Refugee Watch (2020) with Dr. Nasreen Chowdhory; ‘The Idea of Protection: Norms and Practice of Refugee management in India’, Refugee watch (2019) with Dr. Nasreen Chowdhory and Meghna Kajla, ‘Transitional justice, reconciliation and reconstruction process: the case of the former LTTE female combatants in post-war Sri Lanka’ with Dr. Nasreen Chowdhory in Transitional Justice and Forced Migration (2019), ed. NergisCanefe ,Cambridge University Press.

Climate Change , Drought and Migration in Maharashtra

Abstract

Sohini Sengupta has a PhD in Anthropology from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, Master of Arts in Social Work from TISS, Mumbai and Bachelor of Science with Honours in Chemistry from Miranda House, University of Delhi. She has experience in working with grassroots organization, drought response programmes and public policy making and has worked with Oxfam and as a research fellow with the World Commission on Dams-Social Impacts Team in South Africa. Her research interests include Indigeneity, Identity and Land Rights; Colonialism, Agrarian Change, Environmental History; Gender, Development, Feminist Anthropology; Digital Anthropology and New Media; Poverty, Culture; Social Protection and Social Policy.

Piya Srinivasan is a Research and Programme Associate at Calcutta Research Group. She holds a BA and MA in English Literature from the University of Delhi, an M.Phil from Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Calcutta (CSSSC) and has been a PHD-SYLFF fellow at the Centre for Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her research focus lies at the intersection of law, society, culture, gender and citizenship. Her doctoral thesis is titled "Literature on Trial: Law, History and Memory in India". She has done ethnographic research relating to juvenile justice and the rights of street children for her M.Phil thesis. She has previously worked on the newsdesk at Mail Today and Mint Lounge and with Save the Children, New Delhi, as a communications professional. She has published both research papers and written culture pieces for various publications. She writes book reviews for India Today and has been a freelance editor with various academic and non-fiction publications.

Forced Migration and Dalits: A Case Study of Delhi, Noida and Western Uttar Pradesh

Story Idea

Amit Sengupta is the Executive Editor, Hard news, south Asian partner of le monde diplomatique, Paris. Hnfp.in. A journalist and columnist, Amit has written/and writing for several media organizations including Outlook, Tribune, DailyO, Hindu Businessline, National Herald, DW, Samyantar (Hindi) The Hindu Business line, Newsrupt (Malayalam portal in Kochi, earlier South live), Hardnews, The Diplomat, Washington, Tortoise media, London, The Polis Project, New York, Lok Marg, among others. TV commentator with Swaraj Express. Recently edited a book on education in contemporary India with essays and testimonies by eminent academics, citizens and students: Indian Campuses Under Siege – Knowledge, Resistance, Liberation.

Edit the handbook for media on the issues of Migrants Workers in the Backdrop of Covid-19

Bharat Bhushan is the editor of Catch News and has been the founding Editor of Mail Today, Executive Editor of the Hindustan Times, Editor of The Telegraph in Delhi, Editor of the Express News Service, Washington Correspondent of the Indian Express and an Assistant Editor with The Times of India.

Reporting the Migrants in the Time of an Epidemic

Story Idea

Debashis Aich has been working for more than three decades in various media outlets. Currently, he is working as an independent journalist and member of the Editorial Team of an online bi-lingual news portal Ground Xero (www.groundxero.in). He has 19 years of experience as a journalist in mainstream television and print media (1995 to 2014).

Reporting the Migrants in the Time of an Epidemic

Story Idea

Geetika Mishra is the Project lead at 101Reporters. She is a young professional with a demonstrated history of working in the social impact sector and the news and media industry. Areas of interest include Political Science, Public Policy, International Relations, Women Affairs and Volunteering with Nonprofits. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Political Science degree from Delhi University.

Where do Migrant Labour Live? A Survey in Kolkata

Story Idea

Swati Bhattacharjee is the Senior Assistant Editor, Edit Pages, Ananda Bazar Patrika. She was Fulbright Fellow 2010-2011 at ALJ Poverty Action Lab, MIT.

Abhijnan Sarkar is an independent documentary maker.

Public Health, Migrant Workers and a Global Pandemic: From a Social Crisis to a Crisis of the Social

Abstract

Iman Mitra is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Shiv Nadar University. His research interests include History of the economic discipline; Economic History and Political Economy of South Asia; Urbanization, migration practices and informal economy in South Asia; State and non-state networks of dissemination of economic knowledge, especially in colonial and postcolonial contexts; Relation between economic rationalities and governmental reason.

Migrants in India’s Health Infrastructure : Ethnography on India’s Frontline Workers

Abstract

Ishita Dey is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology in South Asian University, Delhi. She is a food anthropologist with an interest in food, labour studies and forced migration. She has an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in Sociology from University of Delhi.

Migrant Workers in the COVID - 19 Pandemic: Crisis of Work and Life

Abstract

Manish K. Jha is a Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai at the Centre for Community Organisation and Development Practice, School of Social Work. He had served as a faculty in the Department of Social work, University of Delhi from 1999 to 2003. In an academic career spanning over two decades of teaching and research on Social Policy, Social Action and Social Movement, Rural society and State, Community Organization and Development Practice, etc., Prof Jha has had the opportunity to engage with students, academicians, development professionals, leaders of multilateral and non-profit organization across different parts of country and abroad. He has extensive engagement with post-disaster relief and rehabilitation intervention.

Mouleshri Vyas is a Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai at the Centre for Community Organisation and Development Practices. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Mumbai University, Master of Arts in Social Work (with Specialisation in Urban and Rural Community Development) from TISS, Mumbai, and PhD in Sociology from Mumbai University.

War, Conflict, Climate Change and Internal Displacement in Afghanistan

Abstract

Mujib Ahmad Azizi is a research officer at Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. His expansive experience with the Mercy Corps, Aga Khan Foundation and Red Crescent Societies testify for his expertise in matters of migration, community development and health.

Study on Impact of climate change on Food Security in South Asian Region

Abstract

Nadarajah Sooriyarajah was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka and is a District Assistant Director of Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka. He has degrees in Agriculture, Sociology, Regional Planning and is now doing another M.Sc. in Disaster Mitigation Analysis and Management in University of Colombo. He has been an Assistant Lecturer at University of Eastern Sri Lanka and University of Jaffna and the Officer-in-charge at the Central Environmental Authority.

Statelessness and the Plight of Women in Nepal

Abstract

Neetu Pokharel is a programme officer at Alliance for Social Dialogue, Nepal. She is responsible for their Access to Justice Portfolio with particular focus on legal empowerment and women’s rights. She is engaged with policy advocacy, campaigns and research related to access to justice and statelessness in Nepal.

The Remaking of Rohingyas in the Host Communities of Cox’s Bazar: The Intersectionality of Identity, Politics and Culture

Abstract

Niloy Ranjan Biswas is an Associate Professor of the Department of International Relations at the University of Dhaka. In 2016, he completed his Ph.D. in International Politics from City, University of London. His thesis examines the implication of the role of state elites, local civil society organizations and international actors on civilian security governance in transitional and challenging environments with a special focus on Bangladesh’s Police Reform Program (PRP). He was a recipient of Fulbright Fellowship (2010-12) to pursue MA in Security Policy Studies at The George Washington University, Washington DC. In September 2017, he successfully completed the nine-month-long United States Institute of Peace (USIP)-Resolve Fellowship to conduct a post-doctoral study on community policing and its challenges in preventing violent extremism. His current research interests include forced migration, role of social agencies and preventing violent extremism, security governance, and South Asian contributions to United Nations peace support missions. His most recent articles are published in National Security (VIF), Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, International Peacekeeping (Taylor & Francis), Journal of International Peacekeeping (Brill) and Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies Journal.