Comparative Government and Politics

Pushpa Singh is Assistant Professor at Department of Political Science, Miranda House, University of Delhi. She completed BA (Hons), MA and MPhil in political science from University of Delhi and is currently pursuing her PhD from the University. She has been engaged in teaching subjects such as Political Theory, Comparative Politics, Human Rights and Indian Political Thought for the past 14 years. Her interest areas are development studies, gender issues, human rights, seed sovereignty and political economy of the Indian State. She was part of the India team in the international project on 'Mapping Rights Representation and the Poor: Study of Three Large Democracies of the World: Brazil, Mexico and India' (2004), funded by IDS Sussex. She was Co-Principal Investigator for an Innovation Project titled 'Kashmiriyat and Beyond', sponsored by University of Delhi and was awarded the 'Best Display for Innovation Projects' prize by the University. She has presented papers in several international and national seminars in her areas of interest. She contributed to the peer-reviewed journal Contribution to Indian Sociology and has chapters in edited volumes of many books such as Contemporary India (2009), Development Process and Social Movements in Contemporary India (2016), Shasan: Mudde Aur Chunotiyan (2017), Governance (2018), Political Process in Contemporary India (2018) and several online publications, as part of e-content generation by Institute of Lifelong Learning (ILLL), University of Delhi. She was part of a collaborative programme on 'Women and Politics' organized by University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, USA, and Department of Political Science, Miranda House, during her tenure as the Teacher-in-Charge. She was Associate Fellow of Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi, from 2003 to 2008. During that period, she was part of organizing committees of several national and international seminars and grassroots colloquiums. The experience helped her understand perspectives from field engagements. She received the 'East West Scholarship' for securing highest marks in her masters. In her graduation days, she received 'All Round Best Student Award' and several other accolades from Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi. Chetna Sharma is Assistant Professor at Department of Political Science, Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi. She obtained her master's degree from Department of Political Science and MPhil from Department of African Studies, University of Delhi. In 2011, she was awarded PhD from Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. Her PhD thesis was titled 'Identity Politics and Recognition of Minorities in Indian States: A Study of Bodos and Ladakhis'. It is based on an extensive fieldwork in and around Bodo-dominated areas of Kokrajhar, the capital city of Guwahati in Assam, and Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. This work focuses on politics of recognition of internal minorities in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir. It engages in contemporary discussions on multiculturalism, pushes the normative boundaries beyond an examination of national minorities and analyses the political negotiations involved in determining the cultural securities of internal minorities. Her areas of interest are political theory, contemporary liberalism, citizenship, minority rights, multiculturalism, conflict studies and politics of Assam, with a special focus on plain tribes and peace accords. With a strong interest in political theory, she has contributed chapters for University of Delhi's web portal for undergraduate students on topics of liberalism, state, equality, multiculturalism and pluralism. She has also published debates on secularism and Muslim women's position as internal minority in the Indian democracy. She was awarded Junior Research Fellowship and Senior Research Fellowship by University Grants Commission (UGC). She contributed a chapter in a book titled itizenship in Globalizing World, edited by Ashok Acharya (New Delhi, 2012). Dr Sharma regularly presents papers at seminars and conferences in India and abroad. In 2017, she attended a workshop on forced population displacement and the making of the modern world, organized by Brown International Advanced Research Institute, Brown University, Providence, USA.