Author: Ram Kumar

The June 2024 issue of Social Change (a Sage Journal) carried a book review by Dr Sambaiah Gundimeda, Associate Professor of Politics, SIAS, Krea University. Dr Gundimeda reviewed Gogu Shyamala’s Nene Balanni: T. N. Sadalaxmi Batuku Katha [I Am the Strength: T. N. Sadalaxmi’s Life Story], published in Telugu by the Hyderabad Book Trust (2011). 

“Within the patriarchal hierarchy of Hindu society, it is a rarity to find accounts celebrating the lives and achievements of dalit women. Yet Gogu Shyamala’s Nene Balanni: T. N. Sadalaxmi Batuku Katha [I Am the Strength: T. N. Sadalaxmi’s Life Story] shines as a remarkable exception, illuminating the journey of T. N. Sadalaxmi. Her story is not just inspirational, but deserving of global recognition, resonating with advocates for women’s empowerment and those who champion women’s potential in politics. T. N. Sadalaxmi’s narrative is striking for two significant reasons. First, she rose from the depths of the Mehtar caste, one of the most marginalised within the dalit community in the Nizam’s Hyderabad region, to become the esteemed first deputy assembly speaker of Andhra Pradesh. Second, her life’s mission was dedicated to uplifting marginalised communities and advocating for rights across all levels of society. Her tale is deeply intertwined with the essence of Telugu society and politics, reflecting the spirit of the Telugu nation from the late 1940s to the 1990s,” writes Dr Gundimeda. 

To read Dr Gundimeda’s book review, click here. 

Link to the book review published in the journal Social Change. 

Sayantan Datta, Assistant Professor of Practice at the Centre for Writing & Pedagogy (CWP), Krea University, has been appointed as a jury member for the 2024 Rainbow Journalism Awards. Sayantan will join author and filmmaker Sindhu Rajasekharan to judge entries in the op-ed category.

The Rainbow Journalism Awards intend to recognize work by journalists that tell authentic and complex stories of queer, transgender, and intersex lives in India. 

Applications for the award are open until 18 July, and the link to apply is here.  

Sayantan Datta, Assistant Professor of Practice at the Centre for Writing & Pedagogy (CWP), Krea University, has been appointed as a candidate working editor and a member of the editorial board at the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics (IJME). The IJME is a multidisciplinary open-access journal publishing high-quality articles in the areas of medical ethics, bioethics, and the humanities. In joining the journal’s masthead, Datta intends to participate in all aspects of the journal’s functioning and add to the journal’s historic contributions in the fields of health and healthcare in India.

Read about the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics (IJME) here

An op-ed by Dr Sambaiah Gundimeda, Associate Professor of Politics, SIAS, Krea University, was  published in The Hindustan Times on 7 June, 2024.
Titled The Naidu vs Jagan potboiler in Andhra, the article delves into the factors behind the significant defeat of the ruling YSR Congress Party and the resounding triumph of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), comprising the Telugu Desam Party, Jana Sena Party, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In the piece, Dr  Gundimeda argues that the YSRCP’s overwhelming focus on welfare programs, coupled with its neglect of election promises made in 2019 and a politics centred around retribution, were pivotal in its electoral downfall. The governance failures of the YSRCP have paved the way for the emergence of the TDP as a potent alternative political entity in the state.

Furthermore, the alliance between the TDP and the BJP, along with the influence of Pawan Kalyan and the pledge of ‘super six’ welfare initiatives, played significant roles in securing the landslide victory for the NDA. 

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You can also access the full article here

Dr Panchali Ray, Associate Professor in Anthropology and Gender Studies, SIAS and Associate Dean (Academics) at Krea University, co-edited a volume along with Professor Shadab Bano (Aligarh Muslim University), titled Teaching/Writing Resistance: Women’s Studies in Contemporary Times, which brings together a diverse set of essays around gender and women’s studies as a formal discipline and raises important questions: What are its achievements, and equally, what are its historical blind spots and faultlines? Has women’s studies emerged as a critical space within the academy—as its pioneers envisioned—or does it remain limited by institutional bias and social inequality? Drawing on the perspectives of stalwarts of women’s movements who fought to establish the discipline and younger scholars who now address critical debates in the field,

the chapters explore a variety of themes: pedagogical practices; the relation between knowledge production and university structures; the role of social, regional, religious, and caste locations in the way women’s studies is perceived and transacted; and for the first time, the crucial relation between feminist scholarship and State and institutional power, both in India and internationally. The volume is published by Orient BlackSwan. 

Find out more here. 

Dr Chirag Dhara, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, SIAS, Krea University has authored an article titled India’s Voters Literally Feel the Heat, featured in the magazine Down To Earth and on the online news website The Mooknayak. The article examines India’s extreme heat during the 2024 elections, highlighting the disproportionate impact of climate change on poorer populations and raising concerns about its influence on voter turnout and overall democratic participation. 

Read the article here or here.