Research Activities – Ongoing

The research project is a collaborative work with Prof Saurabh Gupta’s external PhD student from the University of Hohenheim, Germany. The research presents exploratory case studies of new entrants to agri business. The data collection is currently underway.

Along with Prof. Diganta Das from the Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva Vishwavidyalaya (Assam), in this study, Prof. Dina Banerjee examines the coping (in fact, survival) mechanisms of the women contractual workers in five tea plantations of Assam. At the confluence of domestic violence, job insecurity, abject poverty, and lack of tribal status, lives of these women is a constant struggle. Data are based on an extensive fieldwork including in-depth interviews, wide-ranging observations, and several archival documents.

This research explores work-life experiences of Dalit women in India who hold important leadership positions in various organizations. Growing up at the intersection of gender, caste, and class oppression, these women represent an epitome of powerlessness. Contrarily, important leadership positions reflect power. This study explores the challenges that Dalit women encounter as leaders at the juncture of wretched powerlessness and power. Data are derived from the narratives of 91 Dalit women leaders from multiple geographical regions in India.