Samvaad is a student led discussion forum initiated by the Centre for New Economics Studies. The forum aims to promote an interdisciplinary view towards contemporary events by engaging experts in deliberations. These experts come from a wide range of backgrounds ranging from law, political science and economics to literature, psychology and history. By the medium of these discussions we hope that our viewers get a multi-dimensional view towards what is happening around them and engage themselves in a well nuanced discourse.
On the behalf of the entire Samvaad team we would like to extend our gratitude towards Professor Deepanshu Mohan for his time and effort in organising these discussions. His active engagement with the politica team and guidance has been instrumental in organising these semester long discussions.
In the past 2 semesters, we have organised a series of panel discussions under three broad themes. These were:
Blueprint for a “New India”, Constitutionality and Citizenship and Shram ko Naman
Listed below are some of the discussions that were organised by the forum as a part of these broader themes, for many more podcasts please visit: http://www.jsia.edu.in/centre-new-economics-studies
Shram ko Naman: Lockdown Edition
The Post-Pandemic Social and Political Contract
Date: 4th July, 2020
Panelist:
Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta
Panelist Description:
Pratap Bhanu Mehta is Contributing Editor at the Indian Express. He has been vice-chancellor of Ashoka University and president, Centre Policy Research, New Delhi,
one of India’s top think tanks. Before he started engaging with contemporary affairs, he taught political theory at Harvard, and briefly at JNU. He has written extensively
on intellectual history, political theory, law, India’s social transformation and world affairs. He is the recipient of the Infosys Prize, the Adisheshiah Prize and the Amartya
Sen Prize.
Discussant:
Prof. Deepanshu Mohan
Panelist Description:
Prof. Deepanshu Mohan is an Associate Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for New Economics Studies at Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal
Global University. He is a Visiting Professor to the Department of Economics at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada where he teaches courses in Comparative
Economic History and Development Economics over the summer term.
Understanding the Social Impact of the Pandemic & the Great Lockdown.
Date: 27th June, 2020
Panelists:
- Mara Nogueira
Panelist Description:
Mara is an urban geographer whose research focuses on socio-spatial inequality and the urban politics of urban space production in Brazil. She completed a PhD in Human
Geography and Urban Studies at LSE. Further, she holds a BSc and a MSc in Economics from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. She has experience in teaching and
lecturing, while also having a number of papers published in Urban Geography and Regional Economics.Her PhD research has looked at three conflicts taking place in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, during the years leading up to the 2014 World Cup.
- Dr. Swargajyoti Gohain
Panelist Description:
Swargajyoti Gohain is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology. She has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Emory University, U.S.A., and a Bachelors and Masters in Sociology from Delhi University. She has held postdoctoral positions in the International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden, Netherlands, and the Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi. Before joining Ashoka University, she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
- Prof. (Dr.) Lipika Kamra
Panelist Description:
Prof. (Dr.) Lipika received her doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2016. Her research
and teaching interests crisscross political and social anthropology, gender studies,
international development, and South Asian studies. Lipika’s current book project examines
the relationship between counterinsurgency, statemaking, and development in modern India.
4. Sugandha Nagpal
Panelist Description:
Prof. (Dr.) Sugandha Nagpal has a Ph.D. in International Development from the University of East Anglia, Norwich (UK). Her research work focuses on issues of migration, gender, education, urbanization and development. Her PhD dissertation explores the gendered dynamics of middle class culture in a Dalit community in Punjab. In her previous work, she has investigated questions of land acquisition and development, maternal health and mobile technology and sex-selection in Indo-Canadian communities.
- Ms. Akriti Bhatia
Panelist Description:
Ms. Akriti Bhatia is PhD Candidate from The Delhi School of Economics. She is also the Founder of People’s Association of Grassroots Action and Movement (PAIGAM).
Discussant:
Prof. Deepanshu Mohan
Panelist Description:
Prof. Deepanshu Mohan is an Associate Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for New Economics Studies at Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal
Global University. He is a Visiting Professor to the Department of Economics at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada where he teaches courses in Comparative
Economic History and Development Economics over the summer term.
On the meanning of “Social Justice” in a Polarised Political Landscape
Date: 20th June, 2020
This panel discussion experts from the fields of Political Philosophy, International Relations, Conflict Studies and Jurisprudence come together to discuss the conceptual framework of social justice in a divisive political environment. By discussing examples from around the world and drawing from their own experiences the panel experts try to inform the viewers of important theoretical as well as empirical aspects.
Panelists:
- Prof. Micheal Davis
Panelist Description:
Prof. Michael C. Davis is the Professor of Law and International Affairs at O. P. Jindal Global University, a Senior Research Scholar at the Weatherhead East Asia Institute at Columbia University and a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, DC. He was the 2018-2019 Residential Fellow
at the Wilson Center and the 2016-2017 Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the US National Endowment for Democracy.
- Vesselin Popovski
Panelist Description:
From 2004 till 2014 worked as Senior Academic Officer at the United Nations University in Tokyo. Prior to that was Senior Legal Expert for the EU project ‘Legal Protection of Individual Rights in Russia’ (2002-2004), Lecturer at the University of
Exeter, UK (1999-2002), PhD student at King’s College London (1996-1999), and Bulgarian diplomat (1988-1996) serving in Sofia, New York and London. Member of the Advisory Board of the ‘Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies’; and
the Editorial Boards of Journal ‘International Studies Review’ and ‘Sustainability Science’.
- Mr. Dhanraj Singh
Panelist Description: 
Experienced Founding Executive Director and Economist with 9 years of experience in Public Policy, Governmental Affairs, International Development, Sustainable Growth, and Economic Development. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Policy
Analysis, Economic & Financial Analysis, Budget & Taxation, and Program Management.
- Prof. Pritam Baruah
Panelist Description:
Prof. Pritam Baruah is Associate Professor of Law at Jindal Global Law School. His research and teaching interests are in Legal Philosophy, Constitutional Law, and Constitutional Theory. His current work involves examining how constitutional courts
employ moral values such as dignity, liberty and democracy in decision-making. From 2008-2010 Pritam was Assistant Professor of Law at the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata and has held visiting professorships in constitutional law
at the University of Ottawa and the China University of Political Science and Law.
- Prof. (Dr.) Ambreen Agha
Panelist Description:
Prof.(Dr.) Ambreen Agha is Associate Professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University. Before joining the University, she worked as a Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi. At the Council, she was engaged in research on religion and conflict, particularly conflict in Afghanistan.
- Prof. (Dr.) Sweta Sen
Panelist Description:
Prof. (Dr.) Sweta Sen in an Assistant Professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs. Before arriving at JSIA, she was a full-time, visiting lecturer at Butler University (Indianapolis, USA) and instructor at Kent State University (Ohio, USA). She earned her PhD in Political Science from Kent State University in 2019. Prior to
beginning her graduate studies, she worked with an anti-human-trafficking project that was administered by the European Union through the Group Development Association of France in Kolkata. During her tenure there, she was actively involved in restoration, rehabilitation, and reintegration of the trafficking survivors into mainstream society.
Discussant:
Prof. Deepanshu Mohan
Panelist Description:
Prof. Deepanshu Mohan is an Associate Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for New Economics Studies at Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University. He is a Visiting Professor to the Department of Economics at
Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada where he teaches courses in Comparative Economic History and Development Economics over the summer term.
The Constitutionality of Policy Decisions taken for the Migrant labour crisis.
Date: 19th July, 2020
Panelists:
- Prof. (Dr.) Benarji Chakka
Panelist Description:
Dr. Benarji Chakka graduated from Andhra University, with B.A.L and LL.B degrees. He holds an LL.M. degree from the School of Oriental African Studies (SOAS) London, and has M. Phil., and a Ph.D. degrees in International Law from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India. He completed his Postgraduate Certificate Course in Learning, Teaching and Research in Higher Education and Postgraduate Diploma in French Language, Literature and Culture from the National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway, Republic of
Ireland. He has also obtained a PG Diploma in Industrial Relations, Personal Management and Labour Welfare.
- Prof. Surendra Kumar
Panelist Description:
Surendra Kumar completed his Master of Laws (LLM) from SOAS University of London as Chevening Scholar specialising in international law and human rights. He graduated from Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow in 2013 with distinction. He
has interest in Constitutional Law and also International Human rights law.
Understanding the Gendered impact of the crisis
Date: 7th June, 2020
In this discussion, Dr Nitya Rao and Dr Geeti Das shed a light on the women and the
transgender community workers in lieu of the lockdown. Often seen as the “vulnerables
within the vulnerable”, these communities have always found themselves been pushed to the periphery of society. Over the course of a little more than an hour, the two speakers provide an interesting insight into the situation that these communities are facing currently, and what we can expect going forward from here.
Panelists:-
- Dr. Nitya Rao
Panelist Description: 
With close to 35 years’ experience as a field-level practitioner, trainer, researcher and teacher, Dr.Nitya Rao has worked extensively in the field of gendered land relations, agriculture, food and nutrition security, adaptation to climate change, migration and livelihoods, education, and intra-household relations. Her book titled ‘Good women do not inherit Land, Politics of Land and Gender in India’ was published in 2008 by Social Science Press, New Delhi, and republished in 2012. She has published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals and made presentations at a range of high-profile fora. While most of her research and engagement is in India, she has held research projects in both South Asia and East Africa.
- Geeti Das
Panelist Description:
Geeti Das is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Jindal School of International Affairs. Her work focuses on institutional change, infrastructures, the state, urban politics, and gender and sexuality under globalization. She holds a PhD in Politics from The New School for Social Research and a BA in Philosophy from Bryn Mawr College. Her dissertation, From Mental Disorder to Emotional Data: Epistemic Power Over Sexual Politics, was awarded the 2019 Frieda Wunderlich Memorial Award for Outstanding Dissertation by an International Student. Her work has been published in Sexuality Research & Social Policy. She has been a Visiting Assistant Professor at Ashoka University and a Teaching Fellow at The New School.
The Ethnographic Understanding of the Migrant Labour Crisis and its Economic
Implications.
Date: 4th June, 2020
In this discussion, Mr. Abhijit Mukhopadhyay highlights the plight of migrant workers and its economic impact using an ethnographic method. This not only highlights the complexity of the problems faced by the individual workers but also nuances the existing discussion by making the narrative more personalized.
Panelists:-
Abhijit Mukhopadhyay
Panelist Description:
Mr. Abhijit Mukhopadhyay is Senior Fellow with ORF’s Economy and Growth Programme. His main areas of research include macroeconomics and public policy, with core research areas in monetary economics and the political economy of finance. He has extensive experience in economic and policy research, academia, business school teaching, and academic administration. He has a keen interest in micro and macro business environment, sectoral industry case studies, and issues related to public finance, agriculture and development economics. He is widely published in various academic journals, periodicals, and online platforms.
Apathy of the State towards Migrant Workers
Date: 23rd May, 2020
In this discussion the panelists try to highlight the state response towards the recent migrant labour crisis. The discussion tries to highlight the crucial deficiencies in the state response towards the crisis and nuances it by looking at it through an interdisciplinary lens.
Panelists:-
1. Patralekha Chatterjee
Panelist Description:-
Patralekha Chatterjee is a Delhi-based journalist, photographer and author focusing on
development issues. A partial list of publications/websites worldwide that have carried Patralekha’s articles, op-eds & photographs include The Atlantic (Ideas),
New Statesman, BBC,The Lancet, British Medical Journal, Chicago Tribune , China Dialogue, The Economic Times, Business Line, The Hindu and The Asian Age.
Much of Patralekha’s work explores linkages between health, environmental
degradation, human rights, gender, urbanisation, migration, climate change, nutrition.
She is an experienced media trainer and has taught health and environment
journalism to postgraduate students in Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi. In
2018, she was adjunct faculty, Jindal School of Journalism and Communication at O P
Jindal Global University teaching a course ‘Reporting Environment and Health’ to
first-year students.
- Jadumani Mahanand
Panelist Description:-
Jadumani Mahanand, has recently submitted PhD at the Centre for Political Studies, Social Sciences, JNU. His PhD was titled: Ambedkar’s Idea of Good society: Philosophy, Ethics and Buddhism. He recently published article, on Ambedkar’s Critique of Recognition, Sage, Studies in Indian Politics, Lokniti, CSDS. He was visiting scholar to CeMIS Germany and is a lecturer at JGLS. His areas of interest are: Political Philosophy, Critical Theory, Recognition, Public Good, Democracy, ethics.
Special series on Constitutionalism and Citizenship:
Debating The Constitutionality of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA):
Date: 5th March, 2020
In this discussion, panelists discussed the validity and effects of Citizenship Amendment Act from the lens of constitutional arguments. The panelists are distinguished scholars from the field of law and hold academic positions at Jindal Law School, the premier law school of the country.
Panelists:-
- Professor Rashmi Raman
Panelist Description:
Prof. Rashmi Raman is Assistant Professor of Law and Assistant Director at the Center of International Legal Studies at the Jindal Global Law School. At Jindal Global Law School, Rashmi teaches compulsory courses in Public International Law, including International Human Rights Law & Theory and International Trade Law.
2. (Dr.) Prabhakar Singh
Panelists Description:
Prof. (Dr.) Prabhakar Singh is an Executive Director, Centre for International Legal Studies at the Jindal Global Law School. He holds Ph.D. from the National University of Singapore, LL.M. from the University of Barcelona, and B.A.LL.B. (Hons) from the National Law Institute University, Bhopal.
- Arpita Sarkar
Panelist Description:
Prof. Arpita teaches and writes on constitutional law related issues. She has a B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) degree from the W.B. National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata and an LL.M. degree in Comparative Constitutional Law from Central European University, Budapest. After her graduation from NUJS, she has worked as a law clerk with Justice V. Gopala Gowda, then sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India.
NPR-NRC-CAA Protests: How Women are leading the March :
Date: 27th February, 2020
In this panel discussion, experts from diverse academic and professional backgrounds discuss the role that women are playing in protests against NPR, NRC and CAA. The discussion aims to provide the viewers with a critical understanding of how women are participating in these protests and how gender dynamics play out in this context.
Panelists:-
- Prof. (Dr.) Upasana Mohanta
Panelist Description:
Prof. (Dr.) Upasana Mahanta is an Associate Professor & Director of the Office of Student Life & Cultural Engagement and Executive Director, Centre for Women, Law & Social Change, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University. Dr. Mahanta’s research interests include role of women in emergent political institutions; gendered understanding of conflict; women organizing and resisting in insecure contexts; and examining development through a gendered lens.
- Prof. Jhuma Sen
Panelist Description:
Prof. Jhuma Sen is Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of Centre for Human Rights Studies and Assistant Director of Mooting and Advocacy Programme, Jindal
Global Law School. Her work also embraces the partition historiography, especially in mapping the multiple ways in which the ‘process’ of partition shaped and modified postcolonial India’s legal (and constitutional) order.
- Ms. Akriti Bhatia
Panelist Description:
Ms. Akriti Bhatia is PhD Candidate from The Delhi School of Economics. She is also the
Founder of People’s Association of Grassroots Action and Movement (PAIGAM)
Student Moderator: Shrrijiet Roychowdhary
Citizenship vs. Statizenship in a Post CAA Scenario:
Date: 18th February, 2020
In this edition of Politica discussion series, an eminent team of experts will present their views on citizenship in India and how it has changed in Post CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act). We hope that this discussion would would help our viewers to place CAA and its effects in the larger framework of what it means to be a citizen in modern India.
Panelists:-
- Prof. Sudarshan Ramaswamy
Panelist description:
Professor R. Sudarshan is the Professor and Dean of Jindal School of Government and Public Policy. He is also the Executive Director of the Centre of Global Governance and Policy. He has an impressive track record of publications comprising books, articles, and UN policy reports, reflecting his inter-disciplinary research, teaching and policy experience in development programmes, human development, law, governance, institutions and policy.
- Prof. (Dr.) Khinvraj Jangid
Panelist description:
Professor Khinvrag Jangid is an assistant professor at the Jindal School of International
Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University. He has Bachelors Degree in Political Science, History and English Literature from Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur. His PhD work explored the episode of revisionist history-writing in Israel of the first Arab-Israel War, 1948 for which his work was selected for the prestigious international Sylff Award (2009-2012) by the Tokyo Foundation, Japan.
- Prof. Deepanshu Mohan
Panelist Description:- 
Professor Deepanshu Mohan is an Associate Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for New Economics Studies at Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global
University. He is an economics laureate from the London School of Economics. He has
various distinguished work carried out in different domains of research. It is under his
guidance that the Centre for New Economic Studies and the Politica group function with
utmost efficiency.
Student Moderator: Sahil Philip
Special Series on Blueprint For A “New India” (?)
Politicizing History:- Concerns to Documentation, Interpretation and Teaching of Indian History :
Date: 7th November, 2019
In this edition of Politica, experts discuss the concerns regarding the recent state of historiography and history teaching in India. The discussion aims at examining the state of contemporary historiography and history writing through the angle of how both facts and their interpretation is being carried out by contemporary historians.
Panelists:
- Prof. (Dr.) Mahmood Pana (Ashoka University)
Panelist Description:-
Mahmood Kooria is Assistant Professor at the History Department of Ashoka University.
Earlier he was a research fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS),
African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL), and the Dutch Institute in Morocco (NIMAR).
- Prof. (Dr.) Gitanjali Surendran
Panelist Description:- 
Prof. (Dr.) Gitanjali Surendran is an Associate Professor, Jindal Global Law School.
Gitanjali graduated from Lady Shri Ram College for Women in 2000 with a first class in
BA (Hons) History. She completed an MA in modern Indian history from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2002. She received a Commonwealth Scholarship to read modern history atOxford University for another masters degree which she completed in 2003. She joinedHarvard University for a Phd in history in 2006.
- Professor Ravi K. Mishra
Panelist Description:-
Ravi K. Mishra is a scholar of modern Indian as well as world history,contemporary
international politics, and world economy. He received his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru
University, and attended the University of Ottawa as a doctoral fellow during the course
of his research. He has headed research organizations in the past.
Student Moderator: Sahil Philip
Interpreting ‘Violence’ in Political Psyche and Strategy:
Date: 24th October, 2019
In this panel discussion, academic experts from diverse backgrounds come together to discuss the phenomenon of political violence. In this discussion they discuss their views regarding the strategy behind and what compels human psyche to engage in it.
Panelists:-
- Dr. Ajay Gudavarthy
Panelist Description:-
Prof. (Dr.) Ajay Gudavarthy is an Assistant Professor in the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
- Prof. Madhumita Das
Panelist Description:-
Dr. Madhumita Das is teaches in Jindal Global Law School. Prof. (Dr.) Madhumita Das took her Doctorate in International Politics from the Centre for International Politics,
Organization, and Disarmament, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru
University. Her thesis dealt with India’s Foreign Policy towards the liberation movements of Palestine and Tibet.
- Prof. (Dr.) Albeena Shakil
Panelist Description:-
Prof. (Dr.) Albeena Shakil is Associate Professor of English Studies at the Jindal Global Law School. She teaches English; Law, Gender and Society and electives on Literary Theory and Postcolonial Studies. She is the author of Understanding the Novel: A Theoretical Overview, 2015 and is completing work on another book manuscript tentatively titled Ambidextrous Narratives: Neoliberalism, Middle Classes and the English Novel in India.
Student Moderator: Amritansh
State of the economy: Whats going wrong and how to improve Indias growth trajectory?
Date: 26th September, 2019
In this edition of Politica a diverse range of experts come together to discuss the problems that Indian economy is facing in recent years and what can be the possible remedies.
Panelists:-1. Rajeev Malhotra 
Panelist Description:-
Rajeev Malhotra bridges the world of academics and policy making, A development
economist and a civil servant with over 28 years of experience, he has worked with the
Government of India, where until August 2012 he was Economic Adviser to the then Union Finance Minister. From 2002 to 2008, he worked at UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva and prior to that at the Planning Commission, New Delhi.
- Roshan Kishore
Panelist Description:-
Roshan Kishore is a journalist with Hindustan Times in New Delhi. He focuses on political economy issues with a data-driven approach.
- Abhijit Mukhopadhyay
Panelist Descriptions:-
Abhijit is Senior Fellow with ORF’s Economy and Growth Programme. His main areas
of research include macroeconomics and public policy, with core research areas in
monetary economics and the political economy of finance. Abhijit has extensive
experience in economic and policy research, academia, business school teaching, and
academic administration.
Student Moderator: Sahil Philip
The Union Territorialisation of State of Jammu and Kashmir: Current and Future Ramifications:
Date: 5th September, 2019
This panel discussion aims to present the views of an expert group of academics on issue of making Jammu and Kashmir a union territory by dilution of the provisions of Article 370.
Panelists:-
- Prof. Sreeram Chaulia
Panelist description:-
Dr. Sreeram Chaulia is Professor and Dean at the Jindal School of International Affairs of
O.P. Jindal Global University. He holds a Doctorate (Ph.D.) and a Master of Arts (M.A.) in
Political Science and International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and
Public Affairs, Syracuse University, USA.
- Prof. Pankaj Jha
Panelist Description:-
Dr. Pankaj Jha is an Associate Professor at Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA). Dr. Pankaj Jha was Director (Research) with Indian Council of World Affairs for more than two and half years. He had worked as Deputy Director with National Security Council Secretariat (2012-2013) and was closely associated with national security apparatus in India. He has been member of high level delegations to UK, Israel and other countries.
Student Moderator: Shrrijiet Roychowdhary
NICKELED AND DIMED 