Mahanirban Calcutta Research group

Local Media Discourses on the Bengal Bangladesh Border

Abstract

Paula Banerjee is a professor at the University of Calcutta and a member of the Calcutta Research Group. She is best known for her work on women in borderlands and women and forced migration. She is also the President of International Association For Studies in Forced Migration. She served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Sanskrit College and University. Winner of many awards and accolades, in 2013 she was awarded the Distinguished Fulbright SIR Award and a Visiting Professorship to SUNY, Oswego. Her recent publications include Statelessness in South Asia (2016), Unstable Populations, Anxious States (edited 2013), Women in Indian Borderlands (edited, 2012) and Borders, Histories, Existences: Gender and Beyond (2010) which has been acclaimed as a best seller. She is the editor of Refugee Watch and the editorial board member of a number of international journals such as Oxford Journal of Refugees. She has written and edited over 15 books and monographs and has published widely in international journals such as Journal of Borderland Studies, Canadian Journal of Women’s Studies, Forced Migration Review and Journal of International Studies. Acknowledged as a radical and prolific speaker she has delivered lectures in all five continents. She has been a visiting professor in a number of universities including Helsinki University (Finland), Yunnan University (China) University of Paris 7 (France) and New School, New York (USA) and others.

Effects of Migration in Nautanki performances: the role of media in the Bhojpuri stage performances in Bihar

Abstract

Rajat Kanti Sur is a Research Fellow at the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group, Kolkata. He did his PhD from the Department of South and South-East Asian Studies, the University of Calcutta in 2019. His PhD dissertation is based on the evolution of subaltern popular performances in the postcolonial period where he has chosen the evolution and decline of the ‘Sawng’ performances in Kolkata as a case study. He contributes several articles in different journals and books like Indian Economic and Social History Review, Itikatha, and Dynamics of Dissent (book). He is associated with Indian History Congress, BangiyaSahityaParishad and The Asiatic Society, Kolkata as a member and some well-known NGOs and civil society organizations dealing with women, labour and social exclusion related issues.His current research is based on the new trends in migration and its impact on the popular performances in South Asia.

Where did all these people suddenly come from?

Abstract

Rajat Roy is a researcher at the Calcutta Research Group. Besides working as a professional journalist, first as fulltime, and now as freelancer, he has also been regularly delving into research work under the aegis of CRG. He has co-edited a book titled ‘Political Ecology of Survival’ (Orient Black Swan) with MadhurilataBasu and RanabirSamaddar. Other than writing numerous articles for various newspapers and magazines on current affairs, he has contributed to Economic & Political Weekly, SEMINAR and other journals. He is also a reviewer of manuscripts for Orient Black Swan.

Belonging and Access to Protection Mechanisms for Refugees and Stateless Persons in South Asia

Abstract

Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury is the Vice-Chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University and a member of the Calcutta Research Group. His areas of interest include South Asian studies, in particular, politics of globalisation, democracy, development, displacement, human rights and justice in South Asia. He is among the few experts on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that India has. He is a regular contributor to academic journals, periodicals, dailies, news channels and portals. His recent publications include: The Rohingya in South Asia: People Without a State (co-authored with RanabirSamaddar), Routledge, New York, 2018; Indian Autonomies: Key Words and Key Texts, (co-edited with RanabirSamaddar and Samir Kumar Das), Sampark, Kolkata, 2005; Internal Displacement in South Asia: The Relevance of UN’s Guiding Principles, (co-edited with Paula Banerjee and Samir Kumar Das), Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2005.

The Politics of Humanitarianism: Some Considerations

Abstract

Shibashis Chatterjee is Professor at the Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University in Kolkata. He holds PhD degree from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, for his dissertation on “The Role of Structure and Agency in Indian Foreign Policy”. His recent publication is: India’s Spatial Imaginations of South Asia: Power, Commerce, and Community (Oxford International Relations in South Asia), Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2019. Upcoming publication: Peace and Conflict Studies: Perspectives from South Asia (Contemporary Issues in Social Science Research), August 2020.

Disease and Death: Issues of Public Health Among East Bengali Refugees in 1971

Abstract

Utsa Sarmin is a Research Fellow at the Calcutta Research Group. She holds her BA (Honours) and MA in Political Science from the University of Delhi. She has completed her MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge. She had received the Great University of Cambridge Scholarship for her MPhil course at Cambridge. She worked as a contributing journalist for Free Press Kashmir in Srinagar from where she reported on conflict and issues related to conflict. She has also worked with the Latin American news organization teleSUR English in Quito, Ecuador as a news writer and occasional on-camera political commentator. Utsa has presented research papers in various seminars and conferences and published news stories and articles in various local, national and international media houses. Her research interests include conflict, gender, violence, social movement and activism.