{"id":194,"date":"2021-03-18T10:20:01","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T10:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.iisermohali.ac.in\/dept\/hss\/?page_id=194"},"modified":"2026-03-04T04:37:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T04:37:47","slug":"dr-ritajyoti-bandyopadhyay","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.iisermohali.ac.in\/dept\/hss\/dr-ritajyoti-bandyopadhyay\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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Name: <\/strong> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay<\/p>\r\n

Designation: <\/strong> Associate Professor<\/p>\r\n

Email: <\/strong> ritajyoti@iisermohali.ac.in<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Office: <\/strong> 4F1, Academic Block 2<\/p>\r\n

Education<\/strong> Ph.D. (History), Jadavpur University and Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, and partly at UC Berkeley; degree awarding institution: Jadavpur University
M.A (History), Jadavpur University
B.A (History), Jadavpur University<\/p>\r\n

Employment<\/strong><\/p>\r\n2023-Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IISER Mohali2016-2023: Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IISER Mohali\r\n

Areas of Research<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Urban History, Contemporary History, Political Economy, State and Democracy Studies, Infrastructure Studies<\/p>\r\n

Research Focus:<\/strong> My earlier and ongoing research projects explore themes in informality, infrastructure technologies, urban history and governmentality studies in late-colonial and postcolonial India. I work on the trajectories of capitalist accumulation and urbanization in twentieth century Calcutta, economic informality, postcolonial statecraft and its relationship with knowledge, social policy, rent and tenancy relations in South Asian cities, and mass political formation under popular sovereignty and neoliberalism.<\/p>\r\n

Teaching<\/strong><\/p>\r\nHSS602: Social Theory: Concepts and Debates
HSS634: Themes in Infrastructure Studies
HSS637: Reading Records
HSS642: Science and Society\r\n

Selected Publications<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Mandal J.R., and Bandyopadhyay, R. (2025): The Making of Muslim Ghettos in Calcutta, 1946-64, Indian Economic and Social History Review (Sage), Vol 62, No. 3, pp. 307-333, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/00194646251353571<\/p>\r\n

Ghosh, S, and Bandyopadhyay, R. (2023): Labour Segmentation in NCR Delhi’s Automobile Sector: A Political Response of Capital to Labour Struggles, Third World Quarterly (Taylor and Francis), Vol 45, No. 8, pp. 1382-1397. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/01436597.2024.2327457<\/p>\r\n<\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2022): Streets in Motion: The Making of Infrastructure, Property and Political Culture in Twentieth-century Calcutta (Series: Metamorphoses of the Political), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press [Monograph]: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/9781009109208<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2022): \u2018The Making of a Majoritarian Metropolis: Crowd Action, Public Order and Communal Zoning in Calcutta\u2019, in Thomas Blom Hansen and Srirupa Roy (eds) Saffron Republic: Hindu Nationalism and State Power in India (Series: Metamorphoses of the Political), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 130-157: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/9781009118873.006<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay and Ujaan Ghosh (2022): \u2018Class and Tenancy Relations in Calcutta.\u2019 In R. Bhattacharya, & A. Shaw (eds), \u2018Urban housing, Livelihoods and Environmental Challenges in Emerging Economies\u2019, Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan, 362\u2013391: https:\/\/orientblackswan.com\/details?id=9789354422331<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2022): \u2018The Life of Sidewalks in Calcutta: Histories and Possibilities\u2019, in Manas Ray (Ed). State of Democracy in India: Essays on Life and Politics in Contemporary Times, New Delhi: Primus, 475-500: https:\/\/primusbooks.com\/state-of-democracy-in-india-essays-on-life- and-politics-in-contemporary-times-ed-by-manas-ray\/<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay, Paula Banerjee and Ranabir Samaddar (eds), (2021): India\u2019s Migrant Workers and the Pandemic, London: Routledge: https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/Indias-Migrant-Workers- and-the-Pandemic\/Bandyopadhyay-Banerjee-Samaddar\/p\/book\/9781032158921<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay, Paula Banerjee and Ranabir Samaddar (2021): \u2018The Shiver of the Pandemic\u2019. In Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay, Paula Banerjee and Ranabir Samaddar (eds), (2021): India\u2019s Migrant Workers and the Pandemic, London: Routledge: https:\/\/www.taylorfrancis.com\/chapters\/edit\/10.4324\/9781003246121-1\/introduction-ritajyoti- bandyopadhyay-paula-banerjee-ranabir-samaddar<\/a> <\/i> Rajan Pandey and Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2021): \u2018Covid-19: Migration, Informality, and Postcolonial Capitalist Development\u2019, in Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay, Paula Banerjee and Ranabir Samaddar (eds), (2021): India\u2019s Migrant Workers and the Pandemic, London: Routledge: https:\/\/www.taylorfrancis.com\/chapters\/edit\/10.4324\/9781003246121-6\/covid-19-rajan-pandey- ritajyoti-bandyopadhyay<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2021): \u2018Growing Democracy: How India\u2019s Green Revolution Enfranchised the Rural Poor\u2019, Breakthrough Journal, 14, Summer 2021: https:\/\/thebreakthrough.org\/journal\/no-14- summer-2021\/growing-democracy-india-farmer<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2020): \u2018Why do Empty Streets Threaten Democracy?\u2019 Antipode (Wiley), 25 June, 2020: https:\/\/antipodeonline.org\/2020\/06\/25\/empty-streets\/<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2017): \u2018Obstruction: Counter-pedestrianism and the Trajectories of an Infrastructure Public\u2019, Decision (Springer), 44 (2), 121-132: https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s40622-017-0155-7<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2016): Institutionalizing Informality: \u2018The Hawkers\u2019 Question in Postcolonial Calcutta\u2019, Modern Asian Studies (Cambridge), 50, (2), 675-717: https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/modern-asian-studies\/article\/abs\/institutionalizing-informality-the-hawkers-question-in-postcolonial-calcutta\/8F73E390BF050976D660E8A6364DF83E<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2015): \u2018Counter-pedestrianism\u2019: Seminar, 674: http:\/\/www.india-seminar.com\/2015\/674.htm<\/a> <\/i> Curt Gambetta and Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2012): \u2018The Problem Statement\u2019 of the Seminar Issue, \u2018Streetscapes\u2019, Volume 636, August: http:\/\/www.india-seminar.com\/semframe.html<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay, T. V. H. Prathamesh and Puja Guha (2012): \u2018Zoning Crossroads: A Critique\u2019, in Curt Gambetta and Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (eds.) Seminar Symposium titled \u2018Streetscapes\u2019, Volume 636, August. Link: http:\/\/www.indiaseminar.com\/semframe.html<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2011): \u2018A Historian among Anthropologists: Comments on \u201cPolitics of Archiving\u201d\u2019, Dialectical Anthropology (Springer), 35:(3), 331-339: http:\/\/www.springerlink.com\/content\/q397w40817281213\/<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2011): \u2018Politics of Archiving: Hawkers and Pavement Dwellers in Calcutta\u2019, Dialectical Anthropology (Springer), 35: (3), 295-316:http:\/\/www.springerlink.com\/content\/41rk00157lh771j2\/<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2010): \u2018Negociaciones del Archivo: El Caso de Los Venderores Ambulantes en Calcutta\u2019, Estudios de Asia y Africa (Jstor), 45: (1), January \u2013 April: http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/10.2307\/27807142<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2009): \u2018Hawkers’ Movement in Kolkata, 1975-2007<\/a>\u2019, Economic and Political Weekly, 44 (17), 116-119: https:\/\/www.epw.in\/system\/files\/pdf\/2009_44\/17\/Hawkers_Movement_in_Kolkata_19752007.pdf<\/a> <\/i>  Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay and Ranabir Samaddar (2017): \u2018Caste and the Frontiers of Postcolonial Accumulation\u2019, in Iman Mitra, Ranabir Samaddar and Samita Sen (eds), Accumulation in Postcolonial Capitalism, Singapore, Springer: http:\/\/link.springer.com\/chapter\/10.1007%2F978-981-10-1037-8_10<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2013): \u2018The Political Economy of India\u2019s Unique Identification Project\u2019, in Atig Ghosh (ed): Branding the Migrant: Arguments of Rights, Welfare and Security, London, Frontpage <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2012): \u201cIn the Shadow of the Shopping Mall: Hawkers in Global Calcutta,\u201d in G. L. Riberico, C. A. Vega and G. Mathews (eds.) Economic Globalization from Below, New York and London: Routledge: http:\/\/www.routledge.com\/books\/details\/9780415535090\/<\/a> <\/i> Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay (2007): \u201cRole of women in the Joint Forest Management Programme: Case Study of Two Forest Villages of West Bengal,\u201d in Ranjan Chakrabarti (ed.): Situating Environmental History, New Delhi: Manohar: Click Here<\/a>\r\n

Research Projects<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

ESRC-ICSSR RESEARCH PROJECT TITLED \u2018LEARNING FROM SMALL CITIES: governing imagined futures in India\u2019s smart urban age (2018-2020) LINK: https:\/\/www.smartsmallcity.com\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Position: Co-investigator
LINK: https:\/\/www.smartsmallcity.com\/research-team\/dr-ritajyoti-bandyopadhyay<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Position (s) outside IISER Mohali<\/strong> Permanent Fellow (2014-), Critiques and Renewals of Democracy Module, International Centre of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, New Delhi
https:\/\/micasmp.hypotheses.org\/moduls\/critiques-and-renewals-of-democracy<\/a> Visiting Professor (W2), Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS), University of Gottingen (August 2021-July 2022)<\/p>\r\n

Achievements<\/strong><\/p>\r\n2022: Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, London; 2022: Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, London; 2021: Best Teacher Award, IISER Mohali. 2005: University Gold medal for standing first in order of merit at the M.A. Examination in History, Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India. 2005: Ratnalekha Roy Memorial gold centered silver medal for standing first in History, the Master of Arts Examination, Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India, 2005. 2003: University Gold Medal for standing first in order of merit in the B.A. Examination in History, Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India, 2003. 2003: Uma Charan Sen Memorial Gold Medal for securing highest marks in Bachelor of Arts in History, Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India, 2003. 2003: National Scholarship issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, National Scholarship Scheme 2003-04 for standing first in Bachelor of Arts Examination in History at Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Name: Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay Designation: Associate Professor Email: ritajyoti@iisermohali.ac.in Office: 4F1, Academic Block 2 Education Ph.D. (History), Jadavpur University and Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, and partly at UC Berkeley; degree awarding institution: Jadavpur UniversityM.A (History), Jadavpur UniversityB.A (History), Jadavpur University Employment 2023-Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IISER Mohali2016-2023: Assistant Professor, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-194","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.iisermohali.ac.in\/dept\/hss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.iisermohali.ac.in\/dept\/hss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.iisermohali.ac.in\/dept\/hss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.iisermohali.ac.in\/dept\/hss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.iisermohali.ac.in\/dept\/hss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/web.iisermohali.ac.in\/dept\/hss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1878,"href":"https:\/\/web.iisermohali.ac.in\/dept\/hss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/194\/revisions\/1878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.iisermohali.ac.in\/dept\/hss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}