Dr. Niraja Jayal

Biography

Niraja Gopal Jayal joined King’s India Institute as the Avantha Chair in October 2021. Previously, she was a Professor at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and a Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics in the Department of Gender Studies from 2019 to 2023. She is the author of several influential books, including 'Citizenship Discontents' (Harvard University Press, Permanent Black, 2013), which won the Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Prize from the Association for Asian Studies in 2015. Her other notable works include 'Representing India: Ethnic Diversity and Governance in Public Institutions' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006) and 'Democracy and the State: Welfare, Secularism and Development in Contemporary India' (OUP, 1999). She has also co-edited 'The Oxford Companion to Politics in India' and 'Re-Forming India: The Nation' (Penguin Random House, 2019). Jayal's research interests include citizenship, democracy, and welfare in India. She has held visiting appointments at esteemed institutions such as Princeton University and EHESS in Paris. Her contributions to political science and governance have earned her recognition, including serving as Vice-President of the American Political Science Association from 2011 to 2012.

Research Interests

Experience