Avishek Jha
Lecturer
-
PhD in Human Geography,
University of Melbourne, Australia -
MA in Liberal Studies, Ashoka University,
Sonipat, Haryana -
MA in International Relations,
Jadavpur University, Kolkata -
BA in Political Science,
Jadavpur University, Kolkata
Areas of Interest
Youth | Indian politics and society | Political sociology | Indian political history
Avishek Jha is a lecturer at the School of Law, Shiv Nadar University,
Chennai. He has a PhD in Human Geography from the University of
Melbourne, Australia. His dissertation titled, ‘Preparing in Libraries:
Educational Change, Joblessness, and Youth Practice in North India’
engages with the themes of youth agency in non-metropolitan urban
contexts, political sociology, and the changing nature of geographies of
education with sustained use of qualitative research methods. He
completed his MA in Liberal Studies with a specialisation in Political
Science from Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana, MA in International
Relations and BA in Political Science from Jadavpur University,
Kolkata. Avishek’s research interests span across themes in political
sociology, Indian politics, and political history. He has published in high-
ranking international Geography journals and few of the most coveted
journals covering Indian and South Asian politics.
Publications
Jha, Avishek. “Curating an ‘Educational Environment’: Commercial Libraries, New Entrepreneurs, and Shifting Geographies of Education in India.” Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 57, no. 5 (2025): 652-688.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/
0308518X251330964.
Jha, Avishek. “‘This is Caste Power’: Youth Politicians, Vernacular Notions of Caste-Based Supremacy, and its Reproduction in Contemporary North India.” South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies (2025): 1-22.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/
00856401.2025.2524964.
Jha, Avishek. “Religiosity, Space-making, Exclusion: ‘Kanwar Yatra’ Celebrations in a North Indian City.” Studies in Indian Politics 12, no. 1 (2024): 20-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/
23210230241235368.
Jha, Avishek. “Expanding the Vote Base in Uttar Pradesh: Understanding the RSS-BJP Combined Mobilization Strategies.” South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal (2021).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/
samaj.7238.
(with Zoya Hasan) When People Rise in Protest: Mobilizing for EqualcCitizenship in India. New Delhi: Three Essays Collective, 2024.
Awards & Recognitions
Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer Best Published Paper Award 2021-2022, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, India
Dr. Prithwis Chandra Chakravarti Memorial Medal for standing first in Postgraduate degree course
University Gold Medal (1st rank) in the Postgraduate course, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
University Gold Medal (1st rank) in the Undergraduate course, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
Dr Albert Shimmins Postgraduate Writing Up Award, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne Research Scholarship, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Joseph Thornton Tweddle Scholarship (E.J.T. Tweddle Fund), The University of Melbourne, Australia
Chancellery Global, Culture, and Engagement Fund and the School of Geography, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences Bursary (South Asia Forum Conference), University of Melbourne, Australia (Grant jointly held)
Riady Scholarship, Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne, Australia
Science Abroad Travelling Scholarship, Faculty of Science, University of
Melbourne, Australia
