Dr Ashima Sood Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Urbanism and Cultural Economics Anant National University, India Find out more about Ashima here. Latest publications: Das, K., S. Fatima, K. Gandhi and A. Sood 2026. “Locating Urban Knowledge. Editorial” In Das, K., S. Fatima, K. Gandhi and A. Sood (eds.) Urban Knowledge Paradigms. […]
Dr Chandrima Mukhopadhyay Independent Consultant, India Editor of the mentored Regional Studies, Regional Science Early Career section Regular participant in the RSA Women’s Network (and presented on Academia in the Global South, November, 2025) I’m currently a team member of the British Academy International Writing Workshop grant, hosted at University College London; a co-applicant for […]
Lavanya Gupta Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India RSA Blog Editor Edgenet Research Network volunteer (LinkedIn Co-Management) RSA India Networks volunteer
Diya Mehra is a Senior Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at South Asian University, New Delhi. Trained as a cultural anthropologist, her research focuses on the historical and contemporary urbanization of metropolitan cities in India, metropolitan urban governance, the contemporary urbanisation of small Indian towns and their rural hinterlands, particularly in mountain environments, and […]
The notion of ‘region,’ as interpreted by planners and policymakers, is frequently administrative and formal, delineated by jurisdictional boundaries and quantified through statistical metrics such as population density, GDP, and land-use classifications (Swami & Hemrajani, 2023; Choudhary, 2021). However, for many communities in the Thar Desert of western Rajasthan- such as the Jogis, Lohars, Bhils, […]
Around one-quarter of the world’s labour force works in agriculture. In many low- to middle-income countries, labour in agriculture is one of the highest contributors. As WOTR notes in its article, women are often engaged in agricultural activities, but their work remains invisible. Stokes and Ghosh argue that this invisibility is best understood through the […]
Watch as Lavanya Gupta, RSA Blog Editor, presents the 2025 RSA Best Blog Award to Ayush Srivastava and Asma Sayyad, both of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India, for their blog entitled Tide and Territory: Vernacular Regionality in Maharashtra’s Koli Fishing Communities.
On 9th September 2025, Manipal University Jaipur (MUJ), Rajasthan, India, hosted a guest lecture and workshop titled “From Blogs to Papers: Building Skills for Ethical and Engaged Writing.” The session was delivered by Ms Lavanya Gupta, Blog Editor at the Regional Studies Association (RSA), and drew over 65 participants, including undergraduates, master’s students, PhD scholars, […]
For centuries, Mumbai’s Koli fishing communities have sustained a way of life shaped by the tides, their Koliwadas (कोळीवाडा, Marathi for hamlet of the Kolis) functioning as self-contained maritime regions with distinct cultural, linguistic, and economic rhythms. These settlements, which are now under pressure from coastal reclamation and urban expansion, illustrate both their deep historical […]
Kantha, a traditional embroidered quilt from Bengal (now divided between Bangladesh and West Bengal, India), historically represented women’s domestic artistry through distinctive running stitches and colored motifs on layered muslin garments. There is a growing demand for commercial Kantha textiles in conditions of the ‘market,’ driven primarily by NGO setups (Modak, 2021). These ‘marketable Kanthas‘ […]
I recently read an article on the SDG goal of zero hunger among nations. It made me realize that after the pandemic, people were able to have control over their consumption to ensure that everyone in the family was fed correctly. It can be challenging for those from a less privileged community to fairly divide […]
Lavanya is a rural geographer and PhD scholar at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India, where she examines the intersections of innovation, entrepreneurship, and community development in the Himalayan region. Her doctoral research in Munsiyari, Kumaon, explores how cultural entrepreneurship initiatives catalyze rural regeneration. Her previous works investigated pathways for rebuilding rural spaces with women’s […]
Lavanya is a rural geographer and PhD scholar at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India, where she examines the intersections of innovation, entrepreneurship, and community development in the Himalayan region. Her doctoral research in Munsiyari, Kumaon, explores how cultural entrepreneurship initiatives catalyze rural regeneration. Her previous works investigated pathways for rebuilding rural spaces with women’s […]
This blog was written for the RSA Blog Student Summer Series that will highlight graduate student success in regional studies across the globe throughout the summer. We have witnessed many instances of migration and displacement due to conflicts, violence or genocide in the modern world. It has caused much harm to lives, property and […]
In the last two decades, there has been a considerable shift in the patterns of global growth in terms of trade and investment from the “Global North” towards the “Global South” economies particularly Brazil, China and India. However, as a flip side, these upsurged developments and growth are imposing the environmental cost across the globe […]
The advent of technology and concomitant digitalisation has unleashed new business models and working arrangements in urban centres. The gig and platform economy are at the heart of this structural transformation of jobs, disrupting sectors like ride-hailing transport services, education, home services, food delivery, retail, logistics and so on. I refer to this as ‘Digihenheimer’- […]
This blog was written for the RSA Blog Student Summer Series that will highlight graduate student success in regional studies across the globe throughout the summer. In the era of globalization, innovative development and the artificial intelligence revolution have transformed the global economy. Economists have long viewed technological progress and innovation as dominant economic […]
In India, the 1993-94 constitutional amendments extended the state’s and local government’s role in the investment-related decision-making powers to improve their economic performance. A significant reason behind such an unprecedented rise of decentralization reforms is associated with the long-term outcome of regional economic growth. This transition towards market-oriented resource allocation from centralized planning has enhanced […]
This study captures the twin process of urbanisation and real estate growth in India as inextricably linked process affecting the urban development and management of resources and spatial planning. The aim here is to examine the possible implications of COVID-19 pandemic and the process of recovery and revival of real estate sector in India. […]
Traditionally, eco-feminist theories hold that women are custodians of traditional knowledge. But there is a gap in this theory by not fully exploring the questions of: (1) What is this “knowledge”?; and (2) What is the scope of identifying gender-based knowledge? I work towards answering the latter question throughout this article, but for the first […]
Ashima Sood is Associate Professor at Anant National University, where she teaches urban policy, research methods and academic writing. She is International Corresponding Editor at Urban Studies and has been associated as editor and editorial advisory group member with the Economic and Political Weekly’s Review of Urban Affairs since its founding. She coordinated the Urban […]
In July, the RSA worked with partners in India, Europe and the USA on the UN-Habitat’s Virtual Urban Thinkers Campus Webinar Series. Focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on urban systems, the popular six webinars covered topics such as public spaces, financial recovery, housing, mobility, climate action and energy policy, multi-level governance and resilience of […]
Dr. Ajith Kaliyath is a Human Geographer and Urban and Regional Planner. Dr. Kaliyath holds a PhD in Land as a Critical Ecological Resource for Sustainable Cities from Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Considering the transferable skills acquired by him during his PhD, Dr. Kaliyath had been awarded ‘Researcher Plus’ award by Queen’s University Belfast. […]
We continue to support and develop RSA networks across India. If you would like to connect with RSA members based in India or learn more about regional activities, please get in touch with Marcus Atkinson (marcus.atkinson@regionalstudies.org), who can provide further information and help facilitate introductions. We are anticipating the prospect of hosting a networking session […]