Marginalised authorities in Indian academia: In-process reflections on an interdisciplinary research project

For an interdisciplinary research project [1], we have been exploring the experiences of feminist academics based at or having worked at higher education Institutions across India since the 1960s. The research not only engaged with individuals’ narratives - by now 46 academics have been interviewed – and the visual study of 17 of their institutions; but has involved catalysing creative interpretations (stories and zines) and visual art (paintings, short films) which have been exhibited in different locations in Indian universities, published as an open access database [2] and online playlist [3]. The idea is to complicate narratives of marginality while investigating situated positionality framed by overarching hierarchies of intersecting socio-symbolic dynamics, including caste, gender and religion. The research findings compel us to confront our own prejudices and privileges, as the voices of marginalized feminist participants expose critical gaps and gatekeeping within the discourse of ‘exclusive’ feminist politics and knowledge production—ultimately challenging the commitment of dominant-group academics to gender and intersectional justice.

In our paper, we will reflect on the research-in-process and share some of the creative material.

Links to project:
1. This project is a collaboration between Dr Nandita Banerjee Dhawan (Jadavpur University), Prof Dina Zoe Belluigi (Queen's University Belfast), Dr Asha Achuthan (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) and Dr Ulrike M Vieten (Queen's University Belfast). Funding has been awarded from the Government of India's Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC/2019-2020/P1858/SL), Northern Ireland's Department for the Economy (R3558SES), and the ARHC Impact Acceleration Account (R1685SES).

2. Belluigi, D. Z., Dhawan, N. B, Achuthan, A., & U. M. Vieten (2025). Counter-Narratives of Authority in Transition: Marginality in the Indian academy. Touring exhibition. Showings: 18-21 January at Jadavpur University, Kolkata; 22 January, at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai; 23-24 January, at Pune University. Engagement materials are available open access at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14593329.

3. Two filmic artworks (by Meistre and Wilby) and short filmic documentations of three paintings (by Chowdhury and Roy), are available on the ‘Counter-Narratives’ playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhMufWYxTGYwOPQXyyXDG_Ahi4wjTdzVj&si=xCSX22gNlxatU5-K