Awanish Kumar

Awanish Kumar is currently a part of the School of Development, Azim Premji University. He is also Honorary Fellow at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom (since April 2023), and Consulting Editor (Book Reviews), Economic and Political Weekly, Mumbai (since November 2018).

Prior to joining Azim Premji University, he was a British Academy Newton International Fellow (2021 – 2023) at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. He has taught at the School of Development, Azim Premji University (2020−2021) and at the postgraduate department of Public Policy at St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai (2015 – 2020).

His training is in the area of political economy of development, with specialisation in village studies as a methodology. He has conducted intensive fieldwork in the rural areas of Maharashtra, Bihar, Punjab, and Jharkhand. Currently, he is working towards his first monograph to be published as part of the British Academy Monograph Series by the Oxford University Press.

He completed his PhD in Development Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai in 2019. He has a certificate of specialisation in Sustainable Development from International Graduate School North-South (graduate school of Universities of Basel, Bern, Lausanne, and Zurich). He qualified the UGC-National Eligibility Test in Economics in December 2012.

He has an MA and MPhil in Development Studies from TISS, Mumbai, and a BA (Hons) in Economics from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi.

Publications

Book

Kumar, A. (forthcoming). Caste and Land in India. British Academy Monograph Series. Oxford University Press.

Book Chapters

Kumar, A. (2022). Agricultural insurance in India: History, issues and recent performance. In R. Ramakumar (Ed.) Distress in the Fields: Indian Agriculture after Economic Liberalization. Tulika Books. https://tulikabooks.in/catalog/product/view/id/22411/

Journal Articles

Kumar, A. (2023). Caste survey in Bihar: A new beginning? Economic and Political Weekly, 58(40). https://www.epw.in/journal/2023/40/comment/caste-survey-bihar-new-beginning.html
Kumar, A. (2022). Now or never in Bihar? Economic & Political Weekly, 57(34). https://www.epw.in/journal/2022/34/comment/now-or-never-bihar.html
Kumar, A. (2022). Land and caste relations in north Bihar: Observations from two villages. Review of Agrarian Studies, 12(1). https://ras.org.in/land_and_caste_relations_in_north_bihar
Dhar, N. S., Pandey, M., & Kumar, A. (2022). Identifying socio-economic classes in two villages of Bihar. Review of Agrarian Studies, 12(1). https://ras.org.in/identifying_socio_economic_classes_in_two_villages_of_bihar
Kumar, A. (2021). Reservations: A project of nation building. Economic & Political Weekly, 56 (45−46), 10 – 12. https://www.epw.in/journal/2021/45 – 46/alternative-standpoint/reservations-%E2%80%8B-project-nation-building.html
Surendran, A., & Kumar, A. (2020). Have RCTs brought back the “empirical” into Economics? World Development, 127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104828
Kumar, A. (2020). B R Ambedkar on caste and land relations in India. Review of Agrarian Studies, 10(1). http://ras.org.in/b_r_ambedkar_on_caste_and_land_relations_in_india
Kumar, A. (2020). Reading Ambedkar in the time of Covid-19. Economic & Political Weekly, 55(16), 34 – 37. https://www.epw.in/journal/2020/16/perspectives/reading-ambedkar-time-covid-19.htm
Kumar, A. (2015). Where is caste in development? Bihar Assembly Elections 2015. Economic & Political Weekly, 50(45). https://www.epw.in/journal/2015/45/reports-states-web-exclusives/where-caste-development.html
Chau, H. S., Kumar, Awanish & Lieberherr, S (2015). Non-family labour in the Swiss agriculture: A status report and future prospects. .Journal of Socioeconomics in Agriculture, Swiss Society for Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, ⁷⁄₈. https://ideas.repec.org/a/cha/ysa001/v8y2015i1p1-10.html
Kumar, A. (2013). Nitish Kumar’s honorable exit: A brief history of caste politics. Economic & Political Weekly, 48(28), 15 – 17. https://www.epw.in/journal/2013/28/commentary/nitish-kumars-honourable-exit.html
Kumar, A. (2009). A class analysis of the ‘Bihari Menace’. Economic & Political Weekly, 44(28), 124 – 127. https://www.epw.in/journal/2009/28/notes/class-analysis-bihari-menace.html

Book Reviews

Kumar, A. (2020). Reimagining public policy studies in India [Review of the book Public Policy: A View from the South, by V. Narain]. Economic & Political Weekly, 55(38), 30 – 32. https://www.epw.in/journal/2020/38/book— reviews/reimagining— public— policy— studies— india.html
Kumar, A. (2019). Autobiography of an iconoclast [Review of the book Gopalganj to Raisina: My Political Journey, by L.P. Yadav & N. Verma]. Economic & Political Weekly, 50(20), 25 – 28. https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/20/book— reviews/autobiography— iconoclast.html
Kumar, A. (2018). The crisis of the small farm economy in India [Review of the book How Do Small Farmers Fare? Evidence from Village Studies in India, by M. Swaminathan, & S. Baksi (Eds.)]. Review of Agrarian Studies, 8(1). http://ras.org.in/the_crisis_of_the_small_farm_economy_in_india
Kumar, A. (2017). Village India: Change and continuity [Review of the book The Changing Village in India: Insights from Longitudinal Research, by Himanshu, P. Jha, & G. Rodgers (Eds.)]. Review of Agrarian Studies, 7(2). http://ras.org.in/village_india
Kumar, A. (2017). Agrarian questions: Old and new [Review of the book Critical Perspectives on Agrarian Transition: India in the Global Debate, by B.B. Mohanty (Ed.)]. Review of Agrarian Studies, 7(1). http://ras.org.in/agrarian_questions
Kumar, A. (2017). India’s unique enigma of high growth and stunted children[ Review of the book Where India Goes: Abandoned Toilets, Stunted Development and the Costs of Caste, by D. Coffey, & D. Spears]. The Wire. https://thewire.in/books/indias-unique-enigma-high-growth-stunted-children

Conference Publication

George, A. & Kumar, A. (2017, October 13 – 17)). Class in itself? Caste for itself? Exploring the latest phase of rural agitations in India. Conference Paper No. 38, Fifth International Conference of BRICS Initiative for Critical Agrarian Studies, The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), Moscow. https://www.iss.nl/sites/corporate/files/2017 – 11/BICAS%20CP%205 – 38%20George%20and%20Kumar.pdf

Newspaper Articles

Kumar, A. (2022, October 30). Ambedkar and his idea of the caste of land. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/ambedkar-and-his-idea-of-the-caste-of-land-8237543/
Kumar, A. (2022, August 29). Why caste, gender inequality worsen India’s public health crisis. Mint. https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/a‑neglected-contributor-to-the-country-s-crisis-of-public-health-11661701046703.html
Kumar, A. (2022, February 04). The artist’s manifesto. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/society/the-artists-manifesto/article38375051.ece
Kumar, A. (2016, November 27). The great masquerade. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/society/The-great-masquerade/article16699954.ece
Kumar, A. (2017, January 15). हमें एक नजरिए से ही दिखता है हमारा सच. Subah Savere.

Magazine Article

Kumar, A. (2020, May 22). Caste and public health. Frontline. https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/article31525708.ece
Kumar, A. (2005, October). मैं तुम्हारे रक्त में हु [कविता]. Nukkad Janam Samvaad.

Reports

Kumar, A. & Dixit, A. (2010). Is a Universal PDS Financially Feasible in India?, Research Brief 4, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.
Kumar, A. (2010). Mid-Term Appraisal of the Eleventh Five Year Plan for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Planning Commission, New Delhi.
Ramakumar, R., Raut, K., Kumar, A. (2009). Agrarian Change in Rural Maharashtra: A Resurvey of Dongargaon village, Akola District, Maharashtra. Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.