Awanish Kumar
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Development Studies
- Political Economy
- Land
- Commons
- Public Health
Biography
Awanish Kumar is an Associate Professor at the School of Development, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. He is also an Honorary Fellow at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, and Consulting Editor (Book Reviews) at Economic & Political Weekly. He previously held a British Academy Newton International Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh and taught at Masters in Public Policy programme at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. He holds a PhD in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Trained in development studies, Awanish’s work is transdisciplinary in form and essence, seeking to meaningfully engage with reality in its fullest and widest possible canvas while working towards the common good.
Consequently, his research spans different regions (Maharashtra, Bihar, Punjab and Jharkhand) and varied themes (agricultural economics, commons, public health, language politics), drawing from critical political economy, social anthropology and history.
Apart from his formal academic and research activities, he is deeply interested in theoretical physics, philosophy of mind, science fiction, linguistics, and popular culture (especially Bombay cinema and Bhojpuri music).
Courses
Evidence and Ethics for Development Action
Study how values and evidence inform responsible action
Theories and Histories of Development
Trace how ideas of progress and growth have evolved
The Land Question in India
The course prepares students to employ political-economy– and anthropological perspectives to explain and analyse several topics that they may encounter in their fieldwork such as land acquisition, women’s property rights, Dalit-Adivasi land rights, and the role of middlemen in land deals.
Professional Development Courses
Local Governance and Social Accountability in India
Understanding on issues related to local governance, social accountability and delivery of welfare entitlements
Articles
Publications
Book
- Kumar, A. (forthcoming). The Land Question: A Class-Caste Perspective. 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. (2025). The historical evolution of caste and territorial power: the case of Jats in Punjab, India. Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue Canadienne d’études Du Développement, 1 – 20. https://doi.org/10.1080/02255189.2025.2497385
- 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
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.
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.
Public Engagement
- Member of the Jury: Stein Rokkan Prize for Comparative Social Science Research, presented by the International Science Council (ISC), the University of Bergen and the European Consortium for Political Research. https://ecpr.eu/prizes/stein-rokkan
- Member of the Steering Group: International Science Council (ISC, Paris) Social Science Matters Program. https://council.science/profile/awanish-kumar/
- Member, Expert Group and Peer Reviewer, UNDP Signals Spotlight Report, 2023, 2024. Latest Report available at https://www.undp.org/future-development/signals-spotlight-2024
- Referee: Journal of Agrarian Change, Economic & Political Weekly, Pacific Affairs, Contemporary South Asia, Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Review of Agrarian Studies, Journal of South Asian Development.
- Referee: Fellowships/research grants at Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), British Academy, Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF, London).
- Member, Association of Academics for Social Justice (AASJ), Delhi.
- Member, Journal Editors Discussion Interface (JEDI), initiative of the Data Preservation Alliance for the Social Sciences.
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.