• Hindi novel and colonial Indian society
• Social history and literature
• Caste, tribe and gender in the colonial period
• Translation of literary and intellectual texts

Kavita Nandan Surya completed his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, with a doctoral thesis titled Colonial Indian Society and the Hindi Novel (1870 – 1947). The research examined Hindi novels in relation to social change during the colonial period. He also holds an MPhil and MA in Hindi from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

During his doctoral years, he co-founded the online journal DebateOnline with a group of colleagues and has been associated with it in an editorial role since 2012. After completing his PhD, he undertook independent academic work in editing and translation alongside his research. This period involved extensive engagement with academic journals, publishers and translation platforms, working across Hindi, English and Urdu. Alongside this work, he has continued personal research and writing on colonial history, caste, tribe, gender and literary criticism. His publications include edited and translated books, research articles and miscellaneous translations.