Swarati Sabhapandit

Areas of Interest & Expertise

  • Democracy and constitutionalism
  • Public institutions
  • Judicial autonomy
  • Governance
  • Knowledge politics
  • Gender and violence

Biography

Swarati Sabhapandit is a political theorist working on the state, constitutionalism, and democracy in contemporary India. Her doctoral research critically examined the dynamics of majoritarian politics, debates around democratic institutions, political and constitutional legitimacy, and the erosion of liberal democratic norms. In 2025, she was awarded a PhD in International Relations and Governance from Shiv Nadar University. Her wider research interests include public institutions, governance, caste and knowledge politics, critical International Relations (IR), and gendered inquiries into violence. 

Prior to joining Azim Premji University, she worked as a Teaching Assistant at Shiv Nadar University, India, and as a researcher at the University of Freiburg, Germany. She regularly publishes political and constitutional commentary in platforms such as The Wire, The Hindu, The New Indian Express, The Print, The Leaflet, The Indian Forum, Opinion Express, and The Analysis. 

Outside academia, she enjoys painting and poetry.

Publications

Journal articles

  • Sabhapandit, S. (2025). Judicial fortitude versus executive overreach: Appointment of judges to the Indian higher judiciary (2014 – 2022). Economic and Political Weekly (Forthcoming).
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2025). The Constitution as a contested terrain: Rights of women in a majoritarian state. Economic and Political Weekly, 60(31), 47 – 52. 
  • Sabhapandit, S., Belder, F., Destradi, S., Gurol, J., Rodríguez, C. H., Kölük, M., Martins, J., & Rogel, C. (2023). Patterns of populist mobilization: Comparing narratives on COVID-19 in the Global South. International Affairs, 99, 337 – 355.

Public facing articles

  • Sabhapandit, S. (2026). Whose life counts? Anjel Chakma’s death and the idea of India today. The Wire.
  • Sabhapandit, S., & Rajendran, C. P. (2025). Who counts, who knows, who decides but caste? The Wire.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2025). 75 years on, India’s long-standing silence on preventive detention is echoing loudly. The Leaflet.
  • Sabhapandit, S., & Rajendran, C. P. (2025). Indian knowledge systems need to be inclusive to live up to the Constitution’s spirit. The New Indian Express.
  • Sabhapandit, S., & Rajendran, C. P. (2025). The ASI is facing a credibility crisis. The Hindu.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2025). The Indian state’s expanding sovereign power has everything to do with the incline of digital governance. The Leaflet.
  • Sabhapandit, S., & Rajendran, C. P. (2025). Eroding scientific rationality is undermining knowledge production in India. The Wire.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2025). Digging a Hindu state: Eroding autonomy of the Archaeological Survey of India. The Leaflet.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2025). Beer Biceps, the Chhattisgarh High Court’s marital rape decision, and the making of a crime in Hindu majoritarian India. The Leaflet.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2025). A fair ordeal: Discrimination, state accountability, and the menace of ragging in Indian educational institutions. The Leaflet.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2024). Can the basic structure doctrine provide a remedy for the global democratic crisis? The Leaflet.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2024). Abolition of the master of the roster in Pakistan and lessons for India. The Leaflet.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2023). Why the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in favour of a website designer who refused to serve gay couples is a free pass to discrimination. The Leaflet.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2023). Criminalising marital rape in India. The India Forum.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2023). Judicial overhaul and the future of the liberal constitutional democratic order. The Print.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2023). Reconciling free speech and a strong state: Locating judicial autonomy in India. Opinion Express.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2023). A tale of the people’s Constitution: Recognition of same-sex marriage in India. The Analysis.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2023). Patriarchal courtrooms: Freedom of women in the eyes of the judiciary. The Analysis.
  • Sabhapandit, S. (2023). Remedy for some but not for all: Looking at inequalities in India’s judicial system. The Analysis.