My research work is centered on the social and intellectual history of the Dalits in Bengal. I am presently working on anti-caste religions in India and Bangladesh. I am also interested in African American culture and politics, Dalit feminism, Dalit literature, and caste in the global diaspora.
Swiss Government Excellence Postdoctoral Fellow (ESKAS), 2023-2024 at the Institute for Social Anthropology and Empirical Cultural Studies, University of Zurich.
Completed the Project: IB21-013 Christ University-Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Study on Youth Perception of the Rule of Law in India (2022) (State-Level Project Lead)
BA Political Science (Presidency College)
MA Political Studies (CPS, JNU)
MPhil Political Studies (CPS, JNU).
PhD (CPS, JNU).
Swiss Government Excellence Postdoctoral Fellow (ESKAS), 2023-2024 at the University of Zurich.
ICAS:MP Postdoctoral Fellowship by The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), 2023-2024 (Did not accept).
Inlaks Research Fellow, 2016 for Visting Fellow Position(2017) at the New Zealand India Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington (Did not accept).
JNU ICC & SOAS South Asia Institue Travel Fellowship (2016)
1. Assistant Professor (Ad hoc) at SBSEC, DU (2014-5)
2. Guest Faculty at SBSEC, DU (2015- April, 2016)
3. Assistant Professor (Ad hoc) IP College for Women, DU, 2016.
Book Chapters:
Roy, Rajat (2022). "Postcolonial Theory and its Outcastes: Reading Social Visions of Anti-Caste Thinkers in Bengal" in Tanika Sarkar and Sekhar Bandyopadhyay ed. Caste in Bengal: Histories of Hierarchy, Exclusion, and Resistance. Ranikhet: Permanent Black.
Roy, Rajat (forthcoming). "Caste, Experiences and Dalit Literature: Some Conceptual Explorations" (Invited: Contribution to a volume on Bengali Dalit Literature: Reflections on Caste, Culture and Representation edited by Kalyan Kumar Das, to be published by Routledge).
Articles in Journals
Peer-Reviewed:
Roy, Rajat. "Politics of Identity contra Anti-caste Social Visions: The Matua Problem and Beyond." "Special Article" in Economic and Political Weekly. Vol. 57, Issue 42. October 2022.
Roy, Rajat. "From Postcolonial Irony to Dalit Truth: A Perspective on Experience." 'Special Article' in Economic and Political Weekly. Vol. 55, Issue 47. November 2020.
Roy, Rajat. "Namasudra Literature and the Politics of Caste in West Bengal." Sanglap: Journal of Literary and Cultural Inquiry. Vol. 6, Issue 1. October 2019.
Book Review:
Jaiswal, Suvira. "The Making of Brahmanic Hegemony: Studies in Caste, Gender and Vaishnava Theology" (Tulika Books, New Delhi, 2016). The Book Review, Vol. XLI, Number 3, March 2017.
Upadhyay, Shashi Bhushan. "Historiography In The Modern World: Western And Indian Perspectives" (Oxford University Press, 2016). The Book Review, Vol. XLI, Number 5, May 2017.
Sil, Sekhar. "Representation of Colonial Women in Bengali Cinema: Inner and Outer Worlds of Bhadramahila" (Papyrus, Kolkata, 2016), Socialist Perspective, Vol 46, Numbers 1-4, March, 2019.
Byapari, Manoranjan. "Jiboner Dandik Bamdik" (Rritobak, Kolkata, 2020), Anandabazar Patrika, 22 January, 2022. Link- https://www.anandabazar.com/culture/book-reviews/review-of-a-book-written-by-manoranjan-byapari/cid/1324904?fbclid=IwAR0DseegCAGMEYZjtZVJy3olGLW3ebE8P-m1Q7IsRWOCGZ6o09Yvdnq4Ytg
Mrinmay Pramanik. "Dalit Sahitya Charcha" (Gangchil, Kolkata, 2022), Anandabazar Patrika, 04 March, 2023. Link- https://www.anandabazar.com/culture/book-reviews/review-of-a-book-related-to-dalit-literature-edited-by-mrinmoy-pramanik/cid/1411594?fbclid=IwAR07dWrzssNMnCTNLix3Zqw3eL0ecsoUgPxvEnXnV2G6GbcaRic2kKjsgjo
Op-ed:
Roy, Rajat. “Matuader Chokhe shudhu BJP noy, Sob Dol-e kom-beshi Brahmonbaadi,” 19/05/2021, Anandabazar Patrika. Link- https://http://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/essays/not-only-bjp-but-all-other-political-parties-are-more-or-less-brahminical-in-eyes-of-matuas/cid/1281860?fbclid=IwAR0sIrELeTdXxUn37ouLjqV0LRPu07BoEbPE9gX2xYYGngfatqOfPbk8BL0
Roy Rajat & Soumick De. “Happiness without laughter: Lessons on enjoyment from a land of un-
happy consciousness,” 12/02/2021, Indian Cultural Forum. Link- https://indianculturalforum.in/2021/02/12/happiness-without-laughter-lessons-on-enjoyment-from-a-land-of-unhappy-consciousness/?fbclid=IwAR3VP2BVlKU8SdJXKFYomveHtJOeWqXnb9W_4KoO8fHaZZHxhCjA5Mn8ZDU
Roy, Rajat. Does Merit Have a Caste, 19/09/2020, The Wire. Link- https://thewire.in/education/merit-caste-maroona-murmu
Roy, Rajat. "Medha Ki Kebol-e Byaktigato,” 14/02/2020, Anandabazar Patrika. Link- https://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/reservation-policy-has-brought-some-equality-in-our-society-1.1108876?fbclid=IwAR317qxOALTDVrJ_Q55vRGLi6cZoPTPwO2IgMMfF9TxfwtJePeNwSTtqtaQ
Media & Podcast:
"Debt and Service: The Logic of Caste" (EPW Research Radio) https://www.epw.in/engage/article/debt-and-service-logic-caste / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMV51NL_8rc
Presidency University Students Corner