The politics of globalisation and development; displacement; gender and sexuality rights; Indigenous people; peace and conflict; queer studies.
Background & Qualification
Bitopi got her B.A in Sociology from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi University (2010) and her Masters in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (2012). She worked as a research associate in North Eastern Social Research Centre in Guwahati, development induced displacement in India and traditional method of conflict resolution in tribal indigenous societies. Apart from working as a free launch researcher on gender and sexuality studies undertaken in the region, Bitopi has been closely associated with gender and queer activism in India and co-founded the first queer collective called Xukia in the state of Assam. She is also in the editorial team of the very first queer zine of the region called “Forbidden” published quarterly by Xukia.
Research Title
Gendering Development Induced Displacement: The case of North East India
Research Overview
Bitopi’s work deals with how development induced displacement reorders gendered relationships in tribal matrilineal societies. It analyses how patriarchy engrained in modern development discourses intersects with the discourse of customary rights of indigenous tribal societies leading to a massive gendered reordering of indigenous societies. Focusing on the state of Meghalaya of North East India, the study contextualises the case to three matrilineal tribes of the region in the light of the displacement caused by the coal mining activities in Meghalaya
Contact Details
Supervisor
Selected Presentations:
- “Gendering development Induced Displacement in the North East” in the national conference of Indian Association for Women’s Studies (IAWS). The paper discussed the gendered impacts of development projects on Tribal Women in the North East India.
- “Development Induced Displacement in the North East India”, a paper presented in a consultation for developing the Tribal Development Report organized by United Nations Development Programme, Planning Commission of India and Ministry of Tribal Affairs, November 2014.
- “Intersectionalities of Globalisation, Modernisation and Conflict Resolution in the North East: The case of Angami Nagas” :paper presented in the National Seminar on “Conflict Resolution Systems in Tribal Societies of North East India, Legal Pluralism and Indian Democracy”, organized by North Eastern Social Research Centre,Guwahati , June, 2014
- “Domestic Violence against Women in the Dhemaji district of Assam,India”: a paper presented in Anthropological Survey of India in their Diamond Jubilee Seminar held on 2 and 3rd of December, 2013
- “Multiple Subordination of women during Conflict Situation”: a paper presented in the National Seminar organised by St. Joseph College, Nagaland,India”
Selected Publications:
Books
- Melvil Pereira,Bitopi Dutta and Binita Kakati.(ed). 2017. Legal Pluralism and Indian Democracy: Tribal Conflict Resolution Systems in Northeast India. Routledge,United Kingdom. (forthcoming)
- Walter Fernandes,Veronica Pala, Gita Bharali and Bitopi Dutta. 2016. Development induced Displacement in Meghalaya 1947-2010. North Eastern Social Research Centre, Guwahati and Indian Social Institute, New Delhi.
- Walter Fernandes, George Thadathil and Bitopi Dutta. 2016. The Teesta on the Run: Development Induced Displacement in Sikkim 1975-2010. North Eastern Social Research Centre Salesian College Research Centre, Siliguri.