Phd Student Prateek Pankaj

Prateek is a PhD student, working under the supervision of Prof Kama Maclean, in the Department of History at the South Asia Institute (SAI). His dissertation is provisionally titled “Caste, culture, and community: A social and intellectual history of socialist politics in India”. This doctoral research will explore the political expression of Indian socialism through three axes: its caste politics, its cultural politics, and its interactions with the Hindu Right, starting from the Congress Socialist Party in the 1930s and into the postcolonial period where this brand of socialism is associated best with figures like Ram Manohar Lohia. 

Before starting his PhD in October 2024, Prateek completed an MA in South Asian studies, with a focus in History, from the SAI and obtained his undergraduate degree in History from Hindu College, University of Delhi. 

Prateek’s broader research interests include histories of social movements, political mobilisation, the state and democracy in South Asia. Much of his work relates to understanding various expressions of the political in South Asia across the colonial-postcolonial divide. Beyond his studies, he enjoys hip-hop music, karaoke, and anime, among other things. He can be found on Twitter at @Prateek_Pankaj3.