Course Offered: B.A. (Honours) Political Science; B.A. (Programme) Political Science; M.A. Political Science
Established in 1956 as a part of the college curricula of B.A. Programme, the department today offers its own Honours degree. The department enriches the Journalism (Hons.) and Elementary Education degree programmes, along with offering a variety of courses to the B.A. Programme. The department also plays an instrumental role in organising and running the Conflict Transformation and Peace-Building diploma programme.
The Honours degree programme in Political Science was started in 1961. Apart from familiarising students with contemporary academic debates, the department since its inception has emerged as a training ground for in-depth research and reference work. In this regard, the department has developed crucial linkages with research institutions, international organisations and public institutes in India and abroad, opening up interactive platforms for students to develop long term research interests.
Staff Advisors: Dr. Anita Bagai, Dr. Vagesh Pawaiya, Dr. Leslie Keerthi Kumar SM
In this academic year, the Department of Political Science organised many offline and online events to connect the student community, broaden the scope of opportunities and make learning an inclusive and holistic experience for every member of the student body. The Department fostered critical thinking and interactive intellectual engagement by holding a wide array of lectures and events aimed at widening the discipline-specific concerns through an interdisciplinary approach. The Annual Academic Meet- Polpourri took place in April 2024. The theme for this year was ‘Politics of the Spectacle’, encompassing the intersection of aesthetics and politics in media, governance, geopolitics, public spaces, art and literature. Sabab- the Academic Journal of the Department, organised its inter-college Paper Presentation Competition- Mantiq, as a part of Polpourri’24 where participants from various colleges presented their papers which they submitted on the theme– ‘Critique and Crisis’. Through this paper presentation competition, aspiring researchers got the platform to put forth their findings and cement their interest in the field of academia.
Poletariat, the bi-annual Newsletter-was released in April and its theme was ‘Re-Visioning Identities’. It explored the concept of identity as a dynamic construct and critiqued the socio-political world through the lens of identity, re-imagining it from as wide a spectrum as possible. A workshop was conducted on Research Methodology and Writing by Dr Shilpi Singh in October, followed by a session on ‘The Journey from Political Science to Law’ with Ms. Ayushi Jain, AIR1 in NLSAT 2022. An online workshop on Quantitative Research and Excel by Dr. Nancy Pathak was organised in December. The department organised a lecture by Dr. Ashok Acharya to ignite a dialogue surrounding the vital role of Political Science in our lives. This session was followed by a lecture with Dr. Bhaskarjit Neog, on the topic, ‘Virtue Ethics in Contemporary Politics: Exploring Relevance and Application’ in February.
This was followed by a Reading Circle on ‘Towards a Non-Brahmin Millenium: From Iyothee Thass to Periyar’ by faculty member Mr. T Kannan, revolving around ideas of caste and self-respect. The Department in collaboration with REACH, the equal opportunity cell organised an offline session on ‘Politics of Disability Justice’ with faculty member Dr. Mahesh S Panicker and an online session on ‘Envisioning Equality: A political perspective on Accessible Academia’ by Ms. Divya Goel, both in February.
| Name | Areas of interest |
| Dr. Anita Bagai Associate Professor bagai.anita@gmail.com | Public Administration and Public Policy, Colonialism and Nationalism Publications and other works click here |
| Dr. Rina Kashyap Associate Professor (Teacher-in-charge) rina.kashyap@gmail.com | Political Theory, International Relations, Security and Peace Studies, Restorative Justice, Feminist Theory and Indian Politics. Publications and other works click here |
| Dr. Mahesh Panicker Assistant Professor maheshspanicker@lsr.edu.in | Political Theory, Contemporary Liberalism, Disability Studies Publications and other works click here |
| Dr. Leslie Keerthi Kumar SM Assistant Professor lesliekkumar@gmail.com | Political Philosophy, IR Theory, Asian Geopolitics, Radicalization Studies, Politics & Ethics of Technology Publications and other works click here |
| Dr. Vagesh Pawaiya Assistant Professor vageshpawaiya@gmail.com | Political Theory, Political Philosophy, Race and Caste Studies, Indian Politics Publications and other works click here |
| Mr. T Kannan Assistant Professor hankan07@gmail.com | Indian Government and Politics, Public Administration and Decentralisation Publications and other works click here |
| Ms. Nitika Ladda Assistant Professor laddaniki@gmail.com | Indian Political Thought, Political Theory, Indian Politics and Gender Studies Publications and other works click here |
| Dr. Priya Kumari Assistant Professor bpriyakumari@gmail.com | International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, European Union and Security Studies Publications and other works click here |
| Dr. Snehil Kacker Assistant Professor snehilkacker1@gmail.com | Indian Government and Politics, International Politics, Politics of Climate Change, Environmentalism, Peace and Conflict Studies Publications and other works click here |
| Mr. Rajeev Yadav Assistant Professor rajeev.yadav8@outlook.com | International Relations, Global Politics, International Law, Indian Foreign Policy Publications and other works click here |
| Ms. Bhargavi Charan Assistant Professor charan.bhargavi@yahoo.in | International Poltical Relations, Geo-Politics, Indian Foreign Policy, War-Game Studies, Western and Indian Political Thought, Free Market Economics, Liberalism, Realism, Security Studies and Feminism in IR Publications and other works click here |
| Mr. Hari K. Sharma Assistant Professor hari.krishan6@gmail.com | International Relations, Global Politics, Indian Foreign Policy, Indian Government and Politics, Media Studies Publications and other works click here |
| Dr. Nancy Pathak Assistant Professor | Post Communist and Mixed Economy Bureaucracies, Policy making in developing countries, Queer Politics in South Asia, Body Politics Publications and other works click here |
| Dr. Mehak Sharma Assistant Professor | Political theory, Western and Indian Political Thought, Religion and Science Publications and other works click here |
| Ms. Priya Sharma Assistant Professor priyamayasharma@gmail.com | Indian and Western Political Thought, Political Theory, Environmental Politics Publications and other works click here |
| Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pandey Assistant Professor shrawankumarpandey@lsr.du.ac.in | Indian Government and Politics, State Politics, Federalism, Election Studies, Local-Self Government Publications and other works click here |
| Dr. Jitendra Kumar Pandey Assistant Professor jkpandey1381@gmail.com | International Relaions, European Studies, India’s Foreign Policy Publications and other works click here |
President – Archita Ray
Secretary – Tarini Sharma
Treasurer – Jona Joseph
Sabab- the academic journal of the department, released their applications for entries for the VIIth volume. The theme for this year was “Alternatives”- A critical analysis of our realities.” Reality as we see it is neither linear nor objective. Rather, it is shaped through social systems constituted by hegemonic ideas, which stem from power structures. In this context, it is imperative for us to constantly question our realities, all the while working towards alternatives. Instead of passively accepting reality for what it is, one must question its foundations in order to construct alternatives that are inclusive.
SABAB also organised it’s FIRST EVER Inter-college Paper Presentation Competition- MANTIQ, as a part of Polpourri’23 on 13th April, 2023 where participants from various colleges presented their papers which they submitted on the theme–ALTERNATIVES. Through this paper presentation competition, aspiring researchers got the platform to put forth their findings and cement their interest in the field of academia.