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SOUTH ASIAN UNIVERSITY

A University Established by SAARC Nations

SOUTH ASIAN UNIVERSITY

A University established by SAARC Nations

Sumedha Dutta

Assistant Professor
PhD (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 2015)

Contact Details

sdutta(at)sau.int
L107, Academic Block 6, South Asian University, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi - 110068
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Profile

Sumedha Dutta teaches at the Department of Sociology at South Asian University (SAU). Her work addresses the relationship between  civil society, religion, development and identity, while she is also interested in the sociology of gender. She taught the courses Sociology of Tourism, Religion and Society, Economy and Society and Political Sociology in the 3 semesters that she has taught in SAU, while she previously taught a varied range of courses, including Sociology of Gender, Indian Society: Structures and Processes, Advanced Sociological Theories, Classical Sociological Thinkers, Environmental Sociology, Social Stratification and Mobility, Research Methods, Urban Sociology etc. She has been invited to deliver talks in Austria, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uruguay and Uzbekistan, and has travelled to 18 countries across 5 different continents. Based on her experiences, she is currently pursuing her research in Sociology of Tourism. She was elected as Early Career Researcher for Research Committee in Sociology of Religion, RC – 22, International Sociological Association (ISA), for the period 2023-2027, and  was awarded the Exchange scholar Award to visit Thailand for 20 days under ICSSR-NRCT Bilateral Programme for Exchange of Scholars in 2018.  Dr. Dutta recently convened the ISA RC 22 Mid Term Conference on Global Flows and Reconfigurations of the Sacred, under the stewardship of Professor Mar Griera, President, ISA RC 22, and Professor K.K. Aggarwal, President, SAU, which was attended by delegates from 25 countries across 5 continents. She is presently the coordinator of the Sociology Seminar Series. She has also served as Visiting Faculty in the National Institute of Design (NID), Bengaluru, in 2022, and as Assistant Professor in Central University of Punjab (2015-2025), Central University of Haryana (2014-2015), and Jesus and Mary College (2011-2012) and as a Guest Faculty in Hindu College (2012).  She completed two major research projects: one sponsored by ICSSR and the other by DST.



Qualifications

  • PhD in Sociology from Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, in 2015  (ICSSR Doctoral Fellow)
  • M.Phil. in Sociology from Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, in 2012: FGPA: 83.3%, A Grade, First Class. (Highest scorer of the batch)
  • MA in Sociology from Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, in 2009 FGPA: 7.68, 82%, A Grade, First Class

  • National Eligibility Test (NET) for Lectureship (Sociology), University Grants Commission, 2010.
  • B.A. (Hons.) in Sociology from Department of Sociology, Hindu College, University of Delhi: 63.62%  (3rd in DU, and 1st position in Hindu College)

Research Interests

  • Political Sociology
  • Sociology of Religion
  • Sociology of Development
  • Sociology of Tourism
  • Sociology of Gender


Research projects completed: 

  •     "Voluntary Organizations, Drug De-addiction and Rehabilitation in Punjab: Sacred Vs. Secular Approaches”, as Principal Investigator (PI), sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, under Major Projects, from January 2018- September 2020 (Sanctioned amount: 700000 INR
  •      “Indian Beliefs: Analysis in the Context of Vedic and Modern Science”, as Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI), sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, for a period of 2 years, from May, 2019- May 2022 (sanctioned amount: 3500000 INR).

Recent Publications

  • Alemu, Dagnachew and Dutta, Sumedha. The Ethiopian Government’s Role in Ethnic Empowerment: Insights from Sidama, Central and Southern Ethiopia. In International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 18th July, 2025
  • Alemu, Dagnachew and Dutta, Sumedha. "Ethnic Identity and Social Dynamics: The Evolution of Ethnic Identity and Its Implications in Central and Southern Ethiopia". In Afrika Focus (accepted).
  • Dutta, Sumedha. “New Religious Movements and their Concept of Wellness through Spirituality in India”. In Lucero Lopez (ed). book. Religions and Identities in Global Geopolitical Contexts, National Autonomous University of Mexico. In Press.
  • Dutta, Sumedha. “Sustainable Development, Vocational Education, and Nation Building: The Role of Civil Society in Promoting NEP 2020”, in Manish Kumar Verma (ed.) book, New Education Policy, Sustainable Development and Nation Building: Perspectives, Issues and Challenges, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, UK. In Press. (kindred version releasing on 6th June, 2025)
  • Dutta, Sumedha and Mishra, Pallavi. 2024. Expectation of Young Adults from Marital lives/Marriage: A Case Study, in Journal of Asiatic Society for Social Science Research, Volume 6, Issue 2: pp. 73-92
  • Odamo, Dagnachew Alemu and Dutta, Sumedha. 2024. “Historicizing Ethnic Identity Politics in Ethiopia”. In Aurora Martin and Nandini Basistha (ed.). Human Security in a Polarized World. Interdisciplinary Institute of Human Security and Governance, New Delhi: 101-111
  • Charanteja, Mahadevuni, and Dutta, Sumedha. 2023. “Tracing Gender Norms in the Political Sphere: A Study on the Nizamabad (Urban) Assembly Constituency of Telangana”, InternationalJournalforMultidisciplinaryResearch(IJFMR),Vol5(6)
  • Singh, Anoop & Dutta, Sumedha. 2023. “The Concept of Seva in Sikhism and its Practice for Holistic Well-being- An Analysis”, International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 5, 5.
  • Khosla, Samriti, Dutta, Sumedha et. al., 2022. “A Review of Modern and Vedic Practices on Use of Umbilical Cord”, Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology: 2588-2591,
  • Dutta, Sumedha. 2021. “Analysing Sites of Contestations: Review of Sadan Jha, Dev Nath Pathak and Amiya Kumar Das (edited), Neighborhoods in Urban India: In between home and the city”, The Book Review, 45(7): 26-28
  • Dutta, Sumedha. 2020. “The Status of Women in Contemporary Indian Society: An Overview”, Society, Gender and Family in Central Asia (journal of OILA MARQAZI, under the Cabinet of Ministers, Uzbekistan) 2 (1): 81-103
  • Dutta, Sumedha. 2018. Review of the book, Revolution, Yes! Right Liquidationism, No! Series of Letters Sent to the Headquarters of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) by Yogendra Dhakal. Society and Culture in South Asia, Vol. 4, Issue 2, July: 323 – 326
  • Dutta, Sumedha. 2018. Review of the book Decentralisation, Governance and Development, by Pranab Kumar Das. Sociological Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 1, April: 130- 132 Dutta, Sumedha. 2017. “Mapping the Plight of the Urban Poor in the Era of LPG”, in Anand Kumar, Sarada Prasanna Das and Ashish Kumar Das (ed.), Chronic Poverty in India: Issues, Policies and Challenges, New Delhi: Vitasta Publishing: 420-440
  • Dutta, Sumedha. 2016. “Urban Living and Quality Time with Family”, Punjab University Research Journal Social Sciences, 24(1&2): 154-176
  • Dutta, Sumedha. 2018. “The Politics of Power Vs. The Politics of Identity: Understanding the Dynamics of Statehood Demands in Assam”, IGPP-VMF: Papers in South Asian Governance, Policies and Politics, February, No. 2.
  • Dutta, Sumedha. 2014. “Religious Associations and Development in India: A Study of the Ramakrishna Mission”, Journal of Social Sciences (Kelaniya University, Sri Lanka), Vol. 6, No. 2: 96 – 111
  • Dutta, Sumedha. 2014. “Dvaitvaad se pare: Aadhunik Bharat Mein Dhaarmik Sansthaon ki Bhoomika”, Bharatiya Samaj Shastra Sameeksha, Vol. 1, No. 1.: 107- 112

Awards & Honours

  •       Convenor of the International Sociological Association, Research Committee on Sociology of Religion, (ISA RC 22) Mid-term Conference on Global Flows and Reconfigurations of the Sacred, under the stewardship of Professor Mar Griera, President, ISA RC 22, and Professor K.K. Aggarwal, President, South Asian University, from 5th to 8th February, 2026, at the Department of Sociology, South Asian University, which was attended by delegates from  25 nation states across 5 continents.
  •      Elected as Early Career Researcher, in the Board of Research Committee in Sociology of Religion, RC – 22, International Sociological Association (ISA) 2023-2027.
  •     Exchange Scholar Award, to visit Thailand for 20 days under ICSSR-NRCT Bilateral Programme for Exchange of Scholars, in connection with my research work on “Prospects of Agri-Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development in North-East India: Lessons from Thailand”, in April, 2018
  •      Registration grant to attend 5th ISA Forum of Sociology, held at Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco, 6th – 12th July, 2025.
  •     Registration grant to attend ACSRAL-RC-22, International Sociological Association (ISA) Joint conference at Montevideo, Uruguay, 2024, by ACSRAL & RC-22, ISA.
  •      Registration grant from RC-22, and ISA, to attend the XX World Congress of Sociology, at Melbourne, Australia, 2023.
  • ].  Full conference bursary to present a plenary address on “Beginning with Polanyi: Global Capitalism Vs.  Civil Society Movements  in  Neo-liberal  India”,  in the international conference, A Great Transformation? Global Perspectives on Contemporary Capitalisms, at Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria, from 9th to 13thJanuary, 2017.
  •      Doctoral Fellowship by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, 2012-2014.

·      Full conference bursary, awarded by Jawaharlal Nehru University, to present a paper entitled, “Religious Associations and Development in India: A Study of the Ramakrishna Mission”, in the 2nd International Conference of Social Sciences (ICSS), organized by the University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, November, 2013.

·      3rd Position in Delhi University and 1st Position in Hindu College, New Delhi, in B.A. (Hons.) Sociology 3rd Year Examination, 2007.


 


Last Updated : 12 Apr 2026