Faculty

Dr. Aashish Xaxa is a sociologist and development scholar whose work spans urbanisation, Indigenous studies, governance, comparative social policy, and post-state theories, with a sustained focus on decolonial and Global South perspectives.

His forthcoming monograph, Urban Development in Indigenous India (Cambridge University Press), advances a pioneering critical comparative account of how development regimes have shaped Adivasi communities and territories. His articles have appeared in Economic & Political Weekly, Journal of South Asian Development, and Social Change, among others. He has contributed to major international reference works including the United Nations Encyclopaedia of Sustainable Development (Springer) — the largest editorial work on sustainable development — and Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Regional Perspectives — The Asia and Pacific Region (Springer).

He has presented his research at universities in India, Ireland, Europe, the United Kingdom, Taiwan and the United States. His Insight Series Lectures have brought together internationally renowned scholars to deliberate on development and Indigenous Peoples issues. He serves as India Coordinator of the EthnoKino Film Festival — a global Indigenous Peoples film festival based at Bern, Switzerland. He writes on decolonial movements, literature, and cinema for platforms including Medium, National Herald, Sanglap, and Youth Ki Awaaz.

He is the recipient of the First Tribal Award (2025), conferred by the Commissioner of Tribal Affairs, New Delhi

• Graduation In: B.A.
• Graduation From: University of Delhi
• Graduation Year: 2013

• Post Graduation In: Development Studies
• Post Graduation From: Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
• Post Graduation Year: 2015

• Doctorate In: Development Studies
• Doctorate From: Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
• Doctorate Year: 2021

• Urban Development in Indigenous India [Forthcoming from Cambridge University Press]. {The first of its kind comparative work on urban development in two distinct Indigenous Peoples regions}.
• Public Law and Social Exclusion of Indigenous People in the Fifth Schedule Areas of India (EPW) {A comprehensive examination of the trajectory adverse development in Inidigenous Peoples regions of the Fifth Schedule and exploring alternative possibilities for a more inclusive form of governance.]
• Dismantling Colonial Cartography: Indigenous Urbanism as Spatiality, India (Springer) {Examines colonial and postcolonial cartography in India’s Indigenous regions, arguing for restoring Indigenous land ontologies over the statist clinical development model.}
• Transformation of Tribal Hinterlands into Urban Spaces in India’s Fifth and Sixth Schedule Areas: Emerging Issues and Contestations (Social Change). {Compares land procurement for urban development in Greater Ranchi and New Shillong Township, showing how Fifth and Sixth Schedule protections are circumvented by state-led urbanization.}
• Populism, Development, and Indigenous Resistance: Some Reflections from Jharkhand (Springer) {Situates Adivasi resistance to extractive development within global debates on right-wing populism, tracing how Jharkhand’s Indigenous movements confront both state power and majoritarian nationalism.}

• First Tribal Award (2025), Commissioner of Tribal Affairs, New Delhi
• Lifetime Membership, Development Studies Association (UK, Ireland, Australia)
• Lifetime Membership, Indian Sociological Society
• Lifetime Membership, International Sociological Association
• Oral Statements Delivered, 19th Session of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), Palais des Nations, Geneva (2026)
• Discussant, Symposium on Indigenous Economic Sovereignty, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan (2026)
• Invited Contribution, Forthcoming Edited Volume, University of Waikato (with Prof. Robert Joseph)

• International Sociological Association (ISA) RC26 International Conference, University of the Peloponnese, Greece (2026)
• Develoment Studies Association of Australia (DSAA) International Conference, La Trobe University, Australia (2026)