Gauri Mahajan is a Project Associate at QAMRA with a BA (Hons), Psychology, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Studies and Research (Psychology) – both from Ashoka University. They previously worked at the Initiative for Health Equity, Advocacy, and Research (iHEAR) hosted at Sangath, where they conducted participatory, qualitative research with queer, trans, and disability communities. Gauri’s research interests include queer kinship and friendship. They are particularly interested in exploring the everyday lived experiences of queerness across diverse intersections, how support systems are navigated, and alternative systems of care are fostered.
People Type: Researchers
Janani Ganesan
Janani has 12 years of work experience in journalism, editing, and publishing. She has joined the Office of the Dean-Research to work with faculty and research teams and will provide editorial feedback on book-length projects, increase research outputs, and standardise publishing processes in the University.
She has worked as an editor of critical and narrative non-fiction as well as literary fiction at Context (Westland Books) and Juggernaut Books; has consulted as an editor with Writer’s Side Literary Agency; and been an Assistant Managing Editor at Asymptote, an international translation journal. She began her career as a journalist with Tehelka magazine, and after a stint at Verso Books in New York, she found her home in editing.
Her editorial vision has shaped successful pitch proposals for acclaimed titles such as the Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, shortlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize. Books she has edited include India’s Undeclared Emergency: Constitutionalism and the Politics of Resistance by legal scholar Arvind Narrain, Who Owns That Song? by historian A.R. Venkatachalapathy, and Despite the State: Why India Lets Its People Down and How They Cope by journalist M. Rajshekhar. She has also provided editorial support on forthcoming books from prominent scholars and authors including historian Sarah Waheed, anthropologist Michiel Baas, musicologist Srijan Deshpande, and Khabar Lahariya co-founder Disha Mullick. In fiction, she has edited distinguished works like Jasmine Days by Benyamin, winner of the 2018 JCB Prize for Literature, and Estuary by Perumal Murugan.
She holds a B.A. in Economics from Madras University, a postgraduate diploma from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), and a postgraduate degree from The New School for Social Research focused on writing and publishing.
Jyotsna Sripada
Jyotsna is a graduate of Masters of Public Policy from National Law School of India University, Bengaluru (batch of 2016). She has been associated with the Centre for Child and the Law since 2015 and has had the opportunity to contribute to various projects, in several capacities including field investigation, designing of research planning and execution, capacity building,documentation and reporting. Prior to this, Jyotsna has worked as a Documentation Consultant with the World Bank, in association with the Karnataka Nutrition Mission. She has also taught the students of Masters of Public Policy at the Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru.She is currently pursuing her Ph.D in National Law School of India University.
Kiruthiga V
With 2.5 years of litigation experience, Kiruthiga has successfully handled various legal matters across multiple courts, including the Madras High Court and the District Courts of Thanjavur. She continues to provide assistance to victims of heinous crimes under the POCSO and SC/ST Atrocities Act as part of her pro bono work.
Kiruthiga completed her B.Tech. in Information Technology from Velammal Engineering College, Anna University, Chennai. She completed her LL.B. at the Government Law College, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University (TNDALU), Chennai. She also obtained an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from the Government Law College, Tiruchirappalli, TNDALU.
Her experience as a teacher in a school for persons with visual disabilities made her acutely aware of the difficulties they face in accessing knowledge. This led her to pursue the right to access knowledge for persons with disabilities under Copyright Law as her dissertation topic, which enabled her college to acquire an expensive software that converts books into audio content, benefiting visually impaired individuals.
Beyond her legal career, Kiruthiga V has trained students in UPSC exam coaching centres. She has co-organized and moderated numerous workshops through her YouTube channel, addressing the rights of women, minorities, LGBTQIA+ communities, IP rights, and various other social causes. She is inspired by rationalist, feminist, and liberal ideologies.
Kumaraswamy T.
Kumarswamy has completed his Masters in Arts (Sociology) from KSOU Mysore, and has a Postgraduate Diploma in Desktop Publishing.
He had previously worked with CCL as the office coordinator for the Education Project extension office in Bidadi and as assistant project coordinator (field). He has also provided library assistance at the Centre for study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy. He has actively coordinated many state level capacity building workshops for School Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMCs), and is also a resource person for state level SDMC training, community participation training and many other trainings conducted by the Education department of Government of Karnataka. He is currently working as project coordinator and community animator (Ramanagaram district) under the Right to Food programme.
Madhulika Tatigotla
Madhulika works as a Research Associate at the Centre for Labour Studies. She earned her law degree from Jindal Global Law School in 2019 and has since worked on workers’ rights issues in various capacities, initially as a litigating lawyer, and later with iProbono and the Asia Floor Wage Alliance. She has a keen interest in labour law, law and political economy and legal history. Outside of work, she enjoys reading science fiction and collecting graphic novels.
Nandinie Gupta
Nandinie joined NLSIU in December 2024 as part of the Writing Urban India Collective Project under the HUPA Chair for Urban Poor and the Law. In this role, she assists in managing the fellowship program for PhD scholars and practitioners, focusing on fostering a network for interdisciplinary research and collaboration.
Her professional journey reflects a commitment to addressing critical urban challenges through diverse projects involving equipping the lens of gender, ecology and political economy to understand urban developments, mobility, security systems, informal workers, housing and infrastructure developments through public-private partnerships.
Nandinie’s work blends ethnographic and quantitative research methodologies. She is particularly interested in alternative documentation methods, using audio-visual mediums to enhance research accessibility and impact. Her academic and professional endeavours engage with themes of urbanization, development, infrastructure, ecological and social impacts, informal labour, and queer research.
Her passion lies in integrating sociology and film as tools for understanding and addressing urban inequality, climate change, and social justice. She envisions creating research that is not only innovative but also accessible, fostering collaboration across disciplines and communities.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi and a Master’s degree in Sociology from Ambedkar University Delhi. Nandinie further honed her expertise as an Urban Fellow at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), where she gained insights into urban transformations, alternative approaches to urban practice and research.
Dr. Neetu Sharma
Dr. Neetu Sharma has her training in political science, human rights and regional cooperation. She has been working with national and international development organizations working on child labour and right to food prior to joining CCL NLSIU 13 years ago.
She has served the Centre in various capacities, as Projects Manager, Researcher and also as its Coordinator. She has been engaging with research, field action, on the issue of right to food, livelihood and its impact on food security for the past eighteen years. She is currently closely engaged in the research on the implementation of National Food Security Act 2013.. She has conducted many studies on right to food for children and has several publications on issues related to food security, livelihood and child rights to her credit. She is a member of the core group on Legislation for Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), member of Foodfirst Information and Action Network (FIAN) and an academic member of the Extra-Territorial Obligations (ETO) Consortium (an international network working on economic social and cultural rights, a member of the Alliance for Sustainable Societies (ASS) (formerly Forum on Ethics and Responsibility).
Dr. R.V. Chandrashekar Ramenahalli
Education
- B.A., Bangalore University – 2003
- M.A., Sociology, Bangalore University – 2005
- Ph.D., Sociology, Mangalore University – 2011
- M.A., Journalism (MJMS), Kannada University – 2015
Profile
Dr. R. V. Chandrashekar Ramenahalli, works with the Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP) at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. He specializes in community development research, policy and governance. He has worked as an Assistant professor at the Centre for Women Studies, at the Kannada University, where he taught courses in sociology of development women’s studies, community development policy and school systems. He has worked closely with marginalized communities on issues of community development and livelihood. He is an advisory member in several government departments. He has also been a part of several field projects in community development. He has experience of working as a coordinator for several executive development programmes in public policy, designed by the Government of Karnataka.
Full list of research projects and publications, available here.
Rajshree Acharya
Rajshree has a profound interest in various forms of IPR, including but not limited to International Intellectual Property and Policy and Copyright and Related Rights. She has taught IPR as a Guest Faculty at National Law University, Jodhpur (NLUJ).
Rajshree has graduated from the National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam. She earned her master’s degree in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) from National Law University, Jodhpur.
Her research focuses on Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Cultural Expressions, and their relevance in the modern technological landscape. Additionally, she is passionate about exploring Performer’s Rights and Personality Rights within the realm of IPR.