“Panel discussion on Performance and Performativity of Dalit Student Politics in India by Malavika Priyadarshini Rao”
By
Dr. Malavika Priyadarshini Rao
(Christ University, Bengaluru)
Dr. Ashna Singh
(National Law School of India University, Bengaluru)
Dr. Dontha Prashanth
(Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)
Chairperson : Prof Carol Upadhya
(Honorary Visiting Professor, NIAS)
On
Date: Thursday, 4 December 2025 | Venue: Lecture Hall, NIAS
Tea/Coffee: 3:30 PM | Session Time: 4.00 – 5.30 pm.
Abstract: The author will present her new book, Performance and Performativity of Dalit Student Politics in India (Routledge, 2025), which examines the significance of body, space, sound/voice/music and objects of resistance in everyday performance of Dalit student protests. Based on her doctoral dissertation completed under the NIAS-Exeter Split Site PhD programme, the book focuses on the protests that erupted after Rohith Vemula, a Dalit PhD student, died by suicide in Hyderabad Central University on 17 January 2016. Rohith’s death sparked national and international outrage and led to the shutdown of the University for over a month and gave rise to the ‘Justice for Rohith movement’, which continued for over a year. Rohith’s death became a symbolic representation of other Dalit deaths due to systemic caste violence; the symbolism of his death expanded to include other marginalised groups who have faced systemic violence historically. The book highlights five distinct aesthetics prominent in Dalit student activist performance practices: (1) folk performance traditions; (2) counter-interpretation and representation of Hindu mythology and Hinduism; (3) inspiration from Ambedkar and Buddhist iconography; (4) Christian church hymns; and (5) the text of Rohith’s last letter.
Speaker: Malavika Rao is Assistant Professor in the Department of Performing Arts at Christ University, Bangalore. She completed her PhD in Performance Studies at the University of Exeter and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies, University of Cape Town, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Her research focuses on Dalit student politics, performance, and resistance, with a broader interest in caste, affect, and contemporary protest cultures. She is the author of Performance and Performativity of Dalit Student Politics in India: The Justice for Rohith Movement (Routledge, 2025). Alongside her scholarly work, Malavika has extensive experience as a dramaturge, scenographer, director, and educator, and has presented her work at international conferences. Her teaching spans theatre historiography, applied theatre, global performance traditions, and embodied practices.
Ashna Singh currently an Assistant Professor of Law at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore (India). She teaches Legal Methods, Public International Law, and electives designed on Caste and Law. She was a Visiting Fellow at Humboldt University, Berlin under the UGC-DAAD funded Law and Transformations Collaboration (October-December 2024) where she worked on the legal dimensions of caste-based humiliation.
Dontha Prashanth is an Assistant Professor in Economics at Azim Premji University. He received his Doctorate in Economics at University of Hyderabad (UoH). His work focuses on the political economy of accumulation and dispossession of land from the lens of caste. His academic engagement is oriented towards understanding existing socio-economic inequalities and their implications for the economy.