Mayur Helia
PhD student, Associate LecturerResearch Overview
My research explores past and present of Caste, Surveillance and Resistance among Dalit sanitation workers in Mumbai. I use oral histories, autobiography, auto-ethnography and more under the wider frame of community research approach. I am a Dalit, fourth generation, ex-sanitation worker from Mumbai; I worked for more than 12 years in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
My interest lies in Caste, Hazardous Labour, Surveillance, Resistance, Critical Geography, and other related areas. I am also interested in creative, collaborative and action-based methodologies.
I am looking to working and collaborating with scholars and activists from marginalised groups, such as Dalits and Tribals in South Asia. I am also interested in working and collaborating with Anti-caste and Anti-colonial allies.
Qualifications
MPhil in Development Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (2020-23)
Master’s in Social Work, Specialization Dalit and Tribal Studies and Action from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (2015-17)
Bachelor’s in Art, Major in Political Science from Wilson College, Mumbai (2012-15)
Career Details
Motor Loader (sanitation worker) in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai (2010-23)
Research Assistant in the UK Aid funded Project “Getting on Grid: The Politics of Public Service Formalization in Urban India” (2017-19)
Research Assistant in The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) South Asia on the Project Studying Whatsapp and Electoral Politics (2019-20)
Additional Information
Media coverage:
- BBC news-
- Indian Express-
- India Today-
Short Documentary link:
Podcast link: (Also available on other platforms like spotify, prime music, google)
- Human Geography