Rajeshwari Deshpande is professor of Politics at the Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune. Her research interests are in areas such as politics of the urban poor, urban caste- class realities, women’s politics, comparative state politics and political thinking in modern Maharashtra.
As a Lokniti associate, Rajeshwari has worked on the nature of women’s vote in Indian elections using the NES data. Currently she is coordinating a research project on behalf of the Lokniti network as part of the Lokniti-ICSSR research programme on issues related to ‘Inequalities, Welfare and Democracy’.
She is a member of the editorial management team of the Lokniti/Sage journal ‘Studies in Indian Politics’ where she also coordinates a discussion forum on ‘Teaching and Learning Political Science in India.’
At present, Rajeshwari is the Lead researcher in India for a European Commission sponsored international research project ‘Cultural Heritage and Identities of Europe’s Future (CHIEF- 2018-2021 http://chiefproject.eu/ ) in which eight European Universities along with Savitribai Phule Pune University from India are consortium partners.
Select Recent publications
Books
- Series editor (with Suhas Palshikar), Sage series on ‘Politics in Indian States’ (2016---)
Two volumes of the series are published so far
- Post Mandal Politics in Bihar by Sanjay Kumar 2018.
- Jammu and Kashmir: 1990 and Beyond by Rekha Chowdhary, 2019
- 2019 - Gandhinchya Shodhat Javdekar (Marathi), (Javdekar in search of Gandhi) Samkaleen Prakashan, Pune.
- 2015 - Tillin Louise, Rajeshwari Deshpande and Kailash KK (ed), Politics of Welfare: Comparisons across Indian States, Oxford University Press, Delhi and London.
Monographs
- 2015 - Changing Social Bases of Political Parties in India: Case of Maharashtra, (with Suhas Palshikar) CSSH, SPPU, Pune.
Book chapters
- 2017 - Democracy in India, (with Suhas Palshikar) in Oxford Bibliographies in Hinduism. Ed. Tracy Coleman. New York: Oxford University Press.
- 2017 – The Civil Society and its Paradoxical Consensus, in Lancy Lobo (ed), Indian Democracy: Strengths and Weaknesses, Delhi, Primus Publications, pp 181-190.
- 2017 - Political Economy of a Dominant Caste (with Suhas Palshikar) in Nagraj R and S Motiram (ed), Political Economy of Contemporary India, Cambridge, UK,Cambridge University Press, pp 77-97. ISBN 978–1–107–16495-6.
- 2017 - Beyond the Congress System in Maharashtra (with Nitin Birmal), in Palshikar etal, (ed), Electoral Politics in India: Resurgence of the BJP, London/ New Delhi,Routledge, ISBN978-1-138-20194-1.
- 2015 - The Woman Constituency: Domestic Workers, Social Security and Gender Politics in Two States, in Tillin Louise, Rajeshwari Deshpande and Kailash KK (ed), Politics of Welfare: Comparisons Across Indian States, Oxford University Press, Delhi and London.
- 2014 - ‘Bhagwangadavarun Mala Mumbai Disate Aahe’: How Caste Survives Amidst Democratic Politics, in Dusan Deak and Daniel Jasper (ed), Rethinking Western India: The Changing Contexts of Culture, Society and Religion, Orient Blackswan, Delhi.
Articles in Journals
- 2019 - Marxwadi Charchavishawatil Rajyasanstha (Marathi, State in the Marxist Discourse), Navbharat, April issue, pp 35-39.
- 2018 - Parasparanchya Prakashat Gandhi ani Marx (Marathi, Gandhi and Marx in each other’s context), Anubhav, Diwali Special Issue, pp 68-78.
- 2016 – Bhandvali Dhurinatvaanividrohi Rajkaran (Marathi- Capitalist Hegemony and Politics of Resistance), Vichar Shalaka, April.
- 2014 - Seeking OBC Status: Political Strategies of Two Dominant Castes, Studies in Indian Politics, Volume 2, No 2, June- December, pp 169-183.
- 2013 - Political Science in India: Who teaches what to whom and what for?, Studies in Indian Politics, Vol I no I, June- Dec, pp 97-101.
