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Ph.D. (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)

M. Phil. (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)

M.A. (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)

B.A. (University of Delhi)

Prof. (Dr.) Vanessa Chishti

Associate Professor

Email vchishti@jgu.edu.in
Connect with me
ORCID ID 0000-0003-3327-3382
Key Expertise Modern South Asian History, Histories of Modernity, Labour History, Agrarian History, Historical Sociology, Indian Political Economy, Marxist and Feminist Political Economy, Social Reproduction Theory.

Ph.D. (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)

M. Phil. (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)

M.A. (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)

B.A. (University of Delhi)

Biography

Dr. Vanessa Chishti is an Associate Professor at Jindal Global Law School. She studied political science and modern history at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her areas of interest include South Asian history, agrarian history, labour history, global histories of capitalism, anti-capitalist and feminist politics, Marxist and Feminist political economy, and theories of social reproduction.

Her PhD thesis entitled ‘Articulating Kashmir: Commodity Economy and the Politics of Representation c.1770-1930’ was completed in 2016. It offers a historical political economy of modern Kashmir, locating it in longer-term histories of modernity, and state, class and identity formation in South and Central Asia. It is currently under revision for publication into a book manuscript of the same title. 

At JGLS, Dr. Chishti has developed as well as taught foundational social science courses such as Political Science I & II and Foundations of Social Science I & II. In addition to this, she has also offered elective courses on a variety of subjects, ranging from nationalism in South Asia to gender in capitalist societies, and Marxist political thought (co-taught).

Dr. Chishti is keenly interested in developing textbooks and other educational materials for school and college students. She has worked on middle school social science textbooks for the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education.

Core Courses:

  • Foundations of Social Science 1
  • Foundations of Social Science 2
  • Political Science 1
  • Political Science 2
  • History 2
  • International Relations Theory

Elective Courses:

  • Nationalism and Nation Making: Theory, History, Politics
  • Nation and Nationalism in Modern South Asia
  • “Chimes of Freedom”: A Radical History of the Modern Self (co-taught)
  • Marxist Political Thought: Reading the Canon (co-taught)
  • “For Half the Earth and Half the Sky”: Marxism and Women’s Liberation
  • “Poorly Paid and Never Done”: Women’s Work in the Indian Economy
  • “Wakhra Swag”: Punjabi Pop Music and the Spirit of Agrarian Capitalism
  • The Violent Heart of Modernity: A Global History of India’s Partition

Vanessa Chishti, “Articulating Kashmir: State Formation and Kashmir’s Shawl Economy, c. 1770–1870.” South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies 48, no. 6 (2025): 1485–1503.

Vanessa Chishti, “The Modi Phenomenon.” Catalyst 9, no. 1 (Spring 2025).

Vanessa Chishti, "We, The People", essay for exhibition catalogue for exhibit titled "WE, THE PEOPLE" by artist Dr. Varunika Saraf. Chemould Prescott Road, 2025. (Excerpt available here: https://www.gallerychemould.com/publications/189-we-the-people-varunika-saraf/)

Vanessa Chishti, “Narendra Modi Has Ruled in the Interests of Big Capital.” Jacobin, May 2024.

Vanessa Chishti, "Parler du Cachemire en Inde : un optimisme prudent.", (translated), CETRI, Alternatives Sud, May 2024 (available here: https://www.cetri.be/Parler-du-Cachemire-en-Inde-un?lang=fr).

Vanessa Chishti, Aishna Sharma and Binay Pathak, “Teachers and Students as Political Actors in Indian Higher Eduction”, ed. Chattopadhayay, Marginson and Varghese, Changing Higher Education in India. (Bloomsbury, 2022).

Podcast titled: “Kashmir’s History of Repression and Resistance”, on Jacobin Radio. 2022. (available here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/long-reads-vanessa-chishti-on-kashmirs-history-of/id791564318?i=1000539531800)

Interview: “The People of Kashmir Must Decide Their Own Future”, Jacobin Magazine, February 2022. (Available here: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2022/02/kashmir-india-narendra-modi-bjp-long-reads-podcast )

“Speaking Kashmir in India: A Cautiously Optimistic Note”, in ‘Militarized Media: Power, Propaganda, and Press’, Zanaan Wanaan, Issue II. (November 2021). (Available here: https://zanaanwanaan.com/journal/)

Vanessa Chishti, “Kashmir: The Long Descent”, Catalyst, Vol. 3 No. 4 Winter 2020 (available here: https://catalyst-journal.com/2020/03/kashmir-the-long-descent )

“Dissent Is A Kashmiri Carpet Woven Over A Century: Three Instances When The Murmur Became A Roar”, in print issue titled “KashmirL 370 Degrees”, Outlook. (July 2020). (Also published online, available here: https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/opinion-dissent-is-a-kashmiri-carpet-woven-over-a-century-three-instances-when-the-murmur-became-a-roar/303475 )

Vanessa Chishti, “Producing Paradise: Kashmir’s Shawl Economy and the Politics of Authenticity in Nineteenth Century Europe’, in New Approaches to Kashmir: Essays and Documents, ed. Chitralekha Zutshi. (Cambridge University Press. 2017).
Email vchishti@jgu.edu.in
ORCID ID 0000-0003-3327-3382
Key Expertise Modern South Asian History, Histories of Modernity, Labour History, Agrarian History, Historical Sociology, Indian Political Economy, Marxist and Feminist Political Economy, Social Reproduction Theory.