About Rameez:

I'm a recent PhD in political science from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.  My work centers on Indian and Pakistani politics and the issues that drive my research are minority rights, immigration, identity politics, belonging.

My dissertation research was about internal migration in India.  I looked at how migrants who move from one state to another-- like from UP to Maharashtra-- are integrated into politics in their new state. For example, how the political parties respond to them, how they secure identity documents, what laws make their lives easier or harder.  I'm compared these things in Mumbai and Kolkata, two cities with very different political environments.

About the blog:

This blog began at the beginning of my dissertation fieldwork in Bombay. From April- June 2008 I volunteered with NGO's that work with the urban poor, many of whom are recent migrants. The blog was a place for me to jot down daily thoughts and observations, and a way to keep me thinking critically about what I saw and heard. I also used it in lieu of mass emails, to keep family and friends updated on what I was doing.  The April 2009 entries are about the same kind of work in Calcutta.  

Now I just write about South Asian politics and society, and I also post pictures and impressions from my travels. 

About the banner:

The banner of this site is composed of pictures I took in India between April and June 2008.  From left to right:

- a sculpture, centuries old, of the Hindu deity Shiva engaged in his "Mahanata" or great dance.  The photo was taken at Elephanta Island in Mumbai.

- members of a women's labor union, the Mahila Kamgar Sangathna, holding a protest rally in front of the ration card office in Dharavi, Mumbai.

- a Dawoodi Bohra mosque in Marol, a Mumbai suburb

- a woman carrying a load on her head on 90 feet road in Dharavi

- a vegetable vendor's wares laid out in small piles on the ground, on a busy sidewalk near Crawford market