South Asia is a region of immense geopolitical, economic, and cultural significance. Home to nearly a quarter of the world’s population, it includes rapidly growing economies like India and Bangladesh, as well as rich historical and cultural traditions that have shaped global heritage. South Asia plays a critical role in international trade, particularly through its strategic location near major sea routes, and its diverse political landscapes influence global diplomacy. Additionally, the region’s ongoing efforts in addressing challenges like poverty, climate change, and political instability have far-reaching impacts on global development and security
PEOPLE
DR NAUMAN REAYAT
Dr Nauman Reayat is is the coordinator of this group. He is the Convener Global South Network and Convener, Constitutionalism in Developing Democracies, Socio-Legal Studies Association. His PhD at the University of York focused on Judicial Independence in Pakistan and his ESRC Postdoc project at Cardiff School of Law and Politics investigated judicial independence in authoritarian and hybrid regimes. He organised various events on judicial politics and minorities’ rights in South Asia.
He secured the Certificate of Qualification from Federal Law Society Canada (FLSC) in 2021 and briefly tutored people with foreign law degrees for the Certificate of Qualification examinations held by National Committee of Accreditation, FLSC.
For inquiries on this group’s activities contact Nauman at leicgsn@gmail.com or drop a message at the contact page of this website.
DR M EHTESHAMUL BARI
Dr M Ehteshamul Bari is a Senior Lecturer in Law and the Deputy Head (Research) of the Thomas More Law School at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, Australia. Prior to joining ACU, Dr Bari held full time academic positions at Macquarie University, at Deakin University where he was also the Director of Deakin JD Program, and at the University of New England. He did his PhD in Law from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia in 2015 on an International Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship.
Dr Bari is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of constitutional law, human rights, Asian legal systems and public international law. His expertise was, for instance, called upon by the Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances for an Experts Consultation on Elections and Enforced Disappearances at the 131s session of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced Disappearances. Dr Bari has so far published 5 books- 4 monographs and 1 edited book- with reputed academic publishers, namely, Routledge and Springer, 25 book chapters and research articles including publications in the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal, Wisconsin International Law Journal, George Washington International Law Review, Emory International Law Review, Cardozo International and Comparative Law Review, Michigan State International Law Review, and Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems. He has received prestigious awards in recognition of his scholarship, including the Executive Dean’s Higher Degree Research Award for Best Publication at Macquarie University, Sydney.
Dr Bishnu Pariyar
Lecturer in Criminology, School of Criminology, University of Leicester.
My doctoral research at the University of York (2006-2010) focusing on the intersection of caste, ethnicity, and inequality within the context of the governance and management of natural resources and through the lenses of environmental and cultural criminology, especially risk and security in the global south. This was further advanced through research fellowships at the University of Leeds (2012-2018) and a University Tutorship at the University of Sheffield before moving to the University of Leicester in 2023 teaching a range of modules in MSc in Risk and Security Management course.
My research interests lie within the areas of caste, ethnicity, migration, and access to criminal justice systems and transitional justice mechanisms in the Global South. Additionally, my research expands on structural inequalities and how such inequalities contribute to people’s vulnerability to crimes. Through comprehensive empirical analysis and rigorous theoretical frameworks, my work sheds light on the multifaceted aspects of criminology generally and risk and security issues influenced by institutional biases against ethnic minorities.
HIMANSHU MISHRA
Himanshu Mishra is a PhD Scholar and alumnus of the National Law University, Delhi (NLU Delhi), India. His academic and professional pursuits thrive at the cutting-edge intersection of law and technology, with a particular focus on how emerging digital landscapes challenge constitutional frameworks. Over the years, I have explored these themes deeply, authoring articles and blogs that critically analyze the legal, ethical, and societal implications of Artificial Intelligence.
Himanshu’s current doctoral research continues this trajectory, specifically examining the constitutional boundaries of digital search and seizure, privacy, and the right against self-incrimination in an increasingly digitized world.
DR VIKRAM VISANA
Dr Vikram Visana is a lecturer in Political Theory at the University of Leicester in 2022. Before arriving at Leicester, he taught at the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, and Huddersfield, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Global History, Freie Universität Berlin.
Vikram’s research focuses on Indian political thought from the nineteenth century to the present. His book, Uncivil Liberalism: Labour, Capital and Commercial Society in Dadabhai Naoroji’s Political Thought (2022), is a reinterpretation of Dadabhai Naoroji’s Indian contribution to ideas on global labour rights and liberal-republican critiques of capitalist monopoly.
DR ABUREZA M MUZAREBA
Dr Abureza M Muzareba completed his PhD from the University of Sheffield, England back in 2017. His PhD research was showcased and presented for the esteemed audiences of the Wellbeing Conference at the University of Oxford, England, and AAG Conference in Chicago, the USA. He has developed his interdisciplinary expertise by studying business, social science, and engineering. He has been in academia since 2004 and has been teaching at several prestigious academic institutions in Bangladesh. He has industry experience with HSBC Bangladesh, and research experience with USAID, IFPRI, the University of Sheffield, UK Cabinet Office, O2, Barnsley City Council, England, and Care Bangladesh.
Sayantani Bagchi
Sayantani Bagchi is an Assistant Professor at National Law University (NLU), Jodhpur specialising in Constitutional Law. She has administered courses that include Comparative Constitutional law, Constitutional Rights and Social Justice, Constitutional Philosophy and core Constitutional Law for the last six years. She is an active member of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Law and Administrative Law (CCAL) and the Constitutional Law Society (CLS) at NLU Jodhpur contributing to several initiatives in the field of constitutional law including publication of journals, conducting seminars, conclaves and conferences, holding guest lectures, hosting podcasts. She is the Managing Editor of the Comparative Constitutional Law and Administrative Law Journal. Additionally, she is the Faculty Advisor to the Centre for Research in Governance, Institutions and Public Policy at NLU Jodhpur which actively undertakes research in the field of public policy. Also, Ms Bagchi is at the final stage of her PhD thesis submission that explores how unwritten constitutional conventions sustain constitutionalism in India. She has presented papers at prestigious national and international conferences some of which include Asian Law Institute Conference (NUS Singapore), The Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference (University of Portsmouth) and the Annual Conference of the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination. Ms Bagchi also writes on several areas of constitutional law for journals and blogs, particularly in the domain of democratic governance and constitutional politics.
MARVA KHAN
Marva Khan is an Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) at the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan. She is also one of the founding members and the Co-Editor of the LUMS Law Journal, and served as an Article Editor of the Harvard Human Rights Journal. Her main areas of interest include constitutional law, human rights including disability rights, and gender. From 2020-21, Marva served as the Director, Lahore Chapter, Harvard Club of Pakistan . She also served as the first Vice President of the LUMS Law Alumni Association in 2017-2018. She has also taught at the Punjab Judicial Academy. In 2020, she completed Asian Development Bank’s Training of Trainers on Gender Sensitization and Harassment.
DR AMIT SINGH
Amit is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal. He holds a PhD in human rights from the same university. His research interests include right-wing politics in India, religious populism and emotion, Hindu nationalism, secularism, human rights, and religious minorities.
Amit is a Sylff fellow at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Japan, holder of a Slovakian national scholarship, and a research associate at the Centre for the Study at the Indian Languages Society in India. He regularly writes opinion articles and appears in public debates.
Tasneem Kausar
LLM (Yale) Professor of Law & Jurisprudence Principal, Pakistan College of Law, Lahore
Tasneem Kausar is currently the Principal of the Pakistan College of Law, where she also serves as Director of the PCLRP-Lahore program. Additionally, Kausar is a Visiting Faculty member at Pakistan Administrative Services in Lahore, and an Advisor to both Dignity Rights International and the Punjab Public Service Commission.
Her areas of teaching and research include constitutional law and jurisprudence, political history, criminal laws and theory with a comparative law perspective and Islamic laws.
She serves as Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious Pakistan Law Review. Her articles have been published in the prestigious national and international law journals. Her paper ‘Judicialization of Politics and Governance in Pakistan’ has been published in Pakistan’s Stability Paradox: Regional and Institutional Concerns (Routledge:2011). She also contributed a chapter ‘Religion, Politics and the Dilemma of National Identity in Pakistan’ in the book Islam, Law and Identity (Routledge/Glasshouse:2010).
MAHTAB FAZL
Former Judge special primary court for the prohibition of violence against women at the Herat Court of Appeal Afghanistan
DR SHOUVIK KUMAR GUHA
Associate Professor of Law at The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), India.
Dr Guha is currently the Co-Coordinator of the Centre for Financial and Regulatory Governance Studies and the Centre for Competition Laws, the Founder-Coordinator of the Centre for Law, Literature and Popular Culture, the Assistant Coordinator of the Centre for Law and Technology, and the Associate Director of the Centre for Aviation and Space Laws at NUJS.
DR NAVAJYOTI SAMANTHA
Associate Professor, School of Law, Leicester Law School
Dr Navajyoti is currently teaching at University of Leicester as an associate professor in company law. His teaching and research interests are in the intersection of corporate governance, financial law, and financial market development. He is an associate editor of Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society.
Menaka Madushani Gamage
Menaka Madushani Gamage is a PhD candidate at the University of Leicester School of Business, where her research delves into Knowledge Spillover and norm creation in Multi-National Corporations in the Global South. Menaka is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), and has over 08 years of experience as a University Lecturer in Sri Lanka. Since 2022, Menaka has served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Leicester Business School. She is a Gold Medalist and an Associate member of CIMA (UK). Menaka has received the Best Research Award for her MBA thesis and has published extensively on Knowledge Sharing and Human Resource Practices in business organizations.
DR SHALINI SHARMA
Shalini Sharma studied at Cambridge, JNU and SOAS. She is Senior Lecturer in South Asian history at Keele University. She is the author of Radical Politics in Colonial Punjab: Governance and Sedition (2009), and is currently working on a book about America and Indian cultural and intellectual life after 1947.
GLOBAL SOUTH NETWORK (GSN) 