Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, PhD (Burdwan)
Research Fellow, Resource Management in Asia-Pacific Program

Email: kuntala.lahiri-dutt@anu.edu.au

Biographical Statement

Currently, I am a Fellow of Resource Management in Asia Pacific Program. I convene the gender specialization in Masters in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development (MAAPD) and teach courses on Exploring Gender and Development (ANTH 8038/39) in the first semester based on cutting-edge thoughts and approaches in this field (see http://rspas.anu.edu.au/maapd/gender). I remain actively engaged with gender in all my fields of work (see www.genderandwater.org to know about my involvement with the global advocacy body, GWA, or the Gender Water Network for the Asia Pacific region (http://rspas.anu.edu.au/gwn).

I went to Lady Brabourne College and Calcutta University and did my PhD in 1985. One of my earlier books, In Search of a Homeland: Anglo-Indians and McCluskiegunge, (Calcutta: Minerva, 1990), explores the complex and hybrid identities of the Anglo-Indian community in India. I have also published widely in Bengali language on the history of geographical thought, resources and the environment, and have commented on the state of geographical research and teaching in India. My personal site gives the visitor glimpses into my family life (see http://home.netspeed.com.au/kuntala.david).

Research Interests

My current research focus is on women and gender, and women’s empowerment and development. I also investigate communities’ roles and livelihoods in natural resources, such as large-scale as well as informal mining, and the water and sanitation sector. An exciting theme that I am currently exploring is that of livelihoods in artisanal, small-scale, and at times illegal, mining (see www.asmasiapacific.org). I have also established an Asia-Pacific Network on gender and water (http://rspas.anu.edu.au/gwn)

My work focuses primarily on South Asian countries, primarily India but I also have research interests in Bangladesh. I am completing an Australian Research Council-funded linkage grant studying the interface between large-scale mining and the community with emphasis on community empowerment in East Kalimantan, Indonesia (see http://empoweringcommunities.anu.edu.au). I have doctoral students working with me on gender and development, on water resources management, on illegal mining and on sustainable mine closure.

Key Publications

• (with Robert Wasson) (eds) Water First: Issues and Challenges for Nations and Communities, New Delhi: Sage, 2008.
• (ed) Fluid Bonds: Views on Gender and Water, Calcutta: Stree, 2006.
• (with Martha Macintyre) (eds) Women Miners in Developing Countries: Pit Women and Others, Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006.
• (with David Williams) Moving Pictures: Rickshaw Art of Bangladesh, Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing House (forthcoming in October 2009).
• (with Gopa Samanta) Like a Drifting Grain of Sand: Redefining Security and Vulnerability in Charlands, Lower Bengal, India (in press).

Career Highlights

NASA Post-Doctoral Fellowship (1987); Consultant, International Atomic Energy Agency (2000); Career Award, University Grants Commission, India (1999-2002); Panos Institute, Oral Testimony Project of mining displaced indigenous people (2002); World Bank Study on Impacts of Mining on Women in Indonesia (2006); Communities and Small Mines Grants (2005 and 2006); ARC Linkage Project Creating Empowered Communities (2006–08).