Dr Divya Balan

Dr Divya Balan
Assistant Professor
Department of Social Sciences
FLAME University, Pune
India

Dr. Divya Balan is Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, FLAME University, Pune, India with Doctorate in International Studies from the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India. She is UGC-NET qualified in International and Area Studies and has been teaching for the past eight years. Her doctoral thesis was on “Immigrants Integration Policies in Britain: A Study of Indian Immigrants Incorporation 2000-2010” in which she undertook a policy level analysis that pertains to the integration measures taken by British Government during the post multiculturalist phase of 2000-2010 in response to the significant migratory flow to its territory, taking Indian immigrants’ incorporation to British society as a case study. She has visited London School of Economics and University of Derby, UK on a short-term Europe Area Studies Programme Grant to complete her doctoral thesis. She is a Political Science graduate and has her Masters and M.Phil. in International Studies. Dr Divya has also served as an international visiting fellow of the Institute for European Global Studies at University of Basel, Switzerland to undertake a study on “Teaching and Researching on European Studies in Indian Universities”.

Dr. Divya has earlier taught in the capacity of Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science in the Delhi University (Shri Ram College of Commerce and Kamala Nehru College) and at the Department of International Relations in the Central University of Kerala. Her areas of teaching and research interests include European Studies, international migration and migration policies, Indian diaspora, Gulf migration, Forced Migration, Refugees and Human Security and Kerala studies. Dr. Balan has received several scholarships and grants and also a member of several academic organisations. She has authored several timely opinion pieces in English and Malayalam for national and regional newspapers and magazines, including for the New Indian Express, the Wire, Times of India, Telangana Today and Truecopy Think on issues related to international, internal and forced migration, migration governance, Indian diaspora, migrant transnationalism, and global Malayalees. She has published monographs, research papers in edited books and several reputed research journals and has also presented papers in numerous international and national conferences as well as participated in several policy consultations on migration and workshops and symposiums in and outside India. She is an active public speaker on themes related to migration and refugees.

Research & Publications

  1. “Re-reading the banyan tree analogy: Everyday life and identity of Indian diaspora in Britain”. In Ruben Gowricharn (ed.) (2020), Shifting transnational bonding in Indian Diaspora, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-367-72335-4, pp. 17-35.
  2. “Covid-19 Pandemic and Internal Migrants in Maharashtra: Implications and Responses,” Sambhāṣaṇ, Volume 1, Issue 2, June 2020, A Free Open Access Peer-Reviewed Bilingual Interdisciplinary Journal of the University of Mumbai, pp. 26-32, URL: https://mu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/JuneIssueFINAL.pdf.
  3. “Health and Safety of Interstate Migrant Workers in India during Covid-19: Inadequacy of the Labour Laws,” Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT) Newsletter Roots and Routes, Vol 9 (1-4), January – April, 2020, URL: https://www.grfdt.com/PublicationDetails.aspx?Type=Articles&TabId=10129.
  4. In search of home, Wednesday, 1 April 2020, Telangana Today (Viewpoint), https://telanganatoday.com/in-search-of-home.
  5. They are our guests, let’s behave like hosts, Monday, 30 March 2020, The Times of India (Expert Speak), Kerala ed. URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/they-are-our-guests-lets-behave-like-hosts/articleshow/74891433.cms.
  6. “Placing the Misplaced Priorities Right: Diaspora in Election Manifestos and the Case of MOIA”, FLAME Newsroom, 30 May 2019, URL: https://www.flame.edu.in/newsroom/placing-the-misplaced-priorities-right-diaspora-in-election-manifestos-and-the-case-of-moia.
  7. Tales of the Fringes: Reading Unni R’s ‘One Hell of a Lover’, 28 October 2019, The Wire, https://thewire.in/books/tales-of-the-fringes-reading-unni-rs-one-hell-of-a-lover.
  8. Growing India-UAE ties to benefit expats, Tuesday, 27 August 2019, The Times of India (by invitation), Kerala ed.
  9. Contradictory impact of UAE Golden Card, Saturday, 10 August 2019, The New Indian Express, Kerala ed.
  10. “Towards a digitally empowered society: The case of Digital India Programme”. In Vinodan C. (ed.) (2018), Governance and development challenges in India, New Delhi: New Century publishers, ISBN 978-81-7708-445-0, pp. 69-82.
  11. “International Relations: A historical perspective”. In Siddharth Tripathi (ed.) (2018), International Relations: Theories and approaches, New Delhi: Worldview Publications, ISBN 978-93822-67-324, pp.16-30.
  12. Indian Immigrants in Britain: Features of Diasporic Life Post 2000s, Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT) Research Monograph Series No. 6, June 2015, ISSN 2454-3675. URL: https://www.grfdt.com/Upload/Publication/5039_GRFDT%20Research%20Paper%206.pdf.
  13. Living the Double Life: An Analysis of the Transgender Community in Kasaragod District, Kerala. The Investigator – An International Refereed Journal of Multidisciplinary Explorations, Vol.1, No. 2, September 2015, ISSN:  2454-3314, pp. 158-169.
  14. Strategising Indianness Abroad: A Socio-Cultural Account of Indian Diasporic Life in Britain. Proceedings of the Multidisciplinary National Seminar on “Travails of Uprootment: A Tribute to Refugees, Exiles and Diasporic Communities”, organised by the Department of English, M.S.M. College, Kayamkulam, from 29 to 31 July 2015, pp. 220-225, ISBN 978-93-85723-00-1.
  15. Cultural Representation among Indian Diaspora in Multicultural Britain: An Analysis of Ethnic Popular Media and Bollywood Effect. Proceedings of UGC sponsored National Seminar on “Dialogics of Cultural Encounters”, organised by the Postgraduate Department of English and Research Centre for Comparative Studies, Mercy College, Palakkad, 27-28 November 2015, pp. 24-30, ISBN 978-93-85105-21-0.
  16. “Multiculturalism as a policy of integration in Britain”. In Rajendra K. Jain (ed.), (2014) Multiculturalism in India and Europe, New Delhi: Aakar Books, ISBN 978-93-5002-279-5, pp. 168-182.
  17. Linking Counter Terrorism Strategies with Migration Policies: A Puzzling Case of Post 9/11 Britain. Journal of Polity and Society, Vol. V (1/2) and Vol. VI (1), December 2013 – June 2014, ISSN 0976-0210, pp. 58-75.
  18. ICT and Democracy: An Analysis of Emerging Opportunities in the Globalised Era. Newman and Society, Special Issue on Media, Technology and Democracy, Vol.4, No. 2, July-December 2013, ISSN:  2231-6698, pp. 64-73.
  19. Empowerment through Political Participation: Analysis of Decision Making Power of Women in Local Governance. International Journal for Environmental Protection and Rural Development, Vol. III (1), July-September 2013, ISSN 2249-4375, pp. 31-40.
  20. Towards a Common EU Immigration Policy: An Analysis of Post Lisbon Treaty Developments. Holistic Thought, Vol. XII (1/2), Jan-June/July-Dec 2013, ISSN 0975-363, pp. 81-96.
  21. Report on “India’s Diaspora Policy: Evolution, Challenges and Prospects” by Amb. J.C. Sharma, Former Member Secretary, High Level Committee on Indian Diaspora in the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT) Newsletter Roots and Routes, Vol.1, No.2, May 2012, URL: https://www.grfdt.com/Upload/Attachment/5_GRFDT%20Newsletter.pdf.
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