Harshvir Bali

My PhD investigates how the Indian administration’s recent policies to restructure land rights and ownership, have impacted the relationship of Kashmir’s Sikh minority communities to the Kashmir valley in India. Namely, I study how Sikh notions of identity and belonging are shaped by space and governance. My research utilizes ethnographic research methods to observe Sikhs communities in northern and central Kashmir.
My work is an extension of my MA project, which analyzed Kashmiri Sikh determinations to attain minority representation and to alleviate economic, political, and legal restrictions that have produced inequitable access to work and representation for the community.