Professor | Department of History
Contact (Off.): 9810110438
Email Address : vishal[dot]chauhan[at]pgdav[dot]du[dot]ac[dot]in
I specialised in Modern History, and Critical Theory and Cultural Studies.
Short Bios
Dr Vishal Chauhan has specialised in modern history and earned MA and MPhil from the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He received a scholarship from UNIVERSITAS 21 and Delhi University for securing Masters in Critical Theory and Cultural Studies from the University of Nottingham, UK. He was awarded a distinction for his dissertation titled, “Global Kitchen or Culinary Imperialism: A case study of McDonald's and micro-resistance in Delhi”. Vishal received STEAM scholarship for doctoral studies from the Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK. His thesis, “Margin, Memoirs, and Movies: Decoding Dalit Representation in Popular Hindi Cinema (the 1930s to 2010s)”, focuses on the stereotyping of Dalits in popular Hindi films and the cultural politics of representation. He is interested in the dynamics of power and its linkages with culture at large, identity formation, and in issues of representation in films in particular. Vishal has been publishing in various journals of academic repute and has been a panellist in various debates on media and films during his PhD in Birmingham, UK. BBC, London interviewed Vishal on his research. Presently, he is working on a monograph and a couple of research papers. In January 2022, he received an international research grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and UKRI, UK (as Co-Investigator) for the project titled “India-UK Creative Industries at 75: Opportunities and Challenges”, where he is working with 30 artists from three different fields-Screen Industries, Fashion, and Live Performances. The project commemorates the 75th anniversary of Indian independence and her ties with the UK. Vishal has teaching experience of more than 15 years. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, PGDAV college. Vishal is an avid filmchi, a cinephile, a sports enthusiast, loves reading, enjoys cooking, and is a poet at heart.
I teach various courses on socio-political histories, and cultural studies such as History of India (1857-1950), Communicating Culture: Tellings, Representations and Leisure, Understanding Popular Culture, and Rise of the Modern West.
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1. Member, Board of Examiners for ‘Communicating Culture: Tellings, Representations and Leisure’, 2021-22.
2. Member, Courses Revision Committee for ‘Media and History’ NEP.
3. Member, Courses Framework Committee for ‘Cultural Transformation in Early Modern Europe’, NEP.
4. Member Internal Quality Assessment Cell.
5. Nodal Officer for Mission 500 of Delhi University.
6. Academic Fellow Institute for Life Long Learning 2021-22, 2022-23.
7. Member DUDISCAD Committee for the digitalisation of the university 2021-22.
8. Member of various Staff Council Committees.
Margins, Memoirs, and Movies: Decoding Dalit Representation in Popular Hindi Cinema: 1930s-2010s
India is a caste divided society where Dalits are considered below the caste hierarchy and suffer untold discrimination and caste violence. Caste-based discrimination is visible in Dalit representations in media discourses, including popular Hindi cinema and newer web series. These narratives are deeply embedded in socio-cultural and historical milieus and accounts and often reflect dominant Hindu caste ideology. Furthermore, popular Hindi cinema stereotypically Dalits as timid, docile, shabby, and self-hating individuals who need to be saved by upper-Caste heroes. Comprehensive scholarship on caste discrimination is available (Dirks, 2011; Gundimeda, 2015; Guru,2011; Jangam, 2017; Rao, 2009; Rawat, 2011), but the stereotypical representation of Dalits in the popular Hindi cinema has gone unnoticed in academic discourses.
My thesis, titled Margins, Memoirs, and Movies: Decoding Dalit Representation in Popular Hindi Cinema: 1930s-2010s, is a pioneering study that examines the cultural politics of Dalit representation in popular Hindi cinema. I have argued that the popular Hindi cinema corroborates in construction, naturalisation, and dissemination of the Dalit stereotypes in line with the caste Hindu dominant culture, on the one hand, and ignores the Dalit history of struggle against caste discrimination, on the other. The study maps the evolution of Dalit representation in popular Hindi cinema from the 1930s to the 2010s, from Achhut Kanya (Noble Girl, dir. Frantz Osten, 1936) to Article 15 (Dir. Anubhav Sinha, 2019). It examines the continuity and shifts in their portrayals and explores the linkages between the cinematic representation of Dalits and power structures. Through critical textual analysis I analysed selected films as sociocultural texts to probe the cultural politics of upper caste representation of caste Hindu’ self’ and Dalit’ other’. My thesis, which I wish to develop further during the fellowship, engages with relevant archives for studying paratexts (filmzines, newspaper reviews, publicity material, song-booklets) and government reports (Reports of the Commissioner of the Scheduled Castes, Reports of the Censor Board, and Reports of the Commission for the Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes etc.).
The historical analysis helps find the interconnections and disjunctions between material conditions, cinematic portrayal of Dalits, and cultural politics at large. The work is grounded in theories of power, representation, and resistance to understand the dynamics of Dalit representation: Edward Said’s idea of the ‘Other’ is used in reading the cinematic othering of Dalits, at the same time, Judith Butler’s concept of performativity is employed to understand the construction of Dalit stereotypes or ‘Dalitness’ in the selected films (Butler, 1993; Said, 1978). Similarly, Foucauldian ideas of discourse, rupture, biopolitics, sexuality, and M.D. Certeau’s concept of micro-resistance are used to study the Dalit body, romance, and protest, respectively, in popular Hindi cinema (Certeau, 1988;1998; Foucault, 1972;1977; 2008; 2013). This doctoral study contributes to nuancing further the cultural politics of representation, especially in postcolonial countries like India, and Pakistan, where issues of marginality and caste-based discrimination are still rife and also among the South Asian diaspora, especially in the UK, which largely adheres to caste distinctions and has strenuously opposed equalities legislation that would treat caste discrimination as racism.
I have since disseminated and developed this research. My article ‘From Sujata to Kachra: Decoding Dalit representation in popular Hindi cinema’ in the journal South Asian Popular Culture, and my accepted monograph at Routledge, UK, both discuss cultural politics of Dalit representation and its connection with the various power structures.
India -UK Creative Industries at 75: Opportunities and Challenges
Dr Vishal Chauhan, Associate Professor, Department of History, PGDAV College, is the co-investigator, (and Professor Dudrah, Birmingham City University, UK, is the principal investigator) of the research project titled India -UK Creative Industries at 75: Opportunities and Challenges. The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) awarded an international research grant of 50000 GBP (50 Lakh Rupees) for this project. PGDAV College, University of Delhi and the Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK, are proud partners in this endeavour.
They will work with and lead a team of 30 artists from India and the UK across three strands- Screen Industries, Live Performances, and Fashion. The AHRC has awarded only three grants across the UK to celebrate India’s partnership on the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence. It is a matter of great pride that our project was mentioned in the speech by the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, during his recent India visit.
This project has evolved from the Upanishadic thought of vasudaiv kutumbakam -the world is a family. The recent pandemic has influenced us in many ways and has encouraged us to think more creatively about our existence. During the interaction with the British-Indian artists in the UK, it has been observed that they are looking for Indian cultural connections beyond Bollywood and media. On the other Indian artists are also keen to take their creativity to the world. The basic premise of this project is to facilitate the cultural connection between Indian and British-Indian artists through online communication. Ten artists (five from India and UK) will be involved on the online platform to initiate an informal talk about their journey and craft in every strand, i.e, Screen Industries, Live Performances, and Fashion. Through initial meetings, the artists are encouraged for working and chatting in the subgroups of their choices. Every strand will showcase two days of events- on day one, artists will introduce themselves through a quick presentation of 15 minutes. The first day is open to the public. On day two, the artists will be divided into three groups where they can discuss the plausibility of future collaborations. The project will support any such endeavour for cross-cultural engagement across the three strands and showcase them in the final symposium in September 2022. This project is just a beginning for facilitating cultural connections and reinvigorating immense creative potential in the two great democracies on the eve of the 75th anniversary of Indian independence.
For more details, kindly visit the link:https://www.bcu.ac.uk/media/research/research-groups/creative-industries/research-projects/india-uk-creative-industries-at-75
Chauhan, Vishal. (Forth Coming) Dalit Representation in Popular Hindi Cinema. London: Routledge.
International Symposium Organised:
Recently, in January 2022, I, as Co-Investigator (along with Prof. Dudrah, BCU, UK, as Principal investigator), was awarded a coveted AHRC and UKRI, UK research grant project ‘India-UK Creative Industries at 75: Opportunities and Challenges’. It is a nine-month project where we have worked with Indian and UK artists across screen media, live performances, and fashion. We conducted four public events and four workshops online on the following dates:
I was appointed lecturer in the Department of History at the PGDAV College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India, on 17 July 2006. Primary duties entail academic, extra-academic, and research responsibilities. I teach various courses on cultural studies and socio-political histories, such as Understanding Popular Culture and History of India (1857-1950).
In August 2012, I received UNIVERSITAS 21 and Delhi University's Faculty Development Scholarship to pursue an additional postgraduation (MA) in Critical Theory and Cultural Studies at the University of Nottingham, UK. In July 2016, I received STEAM Fellowship from Birmingham City University for pursuing doctoral studies. During PhD, I worked as a Teaching Assistant for undergraduate students and taught a paper titled ‘Research Methods in Media’. As an active member of the academic community, I have been organising academic seminars, conferences, and workshops in the UK and India. During my Doctoral studies at the School of Media and Cultural Studies at Birmingham City university, I organised a few international seminars and workshops with my cohorts as mentioned in the section above.
I also work as a mentor and career counsellor to the wards in India. During the mentorship, I worked with students from diverse and humble backgrounds and tried understanding the weave of their worlds before advising. Recently one of my mentees secured admission to the department of history, University of Nottingham, UK, for pursuing a PhD. I was involved with student union activities at Birmingham City University during my doctoral studies. I also assisted an NGO’ Sampad’, in Birmingham, UK, as a co-curator in organising an exhibition on the partition of India in 2017.
In India, we organised the annual History festival, an ensemble of academic seminars and student activities. In the year 2020- 2021, when the learning community shifted to the online mode, we organised the following seminars and lectures online: