The NLSIU Library Committee is organising a panel discussion with Prof. (Dr.) Meera Nanda on January 13, 2026. The discussion will focus on Dr. Nanda’s recent work on the convergences between Hindu nationalism and postcolonial theory.

Panellists: Prof. (Dr.) Meera Nanda, Prof. (Dr.) Nigam Nuggehalli, Prof. (Dr.) V S Elizabeth, and Dr. Dayal Paleri

Moderator: Dr. Parashar Kulkarni

The event is open to the public. Registration is mandatory for the non-NLS community. RSVP here.

About The Panellists and Moderator

Prof. (Dr.) Meera Nanda is a historian of science and the author of several works critiquing the influence of Hindutva, postcolonialism and postmodernism on science, and the rising trends of pseudoscience and vedic science. Prof. Nanda taught History of Science at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali from 2009 to 2017. Her best known books are Breaking the Spell of Dharma and Other Essays (2002), Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodern Critiques of Science and Hindu Nationalism in India (2004), The God Market (2010), and Science in Saffron: Skeptical Essays on History of Science (2016) and most recently A Field Guide to Post-Truth India (Three Essays Collective, 2024) and Postcolonial Theory and the Making of Hindu Nationalism: The Wages of Unreason (Routledge, 2025).

Prof. (Dr.) Nigam Nuggehalli is a Professor of Law at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. Prof. Nigam was appointed as Chair Professor, Department of Revenue Chair in September 2025. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Registrar of NLSIU since August 2021, where he was responsible for the administration of the University. He brings with him nearly three decades of academic and professional experience as a taxation law specialist. Before joining academia, he worked as a tax lawyer in New York and is a member of the New York Bar and the India Bar (Karnataka).

Prof. (Dr.) V. S. Elizabeth is a Professor of History at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. Prof. Elizabeth has taught core courses in history and elective courses on understanding sexual violence against women and state responses to it through feminist lenses, among others. Between December 2019 and June 2023, she served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu National Law University, Tiruchirappalli. Prof. Elizabeth’s research interest in history is the socio-economic changes that took place in the early medieval kingdoms of South India. Since joining NLSIU however, she has researched and published on legal issues that have affected women, particularly on violence against women, both domestic and sexual violence.

Dr. Dayal Paleri is an Assistant Professor, Social Sciences at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. Dr. Paleri was previously a Commonwealth Split-site PhD fellow at the Department of Religious Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK, and a recipient of the Institute Research (IR) Award for Excellence in PhD Research by the Dean Academic Research at IIT Madras. His research interests include Indian Politics and Governance, Political Sociology of Religion and Nonreligion, Peace Studies, New Atheism, and State and Civil Society in Postcolonial Kerala.

Dr. Parashar Kulkarni is an Associate Professor, Centre for the Study of Social Inclusion (CSSI) at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. Dr. Kulkarni studies religion, political economy, and utopias in colonial and contemporary India and the British Empire. His work has appeared in literary and academic journals such as Granta, Boston Review, The Sociological Review Magazine, Labor History, Explorations in Economic History and Social Science History. Prior to joining NLSIU, he was Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Advanced and Legal Studies, University College London, and an Assistant Professor at Yale-NUS College, Singapore where he taught for nine years. He was also an Adjunct Instructor at the New York University.