Teaching
Courses
Education
- PhD, Politics, New York University, United States (2015)
- Advanced Study Program in International Economic Policy Research, Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Germany (2008)
- Program in Mathematical Finance, Mathematical Sciences Foundation, St. Stephens College, Delhi University, India (2007)
- BCom, Mumbai University, India (2002)
Profile
Parashar 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.
He is interested in contributing to policies regarding culture/creativity and alternative economic/political systems, such as cooperatives. He is also interested in collaborating on films and documentaries that significantly expand public engagement. He works in the English, Hindi, and Marathi mediums.
Research Interests
Parashar studies the political economy of religion in colonial and contemporary South Asia, contribute to theory and empirics, work with textual and visual sources, and publish in academic and creative forms. His research shows how political and economic transformations influence and are influenced by religious traditions. He takes seriously and critically discourses that believe in religion’s potential for wellbeing and fulfilment. The limits of ‘universalist’ ideas like secularism, liberty, tolerance, and modernity and the institutions that seek to hardwire them, are abiding concerns in my work.
Publications
Peer-reviewed Journal Articles
Religion and Politics (Primary research field)
- 2024. “Cow, Union Buster! Identitarianism and Organizing in Bombay’s Mills, 1850s − 1990s” Labor History doi: 10.1080/0023656X.2024.2424963.
- 2024. “Becoming the Father of Modern India: Rammohun Roy and the Politics of Paternity” Journal of Hindu Studies doi: 10.1093/jhs/hiad032.
- 2022. “The ‘Glorious’ Revolution’s Inglorious Religious Commitment: Why Parliamentary Rule Failed to Secure Religious Liberty” Social Science History doi: 10.1017/ssh.2022.15 (with Steven Pfaff)
- 2022 “Church Politics, Sectarianism, and Judicial Terror: The Case of Witchcraft Prosecution in Scot land, 1563 − 1736” Explorations in Economic History 84 : 101447. (with Steven Pfaff)
- 2017. “Can Religious Norms Undermine Effective Property Rights: Evidence from Inheritance Rights of Widows in Colonial India” British Journal of Political Science 47(3) : 479 − 499. (British Academy Brian Barry Prize in Political Science 2015, jointly awarded by the Cambridge University Press)
Environment
- 2014. “Effects of Decentralized Forest Management (DFM) on Deforestation and Poverty in Low and Middle-income Countries: A Systematic Review” Campbell Systematic Reviews 10 : 1 − 88. (with Cyrus Samii, Matthew Lisiecki, Laura Paler and Larry Chavis)
- 2010. “Pushing Lenders to Over-comply with Environmental Regulations: A Developing Country Perspective” Journal of International Development 22(4) : 470 − 482.
- 2009. “Impact of the GATS on Basic Social Services Redux” Journal of World Trade 43(2) : 245 − 283.
Completed Book Manuscripts [Ready for Review]
- “The Temptation of a Guru: Devotion, Authority, and Development” (academic)
Working Papers
- “Ballot Babas! Religious Gerrymandering, Consensus Voting, and Patronage Politics” (revise and re submit, Politics and Religion)
- “The Political Roots of Spectacular Religious Violence: Beliefs, Institutions, and Factionalism” “Against Ram Mohun Roy’s Critique of Idolatry”
Fiction/Non-fiction
- 2024. “Darako.” New Delhi: Penguin Random House. Novel. (mysticism → institutionalization → sectarianism → violence → state-led repression → decline.)
- 2023. “The Birth of Bovine Rights.” The Sociological Review Magazine 10/2023. Short fiction.
- 2023. “The Origin of Cow Therapy.” Boston Review. (Aura Estrada Short Story Prize, Boston Review 2022). Short fiction.
- 2022. “Transcript of Sessions with a Cow Lover, Bombay, 1922. By Professor Guy Cowley (FRCBS, MRCV).” The Sociological Review Magazine 9/2022. Short fiction
- 2021. “‘A Theory of Hindu Neurosis’ Lecture by Professor Guy Cowley at the Asiatic Society, Bombay, September 1921” Portside Review. Short Fiction
- 2019. “Cow and Company” New Delhi: Penguin Random House (Viking). Novel (early capitalism → functional approach to religion → workers’ communalism → riot)
- 2019. “A Shock of Bhakti: The Devotional Songs of Ram Rahim” Ed. Gitanjali Kolanad. Seminar 716 : 53 − 57. Short non-fiction
- 2016. “Cow and Company” Granta. Fiction. 11 May. London (Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize 2016). Short fiction