The current editorial team of Lokniti consists of an eclectic mix of students coming from both the senior and junior batches, and from backgrounds as diverse as sociology, philosophy, hospitality, law, and engineering. It is this diversity of opinions that make the editors of the academic year 2020-22 not only pursue different themes and types of articles but also create a blog that is vibrant and yet rooted in the contemporary policy discourse.
Batch of 2022 – 2024
From L to R: Biprajit, Hannah, Omkar
Biprajit is a political science graduate and hails from Assam. He possesses a keen interest in exploring Education sector in Northeast India and hence, joined the Public Policy course at NLSIU to learn and adopt relevant skills. While being invested in telling people about Northeast India and spreading awareness about the region, he strongly believes in the region’s potential to take India ahead in the geopolitical race. Apart from that, he is someone who loves food and exploring multiple cuisines as a way of learning about new cultures. Biprajit can be reached out to at biprajit.choudhury@nls.ac.in
Hannah (pronounced exactly like Hannah from Hannah Montana) graduated with a degree in Media and Communications from Symbiosis, Pune. Growing up in a family of very strong political convictions, pushed her to be interested in Indian politics and policy issues from the get go. She now enjoys merging her creative side using her specialization in Journalism with the rigor of academia of public policy. Her key areas of interest continue to be minority and gender studies, family planning and adoption. When not overtired by readings and assignments, she loves to sing acapella and Carnatic music, go to concerts, cook anything French and spend hours going down YouTube wormholes! Hannah can be reached out to at hannah.john@nls.ac.in
Omkar is a commerce graduate, born and brought in Pune. A sudden shift to policy profession was realised by him while preparing for defense exams and Maharashtra State Public Service Exams. When not engaged in the coursework for the Master’s Programme in Public Policy at the National Law School of India University, he plays cricket as he is a U19 national level cricketer and played with Mumbai Police Gymkhana for 2 years, watch historical war films and some thrilling horrors. His areas of interest as a policy student are environmental sustainability and energy transitions. His research abilities and skills are mostly focused on learning about institutional structure, policy changes, and the difficulties these bring. Omkar can be reached out to at omkar.wakchaure@nls.ac.in
Batch of 2021 – 2023
From L to R: Anshul, Aravind, Bala, Deborah, Doyita, Kanhaiya
Anshul dabbles into post-colonial literature, ethnographies, and the history of representations. Deeply interested in the role of the written word in shaping cultural memories and identities. In his free time, he likes to …..….hang on!. Interested in how cultural norms are shaped by historical ideas that spew out phrases like ‘in free time’ and ‘hang on’. In this line, how can decolonisation be a shared practise of the everyday?
Here to learn and nurture more questions. Can be reached at anshul.sharma@nls.ac.in.
Aravind is a Political Science and History graduate from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi who is passionate about contributing to the betterment of the underprivileged people in this country. Aravind’s interest in the public policy field developed when he saw first-hand during his civil society engagements how government policy interventions were making the lives of thousands of people better in his home state of Kerala. This motivated Aravind to engage with the Government of Kerala as an intern where he learned the nuances of policy implementation in the social welfare sector. Aravind is also a freelance photographer and video editor with experience in handling publicity strategies for college societies, political parties, and private firms. Aravind is an avid traveller who has a motto of using up all his savings from freelance works to travel around the country in rented motorcycles and staying in the shadiest of hotels! You can reach him at aravind.nampoothiry@nls.ac.in.
Deborah realised her passion for Public Policy after taking up Humanities in school. She holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Delhi and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Policy from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. When not burdened by the rigour of academia, she can be found exploring the streets in search of good food, getting lost in bookstores and spamming on Instagram. Deborah can be reached at: deborah.suares@nls.ac.in.
Doyita is a Political Science graduate and had developed a keen interest in policy and research while seeking ways to utilize and apply her knowledge in Political Science to the social problems faced in the real world. As a Master’s Student at NLSIU Bangalore, she can usually be found sequestered in her room steadfastly binge-watching whatever she can retrieve and has an achilles-heel when it comes to works of horror and science-fiction. Annoyed by crowds of people, argumentatively inclined, drowning in course-work, and also willing to die for anything chocolate; Doyita hopes to pursue a future in policy-making with her special interests being Politics and regulatory governance. Doyita can be reached at doyita.basu@nls.ac.in.
Kanhaiya is an Economics and History graduate who discovered his interest in Public Policy while studying the interdisciplinary and intersectionality of disciplines in his undergraduate studies. Apart from the MPP course, Kanhaiya heads the operations of the Natural Food and Beverages’ manufacturing unit, which has positively shaped his social persona and professional capabilities. His interest in Urban development, Education, and Governance was legitimised when he pursued the myriad courses at NLS and discovered significant structural gaps in the sectors. In fact, his contribution as co-founder at the “Save Sparrow Foundation” is noteworthy where the NGO aims towards preventing the extinction of house sparrows. Apart from this, Kanhaiya is a traveller with a key interest in cycling and trekking. Kanhaiya can be reached at kanhaiya@nls.ac.in.
Batch of 2020 – 2022
From L to R: Chaitanya, Bala, Ramish, Shubhama, Srinidhi
Bala‘s background in Political Science naturally steered her towards Public Policy. She is particularly fascinated by local policies and grassroots democracy. When not working on coursework, Bala runs her own initiative to build awareness and engagement with urban policies in Indian cities. Regulatory policy, sustainable development, governance and institutions, impact investment, and technology policy are her other areas of interest. She enjoys reading, cooking, and playing word games when not working. You can reach her at bala@nls.ac.in.
Chaitanya is a hospitality graduate, who discovered his passion for the social sciences and policy-making while preparing for the civil services examination. When not engaged in the coursework for the Master’s Programme in Public Policy at the National Law School of India University, he loves to cook, and to read almost anything he can get his hands on, with a soft spot for historical and science fiction. He has been trying to make a shift to a zero-waste lifestyle and is actively involved in lowering his carbon footprint. He firmly believes that every little step, if taken mindfully, will help the cause of equitable and sustainable development.
Chaitanya is interested in sustainability, urban design, and linguistics. He can be reached at bhatchaitanya@nls.ac.in.
Growing up in an argumentative interfaith family that took regular road trips off the beaten track and had intense dinner table discussions on the state of the world, Ramish cut his teeth trying to understand difference and inequality early in life. Attending college in the melting pot that is Delhi, he became even more aware of just how multidimensional and interlinked identities and privileges can be. A robust social sciences education at Ambedkar University Delhi led him to develop an interest in policy-making, and he is currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. When not found quizzing or haunting obscure internet forums about 50s and 60s music, Ramish can be reached at mushkohramish@nls.ac.in.
Shubhama is currently pursuing Master’s in Public Policy from National Law University of India, Bengaluru and believes in un/learning every day. He holds an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering.
In the recent past, he has been involved in holding workshops and sessions in rural schools and communities of Western Uttar Pradesh on the ethos of the caste system and about other forms of social discrimination that exist in our system and others. He has a keen interest in postmodern literature and redefining parochial caste perspectives. When he is not overthinking, he loves to read and also considers himself an amateur photographer. He is a collection of vintage stories with a twist of cringe anthologies. He is constantly and paradoxically juggling between and striving to reconcile old and the new notions in theory.
Shubhama would love to perform comparative research on the paradigm of the Indian social and institutional structure and the changes brought in by the subaltern perspective. He can be reached at shubhama@nls.ac.in for collaborations.
Srinidhi graduated in 2019 with a BA (Hons) in Philosophy with concentrations in Economics and International Relations. Following this, she did a post-graduate diploma in Advanced Studies and Research, where she got the opportunity to work on a yearlong capstone thesis. Frustrated with the fact that her background restricted her knowledge and understanding to the realm of theory, she wanted to acquire some skills that allowed her to translate theory into practical tools. Having interned at some NGOs and the Government of Maharashtra during the course of her under-graduation, she decided that she wished to build a career in the public sector. As a result, she ended up in the MPP program at NLSIU. Her area of interest, as of now, is gender. When she is not drowning in coursework, she likes to paint and read. You can reach her at srinidhi@nls.ac.in.
Past Editors
Batch of 2022-24
- Biprajit Roy Choudhury
- Hannah Sarasu John
- Omkar Arun Wakchaure
Batch of 2021-23
- Anshul Rai Sharma
- Aravind J Nampoothiry
- Deborah Suares
- Doyita Basu
- Kanhaiya
Batch of 2020 -22
- Chaitanya
- Ramish
- Shubhama
- Srinidhi
Batch of 2019 -21
- Abishek Nippani
- Prince Gupta
Batch of 2019-21
- Anirban Paul
- Anubhuti Hiwase
- Harish Nalawade
- Rohit Ranjan Rai
Batch of 2018-20
- Harikrishnan R Varma
- Lakshay Narang
- Mugdha Kinjawadekar
- Sandip Sahoo
Batch of 2017-19
- Sowmini G Prasad
- Shreeja Sen
- Srilakshmi Nambiar
- Sanjana Patro