Book Discussion – Infrastructures of Democracy: Politics and Processes of Road Building in Rural Nepal

Details

7 June 2026/२४ जेठ २०८३ (आइतबार, दिउँसो ३ बजे)
Book Discussion
Infrastructures of Democracy: Politics and Processes of Road Building in Rural Nepal
(Martin Chautari, 2026)
Edited by Katharine N. Rankin, Sara Shneiderman, Mukta S. Tamang

Moderator
Mukta S. Lama is an Anthropologist and teaches at Central Department of Anthropology, Tribhuvan University. He received his PhD from Cornell University. He has done extensive research on indigenous peoples, Tamang society, history and culture as well as social development in Nepal.

Discussants
Sabin Ninglekhu is a geographer. His areas of work include urban poverty, slum, heritage, planning and social/Indigenous movements.

Jeevan Baniya is Deputy Director, Social Science Baha; Research Director, Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM), Kathmandu, Nepal. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Oslo. At Social Science Baha, he leads research on inclusive governance, disasters, social inclusion, and labour and mobility.

Bandana Gyawali is faculty at the Southasia Institute for History and Philosophy (SiHP).

Respondents
Tulasi Sharan Sigdel is Senior Director at the Nepal Administrative Staff College, where he has worked for 15 years, and holds a master’s degree from the Central Department of Rural Development, Tribhuvan University. He has worked as a researcher in the “Landscape of Democracy” and “Infrastructure of Democracy” research project since 2010.

Samjhana Nepali is the Lead - Programs and Outreach at photo.circle and a researcher at Nepal Picture Library. She is pursuing an MA in Anthropology at the Central Department of Anthropology, Tribhuvan University, and served as a community-based researcher in Mugu for the Infrastructures of Democracy project.

Katharine Rankin is Professor of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto and a 2025–2026 Faculty Fellow at the Jackman Humanities Institute.