Research

Prof. Radhika Khosla, OICSD Research Director is a part of a interdisciplinary team of researchers at the Oxford Martin School assessing the need to establish a sustainable and equitable circular battery economy.

When electric vehicles reach the end of their life, their batteries still have economic value and a range of possible uses. For example, a battery may still be able to support solar and wind generation by providing electricity storage. Such ‘second-life’ schemes are also preferable to direct recycling because they enable further recovery of the significant economic value and carbon embedded in the battery. This is the vision behind a circular battery economy, which the Oxford Martin Programme on Circular Battery Economies seeks to put into practice.

Researcher: Bhimraj Muthu, DPhil in Law 

This research examines the role of laws in distributing environmental burdens (like pollution) and benefits (like parks) in Chennai, India. It further explores how this distribution is unequal in terms of caste, with burdens concentrated in marginalised caste neighbourhoods and benefits in privileged caste neighbourhoods. Inspired by environmental racism literature, Bhimraj refers to this caste-based environmental injustice as ‘environmental casteism.’

In his MPhil research, he focused on a specific manifestation of environmental casteism through ‘sacrifice zones‘ in North Chennai, which contains a disproportionate number of marginalised caste and working-class neighbourhoods. ‘Sacrifice zones’ are areas burdened with industrial pollution. Environmental casteism through sacrifice zones occurs by either concentrating polluting industries in marginalised caste neighbourhoods or housing marginalised castes in already polluted areas. For instance, out of 89 major polluting industries in Chennai, 76.4% are located in North Chennai. Further, my MPhil research mapped how environmental protection and urban planning laws turned North Chennai into a ‘sacrifice zone’ that disproportionately affects marginalised castes. It also examined how the Dravidian political parties’ model of social justice, which dominates the law-making and law enforcement in Tamil Nadu, is insensitive to caste-based and environmental injustices.

Building on the MPhil research, Bhimraj’s DPhil research further examines how laws create unequal urban spaces. It aims to map how municipal administration laws contribute to environmental casteism in Chennai and to analyse the factors (e.g., the social justice model of the Dravidian political parties) that influence the enactment and enforcement of these laws in ways that disproportionately affect marginalised castes. His research is among the first in Indian environmental law scholarship to study environmental casteism. It aims to provide new insights into how law and policy contribute to caste-based environmental injustices. By uncovering these dynamics, his research seeks to inform more equitable policy reforms and contribute to social justice for marginalised communities in India.

Bhimraj can be reached at bhimraj.muthu@some.ox.ac.uk

Picture Credits: EPW Engage

Researcher: Bhimraj Muthu, DPhil in Law 

This research examines the role of laws in distributing environmental burdens (like pollution) and benefits (like parks) in Chennai, India. It further explores how this distribution is unequal in terms of caste, with burdens concentrated in marginalised caste neighbourhoods and benefits in privileged caste neighbourhoods. Inspired by environmental racism literature, Bhimraj refers to this caste-based environmental injustice as ‘environmental casteism.’

In his MPhil research, he focused on a specific manifestation of environmental casteism through ‘sacrifice zones‘ in North Chennai, which contains a disproportionate number of marginalised caste and working-class neighbourhoods. ‘Sacrifice zones’ are areas burdened with industrial pollution. Environmental casteism through sacrifice zones occurs by either concentrating polluting industries in marginalised caste neighbourhoods or housing marginalised castes in already polluted areas. For instance, out of 89 major polluting industries in Chennai, 76.4% are located in North Chennai. Further, my MPhil research mapped how environmental protection and urban planning laws turned North Chennai into a ‘sacrifice zone’ that disproportionately affects marginalised castes. It also examined how the Dravidian political parties’ model of social justice, which dominates the law-making and law enforcement in Tamil Nadu, is insensitive to caste-based and environmental injustices.

Building on the MPhil research, Bhimraj’s DPhil research further examines how laws create unequal urban spaces. It aims to map how municipal administration laws contribute to environmental casteism in Chennai and to analyse the factors (e.g., the social justice model of the Dravidian political parties) that influence the enactment and enforcement of these laws in ways that disproportionately affect marginalised castes. His research is among the first in Indian environmental law scholarship to study environmental casteism. It aims to provide new insights into how law and policy contribute to caste-based environmental injustices. By uncovering these dynamics, his research seeks to inform more equitable policy reforms and contribute to social justice for marginalised communities in India.

Bhimraj can be reached at bhimraj.muthu@some.ox.ac.uk

Picture Credits: EPW Engage

Researcher: Ashish Gaurav, DPhil in Chemistry

Artificial lighting technologies have been pivotal in driving human progress over the last few decades, particularly during the information revolution. This revolution is now entering a transformative phase with the advent of Quantum Information Technology (QIT), including quantum computing and quantum  cryptography, collectively heralding the quantum revolution. In this context, polarized light has garnered significant attention in recent years due to its promising applications in optical data storage, communications, information processing, 3D imaging, bioimaging, and advanced display technologies. These innovations are crucial for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, particularly in developing nations like India. The most compelling issue which has propelled my research in renewable energy and lighting technologies is the persistent issue of energy insufficiency and sustainability in many developing countries, including India. Significant populations are still crippled by the lack of electrification and last-mile connectivity, directly impacting poverty alleviation and literacy rates. India’s ambitious renewable energy initiatives over the past decade aimed at significantly
increasing capacity to meet global net-zero targets, demonstrating a strong policy commitment to sustainable development. Ashish’s research aligns closely with these national and global priorities.

Ashish is working towards formulating a low-cost, highly efficient, and stable light-emitting materials based on perovskite nanocrystals. His focus extends to exploring their potential as quantum emitter and for polarized emission, a feature that holds immense promise for applications in quantum information technologies. This work aims to contribute to India’s National Quantum Mission (NQM), an initiative by the Government of India to advance quantum computing and photonic technologies. By integrating advances in material science with quantum photonics, his goal is to contribute to the development of smart, efficient, and sustainable lighting technologies. These innovations not only align with India’s vision for a self-reliant quantum ecosystem but also support broader global efforts toward sustainable development and technological leadership.

Write to Ashish on ashish.gaurav@chem.ox.ac.uk. 

Image Credit: Leo Matyushkin/Shutterstock.com

Researcher: Ishani Mookherjee, DPhil in Law

Ishani’s doctoral research evaluates the present legal framework on disability-selective abortions in India. Disability-selective abortions refer to abortions based on foetal condition(s), which may result in or increase the possibility of disability in the future child, if born. In India, the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for detection of foetal conditions and disability-selective abortions has remained unexplored by scholars, lawyers and activists. Ishani’s doctoral research seeks to fill this gap in Indian scholarship and jurisprudence by responding to the following research questions:

1. How are disability-selective abortions regulated in India? Should the present legal framework be reformed?
2. Whether, and to what extent, the key principles/insights from three theoretical accounts, namely the rights-based approach, the feminist ethics of care model, and the reproductive justice framework, can be synthesised with Indian legal doctrine and existing literature, to develop a distinctively ‘Indian’ normative and legal framework to regulate disability-selective abortions?

The first research question will involve a doctrinal and critical analysis of the extant legal framework in India, situated within the broader Indian context surrounding the evolution of reproductive rights and disability rights. The second research question will draw upon existing literature from Western jurisdictions and evaluate their appropriateness/adequacy within Indian doctrine and context. Accordingly, this thesis will not only examine Western intellectual legacy’s claim to universality, but also develop an ‘indigenous’ normative and legal framework to regulate disability-selective abortions in India. This analysis will embody the process of ‘intellectual decolonization’, which draws upon the intellectual legacy and lived experiences of people from the Third World, while remaining open to external ‘influence’.

Finally, this thesis will shift the debate on disability-selective abortions from a ‘private’ ‘medical’ decision to a broader ‘public’ debate concerning rights to equality and dignity and access to welfare and medical services for pregnant women, disabled people, and their families. By advocating for corresponding legal reforms, this thesis will endeavour to contribute towards fulfilling India’s obligations under ‘Inclusive and Sustainable Development’, wherein ‘no one is left behind’.

Researcher: Swapnil Tripathi, DPhil in Law

Swapnil’s DPhil research examines the exercise of Public Interest Litigation (“PIL”) jurisdiction by the Supreme Court of India. Traditionally, judicial proceedings are initiated by an aggrieved individual whose rights have been directly violated. However, under PIL jurisdiction, the Court relaxes the requirement of locus standi, allowing third parties to approach the Court on behalf of individuals whose rights are violated but who lack the means to approach the Court themselves due to social or economic disadvantages. A subset of PIL jurisdiction is the Court’s suo motu jurisdiction—wherein the Court initiates a case on its own motion without a petitioner, often based on newspaper reports or other similar sources. PIL differs significantly from typical cases, as strict procedural rules on case admission, hearings, evidence, and relief are often relaxed, with the Court adopting a sympathetic approach. Notably, PIL is not explicitly recognized by the Constitution of India; instead, it has been developed through judicial pronouncements.

PIL has been replicated in several jurisdictions worldwide, underscoring its significance as an area of study. In India, an average of 26,979 PILs are filed annually before the Supreme Court, with the Court addressing many crucial issues under this jurisdiction. Despite its prominence, there is a lack of research that specifically examines how PIL is exercised, particularly the procedures adopted by the Court. Existing scholarship has primarily focused on the substantive changes brought about through PIL, without discussing its history, the evolution of suo motu jurisdiction, or assessing whether PIL jurisprudence is consistent, predictable, and non-arbitrary—critical areas of inquiry. Swapnil’s project assesses the Court’s track record on these parameters, offering an in-depth evaluation of PIL’s procedural dimensions.

List of Publications

Cited Work:

• Sushmita Choudhury and Rajesh Sharma, “70 years on, India is still fighting over a national language” (Times of India: Sept. 15, 2021).
• Girassa, “Intellectual Property Rights and AI” in “Artificial Intelligence as a Disruptive Technology” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) at pp. 37.
• Rishabh Jain, “Women’s Right to Abort: Sharp Rise in Cases Filed in Indian Courts” (The Citizen: Oct. 20, 2020)
• Brian Sang YK, “Constitutional Law and Atheists in Kenya: Affirming Associational Rights, Avoiding Non-Religious Freedoms”, 3 Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 2019 at pp. 675.

Book Chapters:

• “India Report” in R Albert and others (eds), 2023 (forthcoming), 2022, 2021 Global Review of Constitutional Law (I-CONnect – Constitutional Studies Program at the University of Texas at Austin) [forthcoming]

Journals:

• “Justice Pardiwala’s Opinion in Janhit Abhiyan v. UOI: Time to Revisit the Basic Structure Doctrine”, XIII.1 National Law Institute University Review
• “Cinema and Censorship in India: A Political Restriction on Freedom of Speech”, University of Baltimore Journal of Media Law & Ethics, vol. 9 no.1 (Spring/Summer 2021) 64.
• “What does my belief have to influence? Analyzing the legal position of an Atheist in relation to Family Laws in India”, co-authored with Prof. Poonam Saxena, Vice Chancellor, NLU-Jodhpur, International Family Law- LexisNexis (UK), Issue 4, 2017.

Short Articles:

• “Chandigarh Mayor Polls: Supreme Court ruling a rightful and timely exercise of inherent powers” (Money Control: February 21, 2024)
• “Electoral Bond Judgment: Supreme Court promotes increased democratic participation” (Money Control: February 16, 2024)
• “The Bombay High Court’s recent observations on PILs indicate a worrying trend” (Bar & Bench: Apr. 9, 2022)
• “Indian Supreme Court strikes down arbitrary gender-based restrictions to restaurant orchestras”, (Oxford Human Rights Hub: Mar. 24, 2022)