Koyal Verma

Koyal Verma's research is rooted in postcolonial and Global South approaches as well as in the analysis of collective and cultural memory. She focusses primarily on the cultural production and representation of African identities in South Asia, bringing together historical and contemporary perspectives to deconstruct colonial patterns of interpretation and reveal alternative readings. She pays particular attention to symbols, rituals, and material objects as carriers of migration experiences and cultural identity so as to reconstruct processes of memory, belongingness, and cultural hybridity.
By researching historical migration movements across the Indian Ocean, she traces the localization of people of African origin in South Asia—especially India—in different social, religious, and cultural contexts, which continue to influence contemporary media and social discourse. By combining historical depth with sociopolitical relevance, she opens up transnational perspectives in cultural studies, African studies, migration research, and race and ethnic studies, and contributes to a re-evaluation of African presence in South Asia.

The Cultural Production and Representation of African Identity in South Asia: Perspectives on Culture and Society from the Global South

The representation of African people and their identity in South Asia, especially in Indian culture, art, literature, and history, is only partially understood. For instance, people of African descent are primarily portrayed as royal slaves in colonial depictions of African identity. In India, people of African descent were referred to as Siddi (Basu, 1998). It was known that the Siddi were descendants of Bantu people from East Africa. They were commonly known as Habhsi. Habshi has become a widely used, stereotypically charged term of reference in the local/regional context.
Hence, my project aims to analyse their cultural identity and to historically deconstruct and reinterpret it so as to contribute to future cultural policy discourses. My project also examines the impact of the cultural production of identity on people of African origin through discursive approaches and problematizes the colonized production of identity which has impacted the contemporary representations of African identity in India and South Asia. By studying the culture, customs, traditions, oral histories, and narratives of the people of African descent residing in India and South Asia, my project also strives to consider the various histories in order to rediscover the multiple facets of African identity in South Asia and contribute to future discourses and global cultural policy.

2018 PhD in Sociology Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
2014 MA in Sociology Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
2006 BA in Psychology Panjab University, Chandigarh, India

Assistant Professor, School of Liberal Arts, Bennett University, New Delhi, India

“Revisiting the Collective Memories of Partition: Understanding Resilience”. In Narrative of Transformative Reconciliation. Edited by Gopi Tripathy and Anurita Jalan. London: Routledge, 2025.
“The Social Construction of Racism and Blackness in India”. In Racism by Context Series, Politics and Government. Oxford Intersections, forthcoming.
“Contestations and Negotiations on Racialized Rights of African Migrants in India: Reshaping Political Identities”. In Racism by Context Series, Art, and Culture. Oxford Intersections, forthcoming.