Rukshana's story

Rukshana Zaman was a Charles Wallace Fellow in Social Anthropology (2018-19), at the Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland. 

Rukshana teaches anthropology at New Delhi‘s Indira Gandhi National Open University. Within the ambit of Social Anthropology, her research interests are ethnicity, identity, ethnic conflicts, social institutions, and anthropology of performance. Rukshana has presented her work in national and international forums, published her research work in many journals, and contributed to several books.  

CWIT enabled Rukshana to return to fieldwork and in-depth data collection as she engaged in participant observation during the tenure of the fellowship. 

The CWIT fellowship allowed me the space to understand an alternate worldview on ethnicity and identity. It energised me to look at my research from new perspectives.

Rukshana walked along the ‘Peace Wall’ gaining an insight into the ‘Troubles’; this conflict, which ended in 1998, had marred the lives of the people of Ireland, on both sides of the border.  

The experience was important to Rukshana because it presented an opportunity to interact with scholars working on border, identity, and ethnicity. 

Meeting Prof. Maruska Svasek in this journey was the best gift; our friendship and mentorship continues even after the end of the fellowship.

Rukshana adds “At Queen’s University Belfast the richness of the academic environment of weekly seminars, lectures, and interactions enriched and broadened my horizons, reflecting in my perceptions and writings.”   

Rukshana and Prof. Maruska Svasek programmed a conference Dis/connectedness in November 2021, bringing together alumni from CWIT and Queen's University Belfast fellows for a day of academic debate and discovery.

Rukshana Zaman