Dr Ayushman Bhagat
Lecturer in Political Geography
- Anthropology
- Social Science and Communications
- College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences
Summary
I am a political geographer with a research focus on the spatial politics of anti-slavery and migration control. My interest in contemporary anti-slavery abolitionist movement emerged from my long-term consultancy work with the International Labour Organization (ILO), where I assisted multiple anti-trafficking/slavery programmes in various locations in India. This experience helped me to identify a disconnect between the migration, labour, and anti-trafficking/slavery policies and practices, and the voices of people on the move who are oppressed, exploited, and rendered rightless due to such protectionist policies and practices. To address this gap, I conducted Participatory Action Research at a post-disaster Himalayan site in Nepal and engaged in border ethnography spanning across four countries during my doctoral research in the Department of Geography at Durham University. Subsequently, I pursued a post-doctoral fellowship at TraffLab within the Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel-Aviv University.
I have taught a range of human geography modules at all levels, at both Durham University and Edge Hill University.
Qualifications
PhD Geography, Durham University, United Kingdom (2021)
MBA Rural Development, Xavier Institute of Social Service, India (2012)
Newest selected publications
Bhagat, A. and Yea, S. (2025) 'Contested geographies of trafficking borders'. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 0 (ahead of print). pp. 1 - 7. ISSN: 2399-6544
Bhagat, A. and Thapa, K. (2025) 'Investing in returnee migrants’ health'. Place of publication: The Kathmandu Post. Available at: https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2025/03/07/investing-in-returnee-migrants-health.
Bhagat, A. and Mainali, S. (2025) 'Ban on female migrant workers to be lifted'. Place of publication: Nepali Times. Available at: https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/ban-on-female-migrant-workers-to-be-lifted. ISSN: 1814-2613
Bhagat, A. and Mainali, S. (2025) 'Problematic anti-human smuggling law'. Place of publication: The Kathmandu Post. Available at: https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2025/01/17/why-an-anti-smuggling-law-is-problematic.
Yea, S. and Bhagat, A. (2024) 'The gendered (im)mobilities of carceral protectionism in labour migration', in Preston, V., McLafferty, S., Maciejewska, M. and Yeoh, BSA. (eds.) Handbook of Gender and Mobilities. Cheltenham : Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 271 - 283. ISBN 10: 1-0353-0086-9. ISBN 13: 978-1-03530-085-3.