Saptarshi Bairagi is a Dalit-Trans-Queer-Kothi anthropologist and ethnographer based in New Delhi, currently pursuing a PhD in Anthropology at the University of Delhi, India. Their work focuses on intersectional subaltern gender and sexuality studies, with a strong emphasis on experiential ethnography, decolonial vernacular feminist theory, and the lived experiences of marginalized queer communities in rural and urban South Asia.
As a first-generation learner from a remote village near the India-Bangladesh border, Saptarshi’s academic and activist journey has been shaped by resilience and a commitment to amplifying voices often excluded from mainstream queer and academic discourse. They are associated with different grassroots queer collectives or organisations, and their writing blends personal narratives with critical theory to challenge patriarchy and caste-based exclusions in both scholarly and activist spaces. They are also the Co-Chair and Social Media Manager of the IUAES Scientific Commission on Human Rights.
