Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt

Region of Interest	South Asia
Primary Country of Residence	Australia
Title	Fellow, Resource Management in Asia Pacific Program
Affiliation	Australian National University
Email	kuntala.lahiri-dutt@anu.edu.au
Mailing Address	Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies The Australian National University ACT 0200, Canberra AUSTRALIA
Phone/Fax Number(s)	phones: 61/2-6125-4343 (office) 61/4-0915-8145 (mobile) fax: 61/2-6125-1635
Websites	http://rspas.anu.edu.au/people/personal/lahik_rmap.php ; http://home.netspeed.com.au/kuntala.david
Countries of Specialization	India, Bangladesh
Research Interests	Current research focus is on community initiatives and development in mining and water sectors, and for this, I often use a gender lens to look into the heterogeneities within the broad community. My work focuses primarily on South Asia; for example, I am undertaking research on the social impacts of coal mining in India. In my view, the brunt of social changes in mining areas is often borne by women in rural and peasant communities. I also have an ARC-funded linkage grant studying the interface between large-scale mining and the community with emphasis on community empowerment in East Kalimantan. This project stems from my belief that community development by mining companies must include the specific objective of women's empowerment. Another exciting theme that I am currently exploring is that of livelihoods in artisanal, small-scale, and at times illegal mining. For more on ASM see http://www.asmasiapacific.org An interest of mine, no less stimulating than any of the above, is rickshaw art of Dhaka, Bangladesh (see http://home.netspeed.com.au/kuntala.david).
Publications	None on file.
Keywords	mining ; water ; gender ; Kalimantan ; rickshaw art ; Dhaka ; Bangladesh.