College of Law
Debarshee Dasgupta
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Key information
Key information
- Department
- College of Law
- Qualifications
-
Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering, KIIT University, India;
Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning (Major in Environmental Planning) CEPT University, India - Subject
- Law
- Email address
- 734721@soas.ac.uk
- Thesis title
- Scalarity of Water Security: Multi-level implications of India’s domestic water security framing
- Internal Supervisors
- Professor Philippe Cullet & Dr Birsha Ohdedar
Biography
Debarshee’s doctoral research examines how India’s approach to water security—and its intersections with food, energy, and environmental security—shapes governance structures and institutional interactions in the management of internationally shared river basins in South Asia.
Through this work, he analyses the historical evolution of river basin management in India, exploring how multiple framings of water security, differing interpretations of water use across scales, and fragmented institutional responses have influenced developmental and environmental outcomes, with a particular focus on India–Bangladesh transboundary water relations. He is also associated with the Transboundary Rivers, Ecologies, and Development Studies (TREADS) Initiative at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), New Delhi, India. Prior to joining SOAS, he worked extensively on interstate river water disputes, federal water governance, and water security.
He was associated with the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) Research Chair—Water Conflicts and Governance at CPR, through which he engaged with key institutions in the MoJS ecosystem, including the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). Debarshee was part of the Young South Asia Network (YSAN) Fellowship supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), Germany, contributing to a comparative study on federal water governance in India and Germany. The work examined the constitutional, socio-legal, and historical institutional contexts shaping water legislation in both countries and highlighted how context influences policy diffusion, such as through the India-European Union Water Partnership (IEWP).
He has also participated in the Winter School on Federalism and Sustainability, jointly organised by Eurac Research, Italy, and the University of Innsbruck, Austria, where he engaged with scholars on multi-level federal dynamics and natural resource governance. Additionally, he completed a short PhD coursework on climate and lawfare at the University of Bergen, Norway, presenting research on how Indian courts address interstate water disputes and pollution in the Ganges River. Beyond academia, Debarshee has contributed to leading Indian dailies such as The Indian Express, digital platforms like The India Forum, and various policy papers on water governance, bringing research insights into public and po
Research interests
- Water and environmental security
- Transboundary water conflict and cooperation
- Institutions for water governance
- Water resources management and development
- Water and environmental law and policy
- Urban planning and governance
