My research explores caste, surveillance and resistance among sanitation workers in South Asia. It is an interdisciplinary study: a combination of social sciences, and science and technology. I am interested in exploring the role of surveillance in the creation and reproduction of sanitation labour in pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial South Asia.

MPhil in Development Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (2020-23)

Master’s in Social Work, Specialization Dalit and Tribal Studies and Action from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (2015-17)

Bachelor’s in Art, Major in Political Science from Wilson College, Mumbai (2012-15)

Motor Loader (sanitation worker) in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai (2010-23)

Research Assistant in the UK Aid funded Project “Getting on Grid: The Politics of Public Service Formalization in Urban India” (2017-19)

Research Assistant in The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) South Asia on the Project  Studying Whatsapp and Electoral Politics (2019-20)

Media coverage: 

1. BBC news- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzO7elFyD14
2. Indian Express- https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/garbage-loader-by-night-scholar-by-day-his-journey-from-mumbai-chawl-to-uk-for-phd-8508979/
3. India Today- https://www.indiatoday.in/programme/good-news-today/video/bmc-sanitation-worker-overcomes-all-odds-to-pursue-phd-in-uk-2350194-2023-03-22

Short Documentary link: https://www.thequint.com/neon/sanitation-worker-to-phd-scholar-how-mayur-helia-rewrote-his-life-hope-video

Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/66-from-sanitation-worker-to-phd-scholar-the/id1525737983?i=1000615500607 (Also available on other platforms like spotify, prime music, google)