This talk critically examines the widely circulated claim that European Roma populations originate from India—a thesis often treated as settled within academic discourse, yet not unequivocally endorsed by Roma communities themselves. It asks what is at stake epistemologically when such origin narratives become institutionalized: how they shape knowledge production, authority, and the politics of representation, and how they may contribute to the social reproduction of dominant academic voices within academia.
About the Author
Dr Avishek Ray teaches at the National Institute of Technology Silchar. His research examines mobility, marginality, and cultural historiography. He is author of The Vagabond in the South Asian Imagination (2022). He co-authored Digital Expressions of the Selfie (2024) and Temporal Spaces in Calcutta (2026). He edited Decolonial Travel (2025). His work appears in journals including South Asia, Contemporary South Asia, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Mobilities, and Race & Class. He has held fellowships at University of Edinburgh, University of Minnesota, Mahidol University, Pavia University, IFK Vienna and Purdue University, and received the Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship (2021).
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