Me

  • Where I work now

    "Program on Liberation Technology, Stanford University"

  • My education

    "PhD in Social Sciences, Syracuse University"

  • Where I live

    California

  • Where I am from

    "Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India"

  • Favourite job yet

    Coordinating the Right to Food Campaign in India (2002-5)

  • What I am researching

    Using mobile phones to combat corruption

  • What I am writing

    "A book on why some states in India have the commitment to provide public services, unlike most others"

  • Who I am married to

    She is called Dr. K in this blog

  • More…

    "You can explore my interests, and a lot more in this blog. Read on"

My name is Vivek, and I work with the Program on Liberation Technology at Stanford University.  I recently finished my PhD in social sciences from Syracuse University, New York and my dissertation looks at why Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state, developed extensive commitment to providing public services to most of its residents.  I argue that extensive decentralized collective action in Tamil villages provides the clue to this, and trace the key dynamics that enabled such collective action in the state.  Among other things, such collective action is the result of reducing inequalities in political, social and cultural spheres across various social groups in India. This strengthened the voice of the previously marginalized groups in governance, which is key to understanding Tamil Nadu’s achievements. I am now in the process looking for a publisher for my first book which will examine the varied commitment to public services across states in India.

Academically, I have a broad range of interests in development-related issues including the right to food, right to education, anti-corruption movements, collective action and the role of institutions in development.  These interests are a direct fallout of my work with various campaigns for socio-economic rights in India. I have been a “greasemonkey” with technology, but it has recently turned into an academic interest as well, given my location at the Program on Liberation Technology at Stanford. A brief review of my education and work experience is given below.  Other than academic pursuits, I have a wide range of interests including in movies, bird watching, ventriloquism, travel, music and of course, spending a lot of time with friends.  You can find more details about my interests and engagements in this website.

You can learn more about me, my interests and my life through this website including some gossip, my research, articles I published, reflections on life as a doctoral student, etc.

Social media

You can add me on Google Plus here

Twitter: @vivekdse

Current projects

  • Combating corruption with mobile phones, with generous support from Google through the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of  Law at Stanford University.
  • Constitution Explorer, a structured database of constitutions that will help people identify how different constitutions have dealt with various problems.
  • The commitment to public services in India: A book on varying levels of public commitment to providing basic public services across Indian states.  The book builds on my dissertation that looked at this question, but with a focus on Tamil Nadu.

Education

Places of work

A few links to know me better

  1. A brief mention of my dissertation by Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze in an article here.
  2. Webcast of my talk on the role of technology in combating corruption (78 Mins)
  3. Webcast of my talk on democratic movements in the Neo-liberal era (28 Mins)
  4. A video of my friends trying to imitate my vigorous nodding of the head with a South Indian twist to it (1 Min)
  5. The cutest goodbye message on video made for me (3.15 Mins)
  6. My photo album, Colours of California.

 

About the Author

I work with the Liberation Technology Program at Stanford University. My interests are cosmopolitan and this blog will reflect many such interests. For more, click on "Me" above.