Regina Gurung Faculty Advisor: Aniket Alam Research Areas: Himalayan Societies; Religion; Health Email: regina.gurung@research.iiit.ac.in 🔗 linkedin.com

I completed a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Banaras Hindu University and completed a Master of Arts in Development Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. For my Master's dissertation, I worked on the issue of youth suicide in Sikkim from a socio-political and psychological perspective. I also pursued an internship with Jagori Grameen Charitable Trust in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh in 2019 wherein I dealt with the implementation of the Forest Rights Act in Dharamshala Block.

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Current Research

Research Statement: The social transformation of Eastern Himalayas.

My current research looks at the changes in the Himalayan society of Sikkim. The time frame I have chosen for the purpose of my research is from 1900 till present time. It serves as an important landmark as Sikkim was a British dominion for the most part of the 20th century up until India's independence in 1947, post which Sikkim remained a protectorate of India up to 1975 when it finally merged with the Indian state. I am looking at how the Sikkimese communities- Bhutia, Lepchas, and Nepalis (which is an umbrella term for a gamut of communities) underwent socio-cultural changes to understand social alienation from a historical perspective.