Dr. P. Arun is the 2024-25 India Fellow at The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University. He is working with Prof. Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, Department of History, Harvard University. His project titled “Postal and Telegraph Surveillance in Late Colonial India, 1900-1940s,” investigates the presence of postal and telegraph surveillance in late colonial India, focusing on surveillance measures deployed against colonial subjects and anti-colonialists. This research examines the motivations behind implementing such surveillance and explore how it was used to control political activities and uphold colonial authority. By centring on colonial experiences, the study seeks to uncover hidden voices and forgotten surveillance practices.
Arun has completed his PhD in Political Science from the University of Delhi, India. His doctoral research examined the history of telegraph and telephone surveillance and its impact on fundamental rights and freedoms in liberal democracies, tracing the origins and evolution of communications surveillance, focusing on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His research interests lie at the intersection of politics, law, and technology, with a specialization in surveillance studies, democracy, constitutionalism, and rights vis-a-vis the state. He also holds an MPhil in Political Science from the University of Hyderabad and an M.A. and B.A. (Hons) in Political Science from the University of Delhi.
