Rate My Professor Ajailu Niumai

Professor Ajailu Niumai is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Hyderabad and former Head of the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy in the School of Social Sciences. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology Honours from Miranda House, Delhi University in 1995, followed by a Master of Arts in 1997, Master of Philosophy in 1999, and Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology in 2008 from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Women’s Studies at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA, in 2014. Her academic career at the University of Hyderabad began as Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology from 2000 to 2010. She served as Joint Faculty at the Centre for Women’s Studies from 2007 to 2014 and again from 2020 to 2021. She has held positions as Honorary Adjunct Professor at the National Institute of Technology Nagaland from 2020 to 2023 and as Senior Research Associate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, from 2023 to 2025. In October 2024, she was Visiting Fellow in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at West Virginia University, USA.

Professor Niumai’s research specializations include gender studies with emphasis on human trafficking of women and girls, Indian diaspora and migration, North East India studies, and NGOs and development. She has authored or co-authored books such as Gender, Law and Social Transformation in India (Springer Nature, 2022) and the forthcoming Hundred Years of Sociology in India: Evolving Issues, Emerging Trends (Springer Nature, 2025). Her journal articles and book chapters address topics including stigma and exclusion of human trafficked survivors, racism and stereotyping experienced by Northeast Indians, gender and patriarchy, and cultural constraints facing Naga women. She has served as Editor of ANTYAJAA: Indian Journal of Women and Social Change (Sage, 2024–2027) and Guest Editor of the Journal of Social and Economic Development (Springer Nature, 2023–2025). Among her honors are the UGC Raman Post-Doctoral Fellowship, recognition as Distinguished Alumnae by Miranda House in 2024, and membership on boards including the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru (2022–2025). She is a member of the International Sociological Association and the Indian Sociological Society. Her verified professional email address is ajainiumai@uohyd.ac.in.