Harshita Jha

PhD Candidate

Email:- harshita.jha@warwick.ac.uk

Thesis Title: Inclusive and Empowering Climate Governance in India: Exploring the Potential of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) as a Democratic Innovation

Research Cluster: Environmental Politics Cluster

Link to the LinkedIn Profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshita-jha-9b0a611b3?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app

Profile

Harshita Jha is a PhD researcher at the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick. Her research explores How local self-government cannot just enable but lead the unprecedented and profound transformation that is necessary in the face of climate change in global south where developmental needs override the climate action, and climate action and improving well-being of communities must go hand in hand.

Prior to joining Warwick, Harshita gained five years of experience leading state-to-national level projects with Kudumbashree-National Resource Organisation under the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. She spearheaded initiatives under the Panchyati Raj Institutions (PRI) & Community-Based Organisations (CBO) Convergence Programme, which worked to alleviate poverty through strengthening of participatory governance across 14 states in India. Her work included designing strategies for strengthening local governments, enhancing women’s participation in rural governance, localising SDGs, training over 500 community cadres and elected representatives, and implementing Village Poverty Reduction Plans that directly benefited 92,000 self-help group (SHG) households.

Harshita holds a Master of Arts in Social Work (Women-Centred Practice) and a Bachelor’s in Social Sciences from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai and Guwahati, respectively.

Research Project

Her PhD, titled “Inclusive and Empowering Climate Governance in India: Exploring the Potential of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) as a Democratic Innovation,” critically examines the transformative potential of grassroots democratic structures to foster inclusive climate governance. Grounded in critical theory and deliberative democracy frameworks, her research investigates the capacity of PRIs to integrate marginalised communities into climate decision-making processes. By analysing participatory practices within PRIs, she explores how deliberative spaces like the Gram Sabha (village assembly) can reconcile India’s urgent developmental needs with transformative climate strategies, positioning grassroots democracy as a vehicle for both sustainability and social justice.

Name of the Supervisors

Supervised by Dr. Marit Hammond and Professor Keith Hyams, her project combines participatory action research with intersectional analysis across three Indian states, offering policy-relevant insights for transformative but inclusive climate actions.

Publication

• Re-imagining governance in Bihar”, book chapter in the ‘Pandemic of Perspectives: Creative Re-imaginings’, Routledge, 2022

Conference Presentations

• Gender and Climate Governance: Exploring the Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Women’s Collectives in addressing Climate Change. 17th annual conference of Indian Association for women’s studies, Delhi (8^th September,2023)
• Women’s participation in local self-governance-A study in the village of Mahatha, 16th annual conference of Indian Association for women’s studies, Delhi (2020)