We are pleased to announce the results of the international competition for the Bluestone Rising Scholar Prize for 2026. The journal received outstanding submissions from South Asia, North America, the UK, and Europe. Our jury, consisting of respected scholars from South Asia and the USA, deliberated together over a period of six weeks.

The winning paper plus five designated Honorable Mention will be published in the April 2026 issue.

The jury awarded the Bluestone Rising Scholar Prize to:

Sanghamitra Das for a paper From the Tea Gardens to the Clinic: Adibaxi Health in Assan and Caste and Indigeneity in Indian Modernity. Sanghamitra is an Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Papers designated Honorable Mention are:

Mahesh Admankar for a paper on Social Boycott: Caste, Informal Power, and the Reinvention of Village Governance in Rural Telangana. Mahesh is a PhD Scholar at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts (USA) and earned his Master’s in Economics at the University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India.

Ali Ahsan for a paper on From the Pali Turn to The Buddha and His Dhamma: Reading Ambedkar as a Philologist. Ali is a PhD Candidate at the University of Georgia, Athens, Geogia, USA and earned his Master’s in Linguistics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India.

Bincy Mariya Nirichan for a paper on From Agrestic Slaves to Untouchable Gods: Remembering the Repressed History of Caste Slavery and the Resistance of Pulayas in Kerala through Ritualistic Folk Art. Bincy earned her PhD in 2025 from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research.

Ashna Singh for a paper on Changing Names, Unchanging Caste and the Law. Ashna is an Assistant Professor at the National Law School at India University.

Shainal Verma for a paper on “Daat Faadu Mahilaye”: Dalit Women’s Laughter and Disruption of Casteist Structures. Shainal is a PhD Scholar at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and earned her Master’s in Sociology at the Jawaharlal Nehru University Delhi, India.

Details for the Bluestone Rising Scholar Prize ceremony will be announced when finalized.

The purposes of the Bluestone Rising Scholar competitions are to encourage early career scholars to pursue caste studies and to disseminate excellent contributions to academic centers around the world. We wish to thank all authors who submitted their papers for consideration and hope that they will continue in the pursuit of scholarship of caste and other social exclusions.

The Editors