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Ph.D. (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

MA in Social Work (Tata Institute of Social Sciences)

BA in Tourism Studies (Indira Gandhi National Open University)

Prof. (Dr.) Abdul Kalam Azad

Assistant Professor, Assistant Dean – Academic Affairs and Director – Online Learnings

Email abdul.azad@jgu.edu.in
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Key Expertise Human Development, Capability Approach, Global Health Ethics, Global Health, Human Rights, Citizenship, Transdisciplinary Research

Ph.D. (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

MA in Social Work (Tata Institute of Social Sciences)

BA in Tourism Studies (Indira Gandhi National Open University)

Biography

Abdul Kalam Azad is an Assistant Professor at the Jindal School of Public Health (JSPH) at O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU). Azad is an activist scholar dedicated to transdisciplinary research and transformative practices through knowledge co-creation. His work centers around issues of epistemic justice, resilience, human rights, and well-being. 

At JSPH, he leads the MSc Global Health and Human Development programme. He previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Global Health Division at Athena Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. At Athena, he led the development and formative evaluation of consensus-building methodology to address medical desertification in Europe in the “Action for Health and Equity: Addressing Medical Deserts” project funded by the European Commission. 

He serves as an Advisory Board Member at the Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York, supporting its Protective Fellowship for Human Rights Defenders, and as a core committee member of the Pathways to Just Peace Small Grants Program, run by Division 48 of the American Psychological Association. 

Foundations in Global Health and Human Development 

This course introduces students to the conceptual and historical foundations underpinning the fields of global health and human development. Beginning with an orientation to core debates and definitions, the course traces the historical evolution of global health as a field of inquiry and practice, before turning to key theoretical frameworks—most notably the Capabilities Approach—that inform contemporary understandings of human development and well-being. The course also explores the relationship between health and economics, and traces the trajectory from the Alma-Ata to Astana Declarations, unpacking shifts in primary health care over four decades. The latter half of the course deepens engagement with the Capabilities Approach through its intersections with equity and justice, democracy and political participation, culture, and religion, examining how each shapes the capability to be healthy. The course concludes by considering the implications of these frameworks for public policy. This course equips students with conceptual tools to critically analyze global health as a development issue. 

Global Health Ethics 

This course introduces students to the ethical foundations and contemporary critical debates shaping the field of global health. It begins by establishing core concepts in ethics and tracing the history and principles of bioethics, before examining the international frameworks that guide ethical practice in global health today. The course then turns to a sustained engagement with colonialism, exploring its historical entanglement with the development of science and tracing the ways coloniality continues to structure global health practice, knowledge production, and institutional power. Students critically examine the ethical concerns raised by emerging health technologies, as well as the ongoing project of decolonising global health, including debates around the gentrification of thought and the role of philanthrocapitalism in shaping research and funding agendas. The course concludes by considering decolonial praxis and by reimagining what an ethical global health might look like in an age of political, technological, and epistemic flux. 

Global Mental Health at JGU

This course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of global mental health using a human development approach. Taking inspiration from the Lancet Commission on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Mental Health this course acknowledges the collective failure to respond to the global health crisis as a monumental loss of human capabilities. This course endeavors to equip the students with the necessary knowledge and skills to contribute positively in this field to alleviate suffering and contribute to realizing better human potential. The course explores various aspects of global mental health, including the socio-structural determinants of mental health disparities, inclusive policies, and evidence-based interventions.

Health and Human Rights at JGU (Co-teaching with Prof. Stephen P. Marks)

This is a core course for MPH students at Jindal School of Public Health and Human Development. This course aims to introduce students to applying human rights and ethical frameworks to a wide range of critical areas of public health. The focus is on the human rights and ethical perspectives applied to selected public health policies, programs, and interventions. It ranges broadly over theoretical approaches and concrete issues relating to the realization of internationally recognized human rights in the context of domestic and international policies of public health and human rights engagement. Our aim is to acquire insights and understanding of social, economic, cultural, legal, and political processes by which human rights complement the ethics approach and advance public health objectives.

Research Methods at JGU (Co-teaching with Prof. Nandita Bhan)

This is a core course for MPH students at Jindal School of Public Health and Human Development. This course provides students with an overview of research methods and undertaking research in public health and development. Over the coursework, students will develop an understanding of research, methodologies, ethics, and study development and work as an intervision group on developing a research proposal. The course is crucial for students in being able to undertake their research either through internships or dissertations, as well as for their careers in public health and related studies.

Models of Qualitative Inquiries at JGU (Co-teaching with Dr. Sambuddha Choudhury)

This is a core course for MPH students at Jindal School of Public Health and Human Development. This course provides students with an overview of research methods and undertaking research in public health and development. Over the coursework, students will develop an understanding of research, methodologies, ethics, and study development and work as an intervision group on developing a research proposal. The course is crucial for students in being able to undertake their research either through internships or dissertations, as well as for their careers in public health and related studies.

Grant Writing and Ethics in Global Health at VU Amsterdam

This is a mandatory course for the global health research master’s program. The student will gain insight into designing competitive transdisciplinary research proposals, understanding financing mechanisms and appraisal processes, composing research consortia, and addressing ethical issues in global health research. They will develop reasoning skills for ethical reflection, preparing them to contribute effectively to scientific grants and promote ethical practices in research and practice

International Public Health at VU Amsterdam

This is an elective course for 2nd and 3rd-year health and life sciences students. The main objective of the course is to enable the students to explain and discuss basic notions related to the main public health issues transcending national borders and to health systems-related issues and social-cultural and political dynamics impacting the health of people in various regions of the world.

International Public Health (Biomedical Sciences) at VU Amsterdam

This is also an elective course for 2nd and 3rd-year biomedical sciences students. This is course is also open for international students.The main objective of the course is to enable the students to explain and discuss basic notions related to the main public health issues transcending national borders and to health systems-related issues and social-cultural and political dynamics impacting the health of people in various regions of the world.

Key Strategies in Disability and Neuropathy at VU Amsterdam

This is an elective course for the global health minor program. This course aims to deepen students’ understanding of disability and neuropathy by exploring diverse models and perspectives. They will analyze causes, consequences, interventions, and ethical considerations. Reflective practice, research skills, and community engagement will be fostered, preparing students to contribute to the field with empathy and informed perspectives.

Jerry Lockspeiser Award for Social Justice, granted by the Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York, United Kingdom for Gender Justice work with the women living in river islands in Assam, India.

Project Title: Experiential Learning in Higher Education 
Role: Co-Investigator  
Funding Agency: University of Leeds, UK 

Project Title: Feasibility Study of a Technology-assisted Buddy System for Improvement of DOTs Adherence among Homeless TB Patients in New Delhi.
Role: Principal Investigator
Collaborators: Athena Institute, VU Amsterdam, and Digital Empowerment Foundation, New Delhi

Project Title: Achieving Sustainable Development through Women’s Empowerment: A Case Study of char-women in Assam
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: Center for Applied Human Rights, the University of York
Year: 2022-2023

Project Title: Action for Health and Equity: Addressing Medical Deserts – or AHEAD
Role: Principal Investigator (Work Packages 3 and 5)
Funding Agency: European Union
Year: 2022-2023

Project Title: Increasing Access to Healthcare for Undocumented Migrants in Amsterdam
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: VU Foundation
Year: 2022

Project Title: Reimagining citizenship: The politics of India’s amended citizenship laws
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK
Year: 2021-2022

Project Title: Understanding the NRC Process: Social workers and community perspectives
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: University of Toronto
Year: 2020-2021

Project Title: Opportunity for drowning reduction and aquatic disaster preparedness in India
Role: Site Investigator
Funding Agency: Life Boat Foundation
Year: 2018

Project Title: Citizenship Laws in India
Role: Research Partner
Funding Agency: University of California Berkeley
Year: 2020-2021

Project Title: Making and Unmaking of Citizens in Assam
Role: Research Associate
Funding Agency: University of Warwick
Year: 2019

  • Development Studies Association, UK  
  • Human Development and Capabilities Association 
  • Lead Member (for JSPH), Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) 
  • Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology Division (Division 48), American Psychological Association 
  • Research Fellow, Jindal Institute of Haryana Studies 
  • Faculty Representative for the Research and Ethics Review Board (RERB), OP Jindal Global University 

Azad, A.K. (in press). Gendered experience of the citizenship regime in Assam: The case of Miya women. In P. Bora (Ed.), Critical Studies from India's Northeast. Oxford University Press.

Azad, A.K. (under review). Crackdown on child marriage in Assam, India: Emerging patterns of civic space shrinkage and human rights violations. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work

Marks, S. P., Azad, A. K., & Krishnan, S. (under review). Global development: Reimagining the human rights-based approaches to global health and sustainable development. In Foundations of global health & human rights (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Azad, A.K., and Essink, D.R. (2025). “An Introduction to Global Health.” In Global Health and Human Rights, 1st Edition, 27–44. London: Routledge.

Nadkarni, D, and Azad, A.K. (In Print 2025). Borderland poetics against new colonialisms: Assam, Kashmir, and Central India. In The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cultural Heritage and Conflict. Springer International Publishing.

Azad, A. K.. (In Print 2025). Intersection of Climate Change-Induced Conflicts and the Criminal Justice System in Assam. In K. Bhattacharya, Reporting Wars, Conflicts and Crises in South Asia. Orient Blackswan Private Limited.

Tanjeem, N., Dutta, U., Hussain, K. S., & Azad, A. K. (2024). “A march is beginning, a march for freedom”: Miya poetry as decolonial praxis toward justice and liberation. In Handbook of Decolonial Community Psychology (pp. 355-377). Springer Nature Switzerland.

Bhuyan, R., Sarma, M., Azad, A.K. and Bordoloi, A. (2024) ‘Bordering through legal non-existence: the production of de facto statelessness among women and children through the National Registry of Citizens in Assam, India’, Int. J. Migration and Border Studies

Azad, A.K., & Rahimli, A. (2023). Consensus Building Method as a participatory tool of health decision making to counteract medical desertification in Europe. International Journal of Integrated Care 23(S1):622 DOI: doi.org/10.5335/ijic.ICIC23622 (Conference Proceeding)

Azad, A.K., & Chavez, Y. (2023, November). Intersections of vulnerability, resilience, and mental health impacts of climate change on women living in River Islands in Assam, India. In TROPICAL MEDICINE & INTERNATIONAL HEALTH (Vol. 28, pp. 263-264). WILLEY (Conference Proceeding)

Azad, A.K., Manzer, A., & Zuiderent-Jerak, T. (2023, November). Digital reconnections: Reuniting homeless people with their families in India. In TROPICAL MEDICINE & INTERNATIONAL HEALTH (Vol. 28, pp. 278-279). WILLEY (Conference Proceeding)

Azad, A.K. (2023). Digitising Citizenship and Measuring Genealogies: The NRC and Algorithms in Assam. In Conversations on Data Justice in India: Combatting Algorithmic Exclusions and Building Fairer Frameworks Publisher: Centre for Development Policy and Practices

Dutta, U., Azad, A. K., & Tanjeem, N. (2023). Examining Citizenship Regimes in Assam Through a Structural and Cultural Violence Lens. American Journal of Community Psychology.

Azad, A.K., Nadkarni, D. & Bunder-Aelen, J.G.F. (2022). Beyond Resistance, Beyond Assimilation: Reimagining Citizenship through Poetry. Journal of Human Rights Practice

Atallah et al. (2022). Transnational Research Collectives as “Constellations of Co-Resistance:” Counterstorytelling, Interweaving Struggles, and Decolonial Love. Qualitative Inquiry

Azad, A.K. and Chakraborty, G. (2022). Miya Poetry: Poetics, Politics and Polemics. In Citizenship in Contemporary Times Publisher: Routledge

Chatterji, A. P., Desai, M., Mander, H., & Azad, A. K. (2021). BREAKING WORLDS: Religion, Law and Citizenship in Majoritarian India. University of California, Berkeley (Peer reviewed monograph).

Dutta, U., Azad, A. K., Mullah, M., Hussain, K. S., & Parveez, W. (2021). From Rhetorical “Inclusion” Towards Decolonial Futures: Building Communities of Resistance in the Global South. American Journal of Community Psychology.

Dutta, U., Azad, A. K., & Hussain, S. M. (2021). Counter Storytelling as Epistemic Justice: Decolonial Community-based Praxis from the Global South. American Journal of Community Psychology.

Azad, A. K., Bhat, M., & Mander, H. (2020). Citizenship and the Mass Production of Statelessness in Assam. India Exclusion Report

Jagnoor, J., Bhaumik, S., Christou, A., Azad, A. K., & Ivers, R. (2020). Weaved into the fabric of life: A qualitative exploration on impact of water-related disasters in the Char Community of Assam, India. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.

Azad, A. K., & Parveez, W. (2021). Graveyards of the Living Dead: Former Inmates on Life in Assam’s Notorious Detention Centres. Retrieved from The Wire: https://thewire.in/rights/assam-goalpara-detention-centre-nrc-citizenship

Azad, A. K. (2020). A House for Mr Azad: In NRC and CAA-racked Assam, a father tries to explain to his son why they had to leave their rented home and friends. Retrieved from Live Mint: https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/a-house-for-mr-azad-11581669157355.html

Azad, A. K. (2020). The Tragic Demise of a ‘Declared Foreigner’ at Goalpara Detention Centre. Retrieved from The Wire: https://thewire.in/rights/goalpara-detention-death-assam

Azad, A. K. (2019). Char Residents in Assam. India Exclusion Report.

Azad, A. K. (2019). How the BJP weaponised evictions as a tool against Assam’s Bengali Muslim residents. Retrieved from Caravan Magazine: https://caravanmagazine.in/religion/bjp-weaponised-evictions-tool-assam-muslim-residents

Mander, H. & Azad, A. K. (2019). People no country wants: On test is the mettle of India’s democracy. Retrieved from Indian Express: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/nrc-assam-citizenship-indian-bangladeshi-infiltration-5519118/

Azad, A. K. (2018). Growing up Miya in Assam: How the NRC weaponised my identity against me. The Caravan.

Azad, A. K. (2018). What Explains Mob Lynchings Becoming the New Normal in India: Why at this particular moment in history do members of one group consider members of another group as less than human? Retrieved from The Wire: https://thewire.in/caste/what-explains-mob-lynchings-becoming-the-new-normal-in-india

Azad, A. K. (2018). Four years on, the trauma of one of the deadliest massacres in Assam. Retrieved from The Wire: https://thewire.in/communalism/why-khagrabaris-ramena-khatun-is-still-scared-of-living-at-home

Azad, A. K. (2018). The other side of Assam: The divide between ‘us’ and ‘them’ Retrieved from The Hindu BusinessLine: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/cover/the-other-side-of-assam/article24469972.ece

Azad, A. K. (2018). Assam NRC: A History of Violence and Persecution. Retrieved from The Wire: https://thewire.in/rights/assam-nrc-a-history-of-violence-and-persecution
Email abdul.azad@jgu.edu.in
Key Expertise Human Development, Capability Approach, Global Health Ethics, Global Health, Human Rights, Citizenship, Transdisciplinary Research