Harshvir Singh Bali

Research

State and Subjection: Kashmiri Sikh Identity and the Politics of Space

Biography

Harshvir Singh Bali is a second-year PhD student in the Department of Geography & Planning at the University of Toronto, with an affiliation to the Department of South Asian Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. His research focuses on the logics of spatial production in Kashmir, examining how the Indian government restructures land rights and ownership. Specifically, he investigates how Sikh minorities navigate identity and questions of belonging within the context of space and governance. This work builds on his MA research, which explored how marginalized communities employ political action to secure minority representation and address systemic inequities in access to work and representation under India’s quota system.

Beyond academia, Harshvir has held leadership and advocacy roles, including as the Graduate Student Union representative for the Department of Geography & Planning (2023-2024) and on McMaster University’s Anthropology EDIIS Council (2022-2023). He also led the Okinawan chapter of the Association of Japan Exchange and Teaching (OkiAJET), first as Representative (2019-2020) and then as Chair (2020-2021), advocating for foreign teachers employed by Japan’s Ministry of Education. In recognition for this work, he received the Kizuna (Gentleman) Ambassador Award (2021) from the Okinawan government for fostering international understanding and collaboration.