Amita Singh

Amita Singh is an Indian political scientist, currently serving as a professor of law and governance at Jawaharlal Nehru University, in Delhi, India. She is also a member of the Indian Council of Social Science Research. She is the recipient of numerous awards, and has published widely on public administration in India.

Singh gained public attention in 2016, when she described Dalit and Muslim teachers at Jawaharlal Nehru University as 'anti-national'. Following this interview, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, the National Commission for Minorities, and the Delhi Minorities Commission sent Singh and Jawaharlal Nehru University notices asking for an explanation of her remarks, following which Jawaharlal Nehru University instituted proceedings against her as well. Singh stated to media that her comments had been taken out of context, and that she did not know that the interview would be published.

In June 2017, Singh was appointed as a member of the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

Controversies In 2016, Singh led a group of professors who accused students and other faculty members at Jawaharlal Nehru University of engaging in illegal activities, in a document that they titled Jawaharlal Nehru University: The Den of Secessionism and Terrorism, and particularly singling out students from Kashmir and North-east India, and describing Muslim and Dalit students as "anti-national". In response to her remarks, she was required to appear before the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, for her statements that targeted Dalit students, who have faced historic and ongoing discrimination on the basis of caste.

In 2019, Singh asked for the public execution of 40 Kashmiri Indian citizens in exchange for the lives of the service personnel that had been killed in the Pulwama terror attack, and in a post on Twitter, publicly accused then Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti of negligence. Singh subsequently reiterated these remarks in an interview with Indian Express, stating that her call for the execution of Indian citizens was so that Chief Minister Mufti would "realise what is pain." The Jawaharlal Nehru Teachers' Association condemned the remarks and requested an inquiry into her conduct, following which Singh filed a police complaint against the teachers' association. Singh has since filed a criminal complaint against the students who complained to the university about her remarks, accusing them of attempting to incite violence.

Awards Singh is the recipient of numerous awards in relation to her work and scholarship.