Manali Desai

Manali Desai is a Professor in Sociology and a Professorial Fellow at Newnham College. She was the Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge from 2020 until 2024, and is believed the first woman of color to lead a department at the University of Cambridge. She was born in the United States and later moved to India where she studied in Delhi. She completed her last two years of school in London before attending university. Desai's research interests include post-colonial studies, social movements, state formation, political parties, development, and ethnic violence. Previously, her work has been funded by the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust. Desai's research is currently funded by the Economic and Social Research Council to investigate the urban transformation and gendered violence in Johannesburg and Delhi.

In 2007, Desai wrote a book entitled State Formation and Radical Democracy in India, 1860-1990. She is also a Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge.

In 2020, Desai became the Head of Department of Sociology. She believed the first woman of color to lead a department at the University of Cambridge. She also helped establish a "Decolonise Sociology" working group in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge.

Desai has been accused by the organization Alumni for Free Speech (www.affs.com) of discrimination against people with a protected characteristic contrary to the UK Equality Act 2010.AFFS Cambridge University Council Letter