Rishika Yadav

• LSE PhD Studentship 2018-2022
• Iris Forester Prize for Academic Excellence, Department of International History, LSE, 2016

2023

Panellist at the two-day conference, From the Personal to the Global: Lived Experiences of the Second World Warhosted by the University of Edinburgh in June 2023.

For this conference, hosted by the Second World War Research Group and the Second World War Network (Scotland), I presented a paper titled, The Cape Lorries: South Africa’s Coloured, Indian and Malay Soldiers in the East African Campaign, 1940-42.

2022

LSE International History Blog

‘The Boys Up North’ – Rishika Yadav’s PhD journey at LSEpublished on 10 December 2022. In this article, I reflect on my journey as a doctoral student in the department and muse on the men of my study with whom I spent four incredible years.

Panellist at the International Online Conference: Perspectives on World War II organised by Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi from 24th-25th February 2022.

I presented a paper titled, Identity, Prejudice and the Second World War: Analysing the Experiences of Coloured South African POWs in Europe.

2019

LSE International History Blog

The Second Last Sunday Every September: Remembering South Africa’s Fallen Soldiers, published on 25 November 2019

In this article, I elaborate on my experience at a memorial service for the Cape Corps, which I attended while on a trip to South Africa and contemplate on the space of non-White soldiers in First and Second World War remembrance ceremonies.

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Africa at LSE Blog

South Africa Remembers Robert Mugabe, published on 26 September 2019

In this article, I explore the impact of the liberator-turned-despot Robert Mugabe’s legacy on South African politics and examines the lessons South Africa must learn from Zimbabwe.

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Panellist for the screening of ‘Forgotten Heroes of Empire’ by Jack Losh and Alessandro Pavone, and produced by Al Jazeera

The documentary highlights the discrimination faced by African veterans of the British Imperial forces that participated in the Second World War. I was invited as a speaker for the Q&A panel for the screening. The event was held at the Frontline Club (London) on 5th April 2019 and was chaired by Christina Lamb. Available on podcast.

2018

Between 2017-18, I regularly contributed to the Centre for Civil Society’s digital publication, Spontaneous Order. Most notably,

• The Cursed Wonders of India, published on 16 April 2018

In this article I explore the obstacles faced by government agencies employed in the preservation of India’s archaeological and cultural heritage and emphasises on the need for privatisation of conservation. The article was re-printed in Qrius.

• The Life and Times of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, published 28 February 2018

In this two-part series titled, Chutney on a Leafand Movement Towards Swatantra,I recount the life and times of Rajaji, a prominent independence activist, who, in his political career, served as the first Premier of the Madras Presidency, and the first and last Governor General of independent India.

• Transparency of Rights Act: Good Governance and Civil Society, published on 14 February 2018

In this article, I critique the Transparency of Rights Act proposed in the Government of India’s Economic Survey 2016-17 and argues that the act is a mutation on existing legislations and, in fact, prevents Civil Society from effectively participating in ‘good governance’.