LONDON, Nov 1: The Royal Asiatic Society has awarded the 2025 Subedi Prize for the Study of Nepal to Nepal’s Dalits in Transition, a book edited by Professor David Gellner and Dr Krishna Adhikari.
The Society said the judges unanimously selected the book for its comprehensive contribution to Dalit studies, Nepal studies and broader sociological and anthropological research on hierarchy and inequality.
The book brings together research by multiple contributors, including Dalit scholars and writers, offering a broad and accessible account of the current situation of Dalit communities in Nepal.
The judges said the publication would serve as a useful introduction to the subject and a valuable resource for academic researchers, policymakers and politicians.
Royal Asiatic Society announces launch of Surya P Subedi Prize...
While recognising the contributions of Gellner and Adhikari as editors and contributors, the judges also acknowledged all the authors for presenting diverse perspectives on contemporary Dalit experiences across different geographical and social contexts.
The contributors include Arjun Bahadur, who wrote two chapters, Tilak Biswakarma, Steve Folmar, Raksha Ram Harijan, Sambriddhi Kharel, Ram Prasad Mainali, Purna Nepali, Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka, Krishna Shrestha, Manoj Suji and Ramesh Sunam.
The Society also commended the book’s publication in Nepal by Vajra Books, saying it would make the work more accessible to Nepali readers.
Gellner is Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology and Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College at the University of Oxford. He first visited Nepal in 1975 and began formally studying religion and society in the country around 1980 while pursuing an MPhil in Indian Religion at Oxford.
His first book, Monk, Householder, and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and its Hierarchy of Ritual, was published by Cambridge University Press in 1992, based on his doctoral research. He has since authored and edited numerous books and articles on Nepal.
Adhikari is a research affiliate at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oxford. He co-led the ESRC-funded project Caste, Class, and Culture (2013–17) and the BA-funded project The Dalit Search for Dignity (2019–23).
Before entering academia, Adhikari spent 12 years working in rural development in Nepal. He earned his PhD from the University of Reading in 2007, focusing on social capital and community institutions. He has written extensively on society and culture, international development and the Nepali diaspora. He also founded the Centre for Nepal Studies UK, where he coordinates the monthly Nepal Dialogue UK webinar series and the Motilal Fellowship.
The prize is named after Professor Surya P. Subedi, a professor of international law at the University of Leeds. Established in 2022, the prize was first awarded in 2023.
