KAWAL DEEP KOUR, Ph.D (IIT GUWAHATI)
Contact Information: A1-602 The World Spa East Sector 30, Gurgaon- 122002, Haryana, India. Mobile: +91 7042022858 E-mail: kawaldkour@gmail.com
Professional Qualification: Former Assam State Civil Services, Class -I Currently, Director- South Asian Drugs and Addictions Research Council, New Delhi. Academic Qualification Ph. D (History) Title of the Thesis: History of Intoxication: Opium in Assam (1850-1959). The thesis has attempted to outline the trajectory of opium consumption in Assam and is the first of its kind work in the Indian subcontinent, which delineates the array of ways in which consumption of psychoactives, in this case, opium has influenced societies, cultures and economies. Research Interests: Socio-Economic and Political History of Narcotics in Colonial and PostColonial contexts, public policy regarding use and abuse of psychoactives.
Publications Books
UK edition: History of Intoxication: Opium in Assam, 1800-1959, London: Routledge, 2019
India edition: History of Intoxication: Opium in Assam, 1800-1959, Delhi: Manohar Publishers, 2019.
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Manuscripts
Currently working on: a) The Practice of Opium Consumption and Experience in India, 1600- Present Times b) Ghazipur: The Opium Mint (1820- the present times).
Published Translation Work Assamese-English. Axamar Bhasya (The Languages of Assam) in People’s Linguistic Survey of India, Bibha Bharali and Banani Chakravarty (ed.) Volume 5, Part II, New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2017. Essay on Stillwell Road by Surendranath Barua in Partha P Hazarika and Bedanta Puzari (ed.) Stillwell Road, World War II Engineering Marvel that lay buried in Memory, Guwahati: Bhabani Books (forthcoming 2019).
Consultancy Regional Paper on ‘Civil Society and Harm Reduction in South Asia: Pushing ahead for Reforms and Change,’ Harm Reduction Advocacy in Asia 2017-2019 for International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), UK.
Publications in Edited Volumes Book Chapter on Taste making and Trend Setting: the practice of opium consumption and experience in India (1757-1895) in Volume on Imperial Addictions: Collateral Archaeologies of opium in the Indian Ocean World, edited by Neil Price, Ohio University Press (forthcoming 2022) Book Chapter on Integrating Drug Control with Development:’ Shared Responsibility to meet Drug Terror in Indo-ASEAN countries, in Volume on ‘Look East Policy: Integrating India with South East Asia.’ New Delhi: SSDN Publishers and Distributors, 2012. Encyclopedic entry on Imperial Tastes and Imperial Rule in India,’in The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism & Anti-Imperialism. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. 2|Page
Encyclopedic entry on narcotic plant ‘Khat’ in the Encyclopedia of Cultivated Plants ABC-Clio, California, 2013
Articles in Journals /Publications Regulating Drug Use in India- A Rights based Perspective, The International Journal of Socio-Legal Research, Vol.1 (2), 2015. ISSN: 2393-8250. The Opium Question in Colonial Assam: Reflections on the Assam Opium Enquiry Committee Report 1933, in Volume on History of Alcohol and Drugs in Modern South Asia (18th -20th centuries), Routledge, 2013. On the evils of opium eating: Reflections on Nineteenth Century Assamese Literary Reformist Discourse, European Academic Research Journal, Vol.1, No.2, May 2013. ISSN: 2286-4822. Balancing Act: An Analysis of India’s National Narcotic Policy, Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences,Vol.2 (1), 2013.ISSN:2186-8492. A Virtuous Gratification, A Baneful Luxury’: Contesting Notions over popular use of Opium in Colonial Assam, Indian Streams Research Journal Vol.3 (1), February 2013. ISSN No: 2230-7850 From Modino’s Cure to Lecithin Treatment: Detoxification and Withdrawal management in the state sponsored mass treatment scheme for opium addicts in Assam, 1938-39,National Medical Journal of India ,Vol.25, No.5,Sept/Oct 2012,ISSN: 0970-258X. Opium, Empire and Assam-A History in IIAS ‘The Newsletter’ No.60.Summer 2012. Imperial Interests and the Lure of the Opium Trade in Colonial Assam, in Volume on Indian Business through Ages, FMS, Delhi University, 2012. Encyclopedic Entry on Jute in ‘Commodities, Culture and History: The Products that have changed the World’, by Dr. Heather Streets-Salter of the Department of History, Washington State University. U.S.A, 2012. Addictive Consumables and Networks of Commerce-Opium in Assam, in Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Young Scientists. Humanities and Social Sciences, 2011.Lviv Polytechnic National University, Ukraine.
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Internationalization of the ‘Narcotic Threat’: An Analysis of its repercussions on the opium question in Colonial Assam, in Proceedings of the 30th session of North East India History Association, 2010, Tura.
Crop Production in Assam, 1890-1947: A Preliminary Estimate with Dr.Arupjyoti Saikia and Gopal K.Sarma in Proceedings of the 29th session of North East India History Association, Nagaon,2009.
Conference/Seminar/Webinar - Workshop/ Training Participation: UPC- Course 9 - Community Based Prevention Implementation Systems, Managers and Supervisors Series, conducted by Drug Advisory Programme of Colombo Plan and the US Department of State, 05 July-09 September 2021. VNGOC Civil Society Regional Consultation towards an Asia-Pacific Common Position on Drugs, 28 July 2021. IDPC- WHRN and Global Drug Observatory, London-Online Workshop: Getting Ready for the Drug Policy Index 2021, 22 July 2021. UNODC-VNGOC Civil Society Webinar on World Drug Report 2021, 13 July 2021. IDPC Asia Regional Online ToT Workshop on Decriminalisation from 16 November- 4 December 2020. Convener- All India Poster Competition among High and Higher Secondary Schools, on the theme- Know Drugs for No Drugs-Stay Informed, Stay Safe, 22nd September 2018. Convener- Public Discussion: Compassionate Conversations about Drugs and Addictions, New Delhi, 25th August 2018. Talk Show NDTV 24*7 Livestream on Drugs In Punjab, New Delhi, 6th of July, 2018. Talk on Lets Start’s Talking about Drugs at Panjab University, Chandigarh, 6th of April 2018.
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Talk on “Kaniai Khale Asam Desh: Challenging the myth of the endemic opium affliction in colonial Assam” at Nehru memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, 15th of January 2018. Paper Presentation titled, “Temperance, Prohibition and Politics: A South Asian Perspective,” at Workshop on Intoxicants and Society in Comparative and Historical Perspective, at University of Sheffield, UK ,4th of November, 2017. Invitation to deliver a lecture on “Opium Mania: The Dreadful Poppy Plague in India: A Reconsideration of the Nationalist critique of the “Imperialism of Opium,” at University of Sheffield, UK, 2nd of November, 2017. Seminar on “Newer Drugs, Newer Challenges,” NIMHANS, Bengaluru, 24th October 2017. Consultation on ‘Women and Customary Laws: North East India in context’, Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research, JMI, 23rd September 2016. Speaker at Workshop on Drug Policy Advocacy by International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)-Alliance, New Delhi, February 2014. Article on Integrating Drug Control with Development: Shared responsibility to meet drug terror in Indo- ASEAN countries, included in Parliamentary DocumentationLok Sabha, Vol.XXXVIIII, No. 25, 1-15 December 2012. Fall Course on ‘Asian Human Rights and Drug Policy Programme’, Jodhpur National University in collaboration with OSF, held on 17-28 September 2012. Research Paper on ‘History of Intoxication: Opium in Assam, 1800-1959’ presented at the ‘ North East Young Social Scientists Meet’ organised by OKDISCD in collaboration with the Indian Institute of social Science Research and Government of Assam, held on January 20-21, 2012 at Guwahati, Assam, India. Research paper on ‘Addictive Consumables and Networks of Commerce-Opium in Assam’ at 3rd International Conference of Young Scientists, HSS-2011.November 24-26, 2011.Lviv Polytechnic National University, Ukraine. Research Paper on ‘a life better, happier and healthier for our people’: Locating intertwined Political Agenda and Public Health Concerns in the Mass Treatment Scheme for Opium Addicts in Assam, 1938-39, accepted for presentation at Annual
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Conference of Alcohol and Drug History Society(ADHS) at University of Buffalo, USA, June 2011. Research Paper on ‘Addictive Consumables, Commerce and the Contours of Empire in Colonial Assam’ presented at the Annual Session of the Indian History Congress(IHC),in February 2011 Research Paper on ‘The Internationalization of the Narcotic Threat: An Analysis of its Repurcussions in Colonial Assam, presented at the Annual Session of the North East India History Association (NEIHA), in February 2011. Research Paper on ‘The Opium Question in Colonial Assam: Reflections on the Assam Opium Enquiry Committee Report 1933, presented at the panel on Alcohol and Drugs History-18th to the 20th centuries at the 21st ECMSAS at Bonn,Germany, July 2010 accepted for publication by Routledge. Joint Paper on ‘Crop Production in Assam, 1890-1947: A Preliminary Estimate with Dr. Arupjyoti Saikia, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Guwahati at North-East India History Association(NEIHA) in November, 2009 Paper on ‘Labour Recruitment in Eastern India during World War II’ presented in the National Seminar on North-East India and the Second World War, Rajiv Gandhi University in February 2009.
Newspaper Articles: (Op-ed)
Can India emulate Portuguese drug dependence management strategy? The Assam Tribune, October 2018.
Decriminalizing Drug Use as a possible policy option, The Assam Tribune, August 2018.
The war on Drugs in Bangladesh, The Assam Tribune, May 2018.
Substance Abuse Education in School Curriculum, The Assam Tribune, March 2018.
The disconnect that ails India’s drug policy, The Assam Tribune, December 2017.
Emerging threat of drugs in conflict, The Assam Tribune, November 2017.
Legalizing Cannabis: Problems and Prospects, The Assam Tribune, September 2017.
Addressing vulnerabilities in the Aviation Industry, The Assam Tribune, June 2017.
Need for a Sensible Drug Control Strategy, The Assam Tribune, May 2017.
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Evils of opium eating: Reflections on Nineteenth century Assamese Literary Discourse, The Assam Tribune, September 2015.
Right to die with dignity-The Euthanasia debate, The Assam Tribune, May 2015.
Narcotic Drug Use: Regulation and Control in India. The Assam Tribune, April 2015.
Guru Tegh Bahadur’s visit to Assam, The Assam Tribune, November 2014.
Engaging Faith for HIV Prevention, The Assam Tribune, November 2014.
India’s Tryst with Prohibition, The Assam Tribune, September 2014
India not acting smart on drugs, Asia Times Online, June 2014.
Time to act smart on drugs: Present policies are ineffective, expensive and disparaging, The Tribune, Chandigarh, June 2014.
Master of Satire, Special Supplement on Lakshminath Bezbaroa, The Assam Tribune, November 2013.
Gopinath Bordoloi and the Opium Eradication Campaign in Assam of 1939-40, The Assam Tribune, June 2013.
Rhino Poaching: Some Perturbing Facts, The Assam Tribune, February 2013.
Hundred Years of International Surveillance for Drug Control,’Seven Sisters Post, Part I and II, 5th and 6th February, 2012.
India’s Drug Policy, Part I and II. Seven Sisters Post, 22nd and 23rd January 2012.
Memberships:
Member of Board- International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP), United Kingdom. Member- Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs, Austria, Vienna. International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP), United Kingdom International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP), United Kingdom Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) International, Washington, USA. Indian History Congress
Education: M.A (History), ( 2003), Gauhati University (PGCS) B.A (hons.),(1998-00), Gauhati University--History (Hons), Economics & English 12th Standard – Humanities (1997), AHSEC, Assam 7|Page
Economics, English, Political Science, Education and Hindi (M.I.L.) 10th Standard, (1995) ,SEBA, Assam
Work Experience/ Accomplishment(s):
Certificate of Achievement from Emory University, Atlanta, through Coursera, an online learning initiative on: The Addicted Brain, 3rd November 2018.
Certificate of Achievement from University of Adelaide, through edX for online learning initiative on AddictionX: Managing Addiction: A Framework for Successful Treatment, 26th December 2017.
Consultant, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), London for Project Title: Harm Reduction Advocacy in Asia 2017-2019-Regional Paper for South Asia to support civil society advocacy.
Contributing Editor, Points Blog-Alcohol and Drugs History Society, University of Florida, USA, 2017
Project Coordinator for Northeast Region-for Tiger Trust, India, in collaboration with US Fish and Wildlife Service and Forest Department, under “Hunting the Hunters”-Capacity Building Programme, Assam. (October 2010- February 2013)
Research Assistant for 4 months w.e.f. August 2009, by Professor Himadri Banerjee, Department of History, Jadavpur University, Kolkata for collection of materials towards his research on ‘Sikhs in Eastern and North-Eastern India’.
Editorial Assistant (Student Representative), Departmental Committee on Seminar and Working Paper Series, 2009-2011, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT, Guwahati,.
Outsourced by Constella Futures Group(in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), working for HIV/AIDS Prevention to prepare report on HIV/AIDS Sensitization Workshop for Police and Armed Forces, held at Police Academy, Barapani, Shillong, February, 2005
Volunteer Journalist for Youth Leader Magazine, an online magazine with Indian and Global edition under UN Volunteers Initiative.
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Convenor – Conference on Illicit Drugs in North East: Search for Truth and Solutions, Don Bosco Institute, Guwahati, December 2013. Member: Institute for Narcotics Studies and Analysis (INSA), New Delhi.
Executive-Admissions at TASMAC (Training and Advanced Studies in Management and Communications) Ltd; 2007- 2008
Public Relations Officer for Acharya Group of Institutions, Regional office, Guwahati; 2007.
Programme Co-ordinator (Diploma Programme in Marketing and Finance Management, MAT coaching, English teaching) at Don Bosco Institute, Guwahati; 2005-2007.
Resource Person – for taking classes for IAS and ACS( Indian History), Modern Office Management (Module on English Language and Communications), English Trainer for Teacher Training Programmes for Primary and Middle-class Teachers, at Don Bosco Institute Guwahati; 2005-2006
Report Writing and Documentation Project Proposal for ‘Women Forest Guards Empowerment’ for the State of Rajasthan, for Tiger Trust and submitted to US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2013. ‘Legal Training Programme on Wildlife Crime’ for the Forest Department of Assam conducted by Tiger Trust, India in collaboration with US Fish and Wildlife Service, October 2012. Capacity Building Programme for the Forest Department of Rajasthan, Mount Abu , conducted by Tiger Trust, in collaboration with US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2012 ‘Legal Training Programme on Wildlife Crime’ for the Forest Department of Rajasthan conducted by Tiger Trust, India in collaboration with US Fish and Wildlife Service, October 2011.
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‘Legal Training Programme on Wildlife Crime’ for the Forest Department of Assam conducted by Tiger Trust, India in collaboration with Atree and US Fish and Wildlife Service, October 2010. ‘Understanding Conservation: Perspectives from Manas and Kaziranga National Parks, Assam’organised by ATREE in collaboration with UNESCO and IITG, September, 2010. ‘HIV/AIDS Sensitization Workshop for Police and Armed Forces’ held at Police Academy, Barapani, Shillong, for Constella Futures Group (in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), 2007
Extra-Curricular Activities
Participation at the North East India Skills Conclave on 23-24 January 2012, organised by Federation of Indian Industries(FII)in collaboration with National Skills Development Centre(NSDC)and Ministry of DONER, Government of India.
Certificate in Integrative Counselling –Module course in personal growth, theory and supervised practice, 2006 from Counselling Centre- Peace Centre, Guwahati.
Certificate of Participation in a two-day Workshop on ‘Communication and Presentation Skills’ by FICCI Ladies Organisation supported by HANNS SEIDEL Foundation, Germany & FINER.
Merit Certificates for securing an aggregate of 70% and above in History (hons.)B.A. (First Year), 1997 and H.S. (First Year), 1995 at Cotton College, Guwahati.
State Highest Marks in History (82%) at the Higher Secondary Examination, 1997.
BITS Miss Personality Award, 1997
Best Student Award, 1995.
Best Team Award at the All Assam Inter-District Dilip Sarmah Memorial Debate Competition, 1994
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Secured 2nd Prize (Category-Hindi) at All Assam Essay Writing Competition on National Integration, 1993
Personal Dossier
Date of Birth Language Proficiency Interests Status
21st March, 1979 English, Hindi, Punjabi, Assamese. Books, Research Writing, Poetry. Married
References: Dr.Arupjyoti Saikia, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. E-mail: arupjyoti@iitg.ernet.in, 9127511814. Mr. Romesh Bhattacharji, IRS (retd) Former Narcotics Commissioner of India. D-1008, New Friends Colony, New Delhi. E-mail:rbhattoo@gmail.com, 9818509052. Mr. Pritpal Singh, IPS (retd), former Director General, Fire and Emergency Services, Assam. 36-D, H/No: 1516, Chandigarh. Email: pritpal1516@gmail.com, 7973433696.
Kawal Deep Kour
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