EloyNoble34 at 08:44, 17 April 2026

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{{Short description|Law professor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Amita Dhanda
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| occupation = Professor and Academician

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'''Amita Dhanda''' is an Indian academic, activist, and Professor Emerita (formerly professor of law) at [[NALSAR University of Law]], Hyderabad. She was appointed one of the fourteen members of the [[National Advisory Council]] for the implementation of the [[RTE act|RTE Act]] in 2010. She is on the [http://tnnls.in/academic_council.php Academic Council] of [[Tamil Nadu National Law School]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/HRD-panel-to-oversee-RTE-rollout/articleshow/6091867.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811080126/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-06-26/india/28286868_1_hrd-ministry-teacher-education-rte-act|url-status=live|archive-date=2011-08-11|work=[[The Times of India]]|title=HRD panel to oversee RTE rollout}}</ref> She started her career as a researcher at the Indian Law Institute, Delhi, and became a full-time Professor at [[Nalsar University of Law|NALSAR]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nalsar.ac.in/amita-dhanda|title=Amita Dhanda {{!}} NALSAR UNIVERSITY OF LAW|website=www.nalsar.ac.in|access-date=25 November 2017}}</ref> She has contributed to the research of mental health and disability studies in India and is the head of the Centre for Disability Studies at NALSAR. Amita Dhanda identifies as a feminist<ref name=":0" /> and has written several papers based in gender. She has written three books, and is a guest writer for [https://kafila.online/ ''Kafila''] and a few other online news magazines and national daily newspapers. She carries out Interpretation Of Statutes.

==Early life==
Amita Dhanda pursued LLM and then completed her PhD from [[Delhi]]. In 1984, she started as a researcher in [[Indian Law Institute|Indian Institute of Law]], Delhi. [[P. N. Bhagwati|Justice Bhagwati]], who was then [[Chief Justice of India]] decided to have her clerk for him based on her capabilities. She worked at the Institute for 15 years, that is from 1984 till 1999. She learned how to write, research, edit and teach with the assistance of renowned scholars. In her time with the Institute, she did hands on research on the mental health of prisoners in [[West Bengal]] and also suggested amendments to the [https://web.archive.org/web/20171215080517/http://newsonair.nic.in/PWD_Act.pdf Disability Act of 1995].<ref name=":0" /> From 1999, she joined as a full-time professor in [[Nalsar University of Law|NALSAR]], where she teaches Administrative Law, Law and Poverty, Law and Literature and Judicial Process.<ref name=":0" />

==Career==
Amita Dhanda teaches legal theory, law and poverty, and sexually disoriented courses on pedagogy and inclusion. Dhanda became a professor of law and dean (academic) at [[National Academy of Legal Studies and Research]] (NALSAR) at Hyderabad after a five-year stint as a research faculty at the Indian Law Institute, Delhi. At NALSAR, she is head of the Centre for Disability Studies. She has written extensively on the legal position of persons with mental disability.<ref name="Motilal2011">{{cite book|author=Shashi Motilal|title=Applied Ethics and Human Rights: Conceptual Analysis and Contextual Applications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5SrZfJDgRC4C&pg=PA201|date=1 October 2011|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-0-85728-849-3|pages=201–}}</ref><ref name="Davar1999">{{cite book|author=Bhargavi V Davar|title=Mental Health of Indian Women: A Feminist Agenda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fvzaAAAAMAAJ|date=15 March 1999|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-0-7619-9300-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.frontline.in/cover-story/for-a-rightsbased-approach/article9050228.ece|title=For a rights-based approach|date=31 August 2016|accessdate=25 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="Menon2011">{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|875698888}} |last1=Menon |first1=Amarnath K |title=Top Law Colleges of 2011: Star faculty, committed students and coveted internships make NALSAR this year's legal eagle |work=India Today |location=New Delhi |date=18 July 2011 }}</ref> ''Legal Order and Mental Disorder'' (published in 2000), Dhanda's book on the legal status of persons with mental illness is a pioneering effort in the field.<ref name="Weller2013">{{cite book|author=Penelope Weller|title=New Law and Ethics in Mental Health Advance Directives: The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Right to Choose|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YksY4GlrknsC&pg=PA35|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-53294-5|pages=35–}}</ref> She is also the Author of ''[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16793091-decolonisation-of-legal-knowledge Decolonisation of Legal Knowledge] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=UnYERAAACAAJ Engendering Law: Essays in Honor of Latika Sarkar].'' She has also edited N S Bindra's ''[https://www.amazon.in/N-S-Bindras-Interpretation-Statutes/dp/9350358611/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1511590960&sr=1-1&refinements=p_27%3AAmita+Dhanda Interpretation of Statutes].''

Dhanda was involved in the negotiations of the [[United Nations|UN]] Ad Hoc Committee that drafted the [[United Nations|UN]] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted in December 2006.<ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|428422458}} |last1=Umachandran |first1=Shalini |title=He helps transform those with mental disabilities |work=The Times of India |location=New Delhi |date=30 November 2008 }}</ref> In 2011, she was a leader of a committee set up by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment of the Government of India for drafting a law on the rights of people with disabilities. Dhanda is assisting the Government of Gujarat in formulating a rights sensitive mental health law. Her research expertise has been drawn upon by international and national institutions such as the [[World Health Organization|WHO]]. She is also activist for patients rights,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2002/10/30/Worldandnation/India_s_place_for_hea.shtml|title=Worldandnation: India's place for healing}}</ref> particularly in attempting to give agency and protections to the mentally ill, as well as to protect women who are divorced on the basis of "mental illness".<ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|760072324}} |last1=Minwalla |first1=Shabnam |title=Thousands of wives are discarded on unfounded grounds of mental illness |work=The Times of India |location=Mumbai |date=9 May 2001 |page=3 }}</ref> Dhanda's research has been referred to by premier institutions, both nationally and internationally, such as [[World Health Organization|WHO]], [[UNICEF]], [[National Human Rights Commission of India|NHRC]], [[National Commission for Women|NCW]], [[National Institute of Mental Health|NIMH]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nalsar.ac.in/faculty/AmitaDhanda-profile.html|title=Amita Profile|website=www.nalsar.ac.in|access-date=25 November 2017}}</ref> She is also a [https://scroll.in/author/10630 contributing writer] for ''Scroll'', an online political and cultural news magazine. She has also written several articles for [https://www.thehindu.com/profile/author/AMITA-DHANDA/ ''The Hindu''] as well, a renowned national daily. The other online magazines and National Dailies she has written for include ''[http://www.frontline.in/cover-story/for-a-rightsbased-approach/article9050228.ece Frontline]'', ''Kafila'' and [https://web.archive.org/web/20170507154744/http://www.newindianexpress.com/author/Amita-Dhanda ''Indian Express.'']

Dhanda is{{When|date=March 2025}} engaged in research work in mental health, child rights, disability and environment.

==Sexual harassment case==
Professor Dhanda accused NALSAR Vice Chancellor Veer Singh of sexual harassment in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Nalsar-VC-prof-war-ends-in-sexual-harassment-row/articleshow/11274736.cms|title=Nalsar VC, prof war ends in sexual harassment row – Times of India|website=[[The Times of India]] }}</ref> She claimed that the Vice Chancellor sent her a mail on 22 December which contained a sexual innuendo; the Vice Chancellor denied this and said that he would file for defamation against Dhanda,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Nalsar-VC-prof-war-ends-in-sexual-harassment-row/articleshow/11274736.cms|title=Nalsar VC, prof war ends in sexual harassment row – Times of India|work=The Times of India|access-date=25 November 2017}}</ref> but did not. A committee later examined and dismissed the allegations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legallyindia.com/201204172748/Law-schools/committee-absolves-ex-nalsar-vc-veer-singh-of-dhanda-sexual-harassment|title=Committee absolves ex-Nalsar VC Veer Singh of Dhanda sexual harassment|first=Prachi|last=Shrivastava}}</ref>

==Books==
*eds. Baxi, Upendra. Dhanda, Amita. ''Valiant victims and lethal litigation: the Bhopal case''. NM Tripathi, 1990.
*Dhanda, Amita. ''Engendering Law: Essays in Honor of Latika Sarkar''. Eastern Book Company, 1999.
*Dhanda, Amita. ''Legal order and mental disorder''. SAGE Publications Pvt. Limited, 2000.
*Dhanda, Amita. ''Decolonising of Legal Knowledge''. Taylor and Francis, 2009.
*Bindra, N S. Dhandha, Amita. ''Interpretation of the Law of Statutes.'' LexisNexis, 2017.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://nalsar.ac.in/faculty/AmitaDhanda-profile.html Profile]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhanda, Amita}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Academic staff of NALSAR University of Law]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women lawyers]]

Amita Dhanda - Revision history

EloyNoble34 at 08:44, 17 April 2026