September 2-4, 2011: “The Long Shadow of Partition: How Religion and Property Frame Citizenship” at the conference Trajectories of Partition in South Asia and the Middle East: Comparative Historical Perspectives. National Archives of India. New Delhi.

March 16-17, 2011. “The Search for a Moral Compass: India after Globalization” at the Foresight Brazil Conference at Sao Paulo.

February 14-15, 2011: “The Unresolved Tension between Universal and Differentiated Citizenship in India” at the JNU-Warwick University Workshop on Changing Paradigms of Governance, Law and Rights. New Delhi

November 19-21, 2010: “Decentralization and the Prospects for Social Democracy in India” at the Tenth Indira Gandhi Conference on “An Indian Social Democracy: Integrating Markets, Democracy and Social Justice”. Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

October 6-8, 2010:  “The Governance of the Other: How Religion Frames Alienage and Citizenship” at the annual conference of the Cluster of Excellence on The Flow of Concepts and Institutions. Heidelberg University.

October 22, 2009: “In but not Of the State: Claims to Social Citizenship in Western India” in the seminar series of the Democracy and Development Program, Princeton University.

March 16, 2009: “An Immense and (In)complete Democracy: A Tocquevillian Perspective on India’s Experiment with Democratic Citizenship” at the conference on Alexis de Tocqueville and the Political Development of the US and India, at Harvard University.

November 14, 2008: Presentation on “Participation in India: From Politics to Development” in the Centre des Sciences Humaines seminar series on Emerging Issues in the Social Sciences: Franco-Indian Perspectives, at and in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

October 23-24, 2008: Panelist at the Conference of the Leverhulme Project on Gendered Ceremony and Ritual in Parliament, at the University of Warwick, UK.

June 20-21, 2008: Speaker at the panel on Globalization, Governance and Identity at the Symposium on Russia in the Twenty-First Century organized by the Alfred Herrhausen Foundation in Moscow, Russia.

February 26, 2008: “Sixty Years of Indian Democracy”: Talk at Grinnell College, Iowa.

October 22-23, 2007: “Overlapping Inequalities and the Challenge of Positive Discrimination in India” at the workshop on Affirmative Action: Malaysia in International Comparative Perspective, organized by the Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity of the Department for International Development, University of Oxford, at the National University of Singapore.

October 2, 2007: “Despots, Democrats and Discontents” at the panel Democratic Prospects and International Policy Responses in the Middle East and South Asia,  at the Lowy Institute of International Affairs, Sydney co-hosted with the Sydney Democracy Forum.

September 28, 2007: “Women in Local Governance in India” Talk at Oxfam, Melbourne.

September 25, 2007: “Sixty Years of Indian Democracy: An Unfinished Project” Public Lecture at University of Melbourne.

September 20-21, 2007: Keynote Address: “The Limits of Representative Democracy” at the conference on Democracy, Development and Civil Society in India, at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

September 14-16, 2007: “The Transformation of Citizenship in the 1990s” at the conference on The Great Transformation? India’s New Political Economy, at Columbia University, New York.

April 13, 2007: “Development as Freedom”. Panelist for the Concluding Plenary Session of the National Conference on Expanding Freedom: Towards Social and Economic Transformation in a Globalising World at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi.

February 21, 2007: “Unity in Diversity: Learning from Each Other. The Indian Perspective” Conference Overview Paper for the Opening Plenary Session of the International Pre-Conference of the Forum of Federations, hosted by the Inter-State Council, Government of India at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

November 6-9, 2006: “Representing India: Diversity in Public Institutions”: Keynote Address at the conference on Globalization and Peacebuilding of the Swedish Network on Peace, Conflict and Development Research, held in Uppsala, Sweden.

July 3, 2006: “Democratic Governance and the Challenge of Development in India” at the Roundtable on The World in 2030, organised by the Centro Militare di Studi Strategici, Rome.

June, 2006: “Democracy and Pluralism in South Asia” at the conference on Strengthening Democracy in Asia, organized by Rights and Democracy/ Droits et Democratie, the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, at Toronto.

January 21, 2006: Global Development Network Conference at Saint Petersburg, Russia. Participant in the Panel on `Signposts to More Effective States’.

September 9, 2005: Seminar on Parties and Democracy in India, organized by the Centre for Public Affairs, Delhi. Presentation on “Parties and Gender Representation”. India International Centre, New Delhi.

September 3, 2005: American Political Science Association Annual Meeting at Washington D.C. Paper presented: “Putting Elections in Their Place” in a panel on Electoral Processes and Party and Party System Formation: India’s 2004 Election in Historical Perspective.

June 27, 2005: Talk on “Democratic Governance in India: Challenges of Poverty and Identity” at the OECD, Paris.

March 23, 2005: Conference on Democracy and Development in a Comparative Asian Perspective: An Indo-Japan Dialogue at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University. (Inaugural Address)

December 16-17, 2004: Conference on State Politics in India in the 1990s: Political Mobilization and Political Competition, organized by the Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi and the London School of Economics, at Delhi. (Paper presented: “Federal Anxieties, Democratic Desires: The Politics of Governance Reform in Two Indian States”)

December 14, 2004: Workshop on Globalization, Governance Reforms and Development, as part of the Silver Jubilee Symposium of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand. (Paper: “A Democratic Deficit: Citizenship and Governance in the Time of Globalization”)

October 8, 2004: Seminar on India in the 20th Century, organized by the University of Calcutta, Kolkata. (Paper presented: “Images of Democratic Governance”)

August 13, 2004: Workshop on the `Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme’, organized by the National Centre for Advocacy Studies and the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, at New Delhi. (Presentation on: “Constitutionalism and Democracy: Some Concerns about the MPLAD Scheme”)

August 6, 2004: Seminar on Decentralization: Institutions and Politics in Rural India, organized by Delhi University, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and IAWG-Decentralization (UNDP). (Paper presented: “Development or Empowerment? Women’s Participation in PRIs”)

July 27, 2004: Lecture on “The Concept of Governance” and Valedictory Address on “Emerging Research Concerns in Governance Studies” at the Academic Staff College, University of Hyderabad.

July 2-3, 2004: International Symposium: “Still Shining? India after the 2004 Elections” at the Humboldt University, Berlin. (Paper presented: “The End of Ideology?”)

April 19, 2004: National Convocation Seminar of the Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development, Pune. (Paper presented: “Reinventing Citizenship”)

April 6, 2004: Panelist in the panel discussion on “Public Policy and the Poor in India” at the India International Centre, New Delhi.

February 19, 2004: Conference on State, Civil Society and Citizens: Revisiting the Relationship.  (organized by Participatory Research in Asia) at Osmania University, Hyderabad. (Paper presented: “Citizenship as Strengthening Civil Society”)

June 29-July 2, 2003: Network on South Asian Politics and Political Economy (NETSAPPE), Second Annual Meeting at Bangalore. (Paper presented: “Social Inequalities and Institutional Remedies: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes”)

May 21-23, 2003: Conference on “Culture, Identity and Development”, organized by the Indian Council of Social Science Research and the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, at Paris. (Paper presented: “Democracy and Multiculturalism: Conundrums of Citizenship”)

April 10-12, 2003: Conference on “Area Studies Redux: Local Knowledge in a Globalising World”, a Festschrift Conference for Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph at the University of Chicago, USA. (Presentation at the Roundtable Retro/Prospective on the Rudolphs’ Work, on the Indian State in the writings of the Rudolphs.)

February 13, 2003: Seminar on “Citizenship and Governance: Issues of Identities, Inclusion and Voice” organized by Participatory Research in Asia, New Delhi. (Paper presented: “Citizenship and Governance: Conceptual and Theoretical Issues.”

February 12, 2003: “Citizenship: Issues and Challenges” Presentation at The Ford Foundation, New Delhi.

February 5-9, 2003: Conference on “Diversity and Co-existence in Asia” organized by the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo and the Ford Foundation, at Kandalama, Sri Lanka.

January 6-8, 2003: Conference on “Local Governance in India and China” in Kolkata, organized by the Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Delhi, and the Institute of Social Sciences, Delhi. (Paper presented: “Development or Empowerment? Women’s Participation in Panchayati Raj Institutions”)

November 30-December 1, 2002: Seminar on “States in Transition: Governance and Civil Society in Maharashtra” at the University of Mumbai. (Paper presented: “Theorising Governance and Civil Society for India”)

October 24-28, 2002: Workshop on Civil Society and Political Change in Asia, organized by the East-West Center, Hawaii, at Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Senior Scholar, commenting on country studies of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; and panelist in the concluding session of the workshop)

October 10, 2002: Talk on “Gender and Governance in India” at the UNDP, New Delhi.

October 5, 2002: Presentation of “The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Tribes: A Report” (co-authored with B.N. Mohapatra), at a National Workshop on Diversity and Pluralism and the Role of National Institutions in the Protection of Minority Rights, organized by the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo with the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi.

September 2, 2002: Presentation on “Issues and Challenges for Panchayati Raj Institutions” at the Ford Foundation, New Delhi.

August 6, 2002: Talk on “A Rights-Based Approach to Governance: The Right to Education” at the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi.

July 24, 2002: Panelist at the launch of the Human Development Report 2002: Deepening Democracy in a Fragmented World. UNDP, New Delhi.

July 1-3, 2002: Network on South Asian Politics and Political Economy (NETSAPPE), First Annual Meeting, Centre for South Asian Studies, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. (Presentation on “Civil Societies: Real and Imagined” in the Roundtable on Gujarat)

March 10, 2002: Workshop on Political Parties and Parliament, of the Nepal Centre for Contemporary Studies, held at Dhulikhel, Nepal. (2 Lectures: (i) “The Indian Parliament: Representation of Women, Minorities and Dalits” and (ii) “MPs and their Constituencies”)

February 27, 2002: Course on A Dialogue on Geopolitics of Peace Centre for the Study of Geopolitics, Panjab University, Chandigarh in collaboration with Jean Monnet European Centre for Excellence, University of Tampere, Finland. (Keynote Address on “Experiments with Democracy in South Asia”)

September 27-29, 2001: Conference on Governance, Globalization and Democracy, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University. (Paper presented: “A Democratic Deficit? Citizenship and Governance”)

April 10-12, 2001: 51st Conference of the Political Studies Association (UK) at Manchester, U.K. (Paper presented: "Balancing Political and Ecological Values")

May 7-11, 2000: Conference on “Democracy, Rights and Equality: the challenges and the opportunities”. The British Council at Belfast, U.K.

June 27-29, 1999: Conference on Moral and Political Reasoning in Environmental Practice at Mansfield College, Oxford. (Paper presented: “Ethics, Politics and Biodiversity: A View from the South”)

June 17-19, 1999:  Conference of the project on Democracy and Social Capital in Segmented Societies at Uppsala University, Sweden.  (Paper presented: “Democracy and Social Capital in the Central Himalaya: A Tale of Two Villages”)

March 18-19, 1999: JCIE Global Thinknet Project: International Comparative Study on Governance and Civil Society, at the Institute Francais des Relations Internationales, Paris. (Paper presented: Consolidating Democracy: Governance and Civil Society in India)

May 2-7, 1998:  Series of Lectures on Democracy and Governance at five campuses in Karnataka, including the National Law School, Bangalore. Campus Outreach Programme of India’s Quest: a Spic-Macay project commemorating 50 years of Indian independence.

March 16, 1998: Talk on `Indian Election 1998’ at Department of Peace & Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Sweden.

September 23-27, 1997: India 50 Conference at the University of Sussex, U.K. (Paper presented: The State and Democracy in India)

November 15-16, 1996: Symposium on Biotechnology and Biodiversity: Scientific and Ethical Issues, at the 2nd. International Crop Science Congress, New Delhi. (Paper presented : Ethics and Biodiversity)

March 7-9, 1996: Conference on Culture, Rights and the Culture of Rights, at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi. (Paper presented: Displaced Persons and the Discourse of Rights)

August 1995: Conference of the International Political Science Association’s Research Committee on Political Theory at Harare, Zimbabwe. Conference theme: Democracy and Identities. (Paper presented: Which Identity? Democracy and the Problem of Alternative Constructions)