Darinee Alagirisamy

Darinee Alagirisamy serves as Deputy Head and Senior Lecturer in the South Asian Studies Programme at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Her research focuses on modern South Asian history with particular expertise in the Indian diaspora in Southeast Asia, colonial alcohol policies, and Tamil political movements.

Her research interests span Modern South Asian History, Indian Diaspora Studies, and Colonial Alcohol Policy, examining how beverage regulation intersected with race, urban space, and nationalist movements in colonial contexts. Key projects analyze toddy production in Singapore, neera as a failed national drink in India, and Tamil self-respect movements in British Malaya.

Her forthcoming monograph Sober State: Origins of Alcohol Prohibition in India (Cambridge University Press) investigates why alcohol prohibition persists in India despite its status as the world's fastest-growing alcohol market. The book utilizes extensive archival research and vernacular sources to position prohibition as a site of state consensus-building.

Her publications reveal consistent thematic trends across Southeast Asian and South Asian contexts, with strong emphasis on

• colonial-era beverage regulation
• diasporic identity formation
• Tamil political mobilization
• urban space contestation
• postcolonial policy legacies

While no formal awards are listed in available materials, her work has generated significant media engagement including features in Intellectuals.SG, NUS News, and the BBC podcast Stuff the British Stole.

As Deputy Head of NUS's South Asian Studies Programme, she contributes to academic administration while maintaining active research output. Her work connects historical analysis with contemporary policy questions regarding alcohol regulation and diaspora politics.