Rohit K. Dasgupta is an Associate Professor of Gender and Sexuality at the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

and a

British Labour Party The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been describe ...

politician. Prior to this he was a Senior Lecturer in the School of Culture and Creative Arts at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

where he remains as an Honorary Senior Research Fellow. In 2018 he was elected Councillor in the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by ...

for the Canning Town South ward. He was re-elected for the same ward again in 2022. He contested the Parliamentary seat of

East Hampshire East Hampshire is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Petersfield, although the largest town is Alton. The district also contains the town of Bordon along with many villages and surroundin ...

for the Labour Party in 2017, coming second with an increase of 7% vote share. He is also Secretary of the Newham Branch of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

. In 2019 he was selected as an MEP candidate for the South East region (5th on the list) but failed to get elected. Dasgupta is also a member of Labour's

National Policy Forum The National Policy Forum (NPF) of the British Labour Party is part of the policy-making system of the Party, set up by Leader Tony Blair as part of the Partnership in Power process. A Provisional National Policy Forum had been established by Bla ...

and sits on the Work, Pensions and Equality Policy Commission. In May 2025, he was appointed chair and first citizen of the

Newham Council Newham London Borough Council also known as Newham Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority co ...

for the municipal year 2025-26.

Background

Dasgupta gained a BA degree in Comparative Literature from

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University ( abbr. JU) is a public state funded research university with its main campus located at Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established on 25 July in 1906 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into ...

, India, then graduated MA in English from the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

, PGCE from the

University of West London The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860 when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing Colleg ...

, and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the University of the Arts.

Political career

He was elected as a

Labour and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an e ...

party Councillor in the

for the Canning Town South ward in the

2018 United Kingdom Local elections The 2018 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 3 May 2018, with local council elections taking place in all 32 London boroughs, 34 metropolitan boroughs, 67 district and borough councils and 17 unitary authorities. There were als ...

. Following his election he was appointed Commissioner for Social Integration and Equalities in 2019. He was re-elected for the same ward in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and appointed Deputy Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Equalities and Culture by the Mayor. He had previously contested the East Hampshire parliamentary seat in the General election, coming second with 17% of the vote share. Dasgupta is also the Chair of his local Labour party branch and Secretary of the Newham

. He was one of the first Bengalis from West Bengal, India to contest the British Parliamentary elections. Dasgupta is also a member of BAME Labour,

Labour Movement for Europe The Labour Movement for Europe (LME) is one of 20 "Socialist society (Labour Party), socialist societies" affiliated to the UK Labour Party, just like Fabian Society, the Fabians and Jewish Labour Movement, The Jewish Labour Movement. The society ...

, GMB and UCU. In 2018 he was elected on to the national committee of

LGBT Labour LGBT+ Labour is the socialist society officially representing the LGBTQ wing of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. The purpose of the organisation is to campaign within the Labour Party, and the wider Labour movement to promote the rights ...

. In 2019 he was selected as an MEP candidate for the South East region but failed to get elected. He has previously expressed his opposition to Brexit and support for a second referendum.

Academic career

Dasgupta is an Associate Professor of Gender and Sexuality at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to this he was a Senior Lecturer in Cultural Industries at the University of Glasgow. He has previously worked at the Institute for Media and Creative Industries at Loughborough University (where he remains as a Visiting Fellow),

Winchester School of Art Winchester School of Art is the art school of the University of Southampton, situated 10 miles (14 km) north of Southampton in the city of Winchester near the south coast of England. History Winchester School of Art (WSA) was founded in 1 ...

, University of Southampton; University of the Arts London and

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

. During 2024 he was a Visiting Faculty at the Centre for Advanced Research in Global Communication,

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. Dasgupta has authored and edited several books on media and digital culture, cinema, sexuality, gender, sexual health, anthropology and activism. He has also written for outlets such

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert who faces a moral dilemma when his recordings reveal a potential ...

Tribune Magazine ''Tribune'' is a democratic socialist political magazine founded in 1937 and published in London, initially as a newspaper, then converting to a magazine in 2001. While it is independent, it has usually supported the Labour Party from the left. ...

Left Foot Forward ''Left Foot Forward'' (''LFF'') is a left-wing political news and comment site in the UK, established in 2009. Its creator, Will Straw, the son of Alice Perkins and Jack Straw, edited the newspaper until December 2010. Straw was succeeded ...

, Labour List and the

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

. He has been involved in strike action against pension cuts, organising against homophobia and supporting inclusive relationship and sex education.

Electoral history

2017 general election

2018 local election

2019 European Parliament election

2022 local election

Writing

Books

* (with Gokulsing, K.M., eds) (2014
Masculinity and its Challenges in India: Essays on Changing Perceptions
Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland and Co * (with Datta, S. and Bakshi, K., eds) (2016
Rituparno Ghosh: Cinema, Gender and Art
New Delhi, New York & London: Taylor & Francis: Routledge *(2017
Digital Queer Cultures in India: Politics, Intimacies and Belonging
New Delhi, New York & London: Taylor & Francis: Routledge *(with Dhall, P. ) (2017
Social Media, Sexuality and Sexual Health Advocacy in Kolkata, India
New Delhi & London: Bloomsbury *(with Banerjie, N., Dasgupta, D., and Grant, J., eds) (2017

Kolkata/London: Seagull Books and Chicago: University of Chicago Press *(with Dasgupta, D., eds) (2017

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press * (with Begum, and L. Lewis., eds) (2018)
Styling South Asian Youth Cultures: Fashion, Media and Society
London: Bloomsbury * (with Datta, S) (2019
100 Essential Indian Films
Lanham, MD and London: Rowman and Littlefield * (with Bakshi, K) (2019
Queer Studies: Texts, Contexts, Praxis
Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan * (with Banerjie, N and Boyce, P) (2022
COVID-19 Assemblages: Queer and Feminist Ethnographies from South Asia
London: Routledge * (with Jordan, J, Hitchen, G. et al) (2023
Mapping Innovation in India’s Creative Industries: Policy, Context and Opportunities
London: Routledge * (with Biswas, S and Mahn, C) (2024
Queer Politics in Times of New Authoritarianisms: Popular Culture in South Asia
London: Routledge * (with Clini, C) (2024
The Cultural Industries of India
London: Routledge * (with Ghosh, A and Shringarpure, B) (2024
India’s Imperial Formations: Cultural Perspectives
Teaneck, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press * (with Mahn, C and DJ Ritu) (2025
Desi Queers: LGBTQ+ South Asians and Cultural Belonging in Britain
London: Hurst Publishers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasgupta, Rohit 1987 births Living people Scholars from Kolkata Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Labour Party (UK) councillors Councillors in the London Borough of Newham Indian emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom English LGBTQ politicians Academics of Loughborough University Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society Fellows of the Higher Education Academy Jadavpur University alumni Alumni of the University of West London Alumni of the University of the Arts London Alumni of the University of Westminster