Senior Research Fellow
Dr. M. A. Moid is a Senior Research Fellow at the Anveshi Research Centre for Women Studies, Hyderabad. His research focuses on Hyderabad history and Muslim politics and society, with particular interest in Urdu literature and MIM politics. He holds a PhD in Social Exclusion and Policy from Maulana Azad National Urdu University, where his doctoral work examined sovereignty and minority the problem of Muslim political representation in Hyderabad. Prior to this, he completed a MPhil and MA in Philosophy from the University of Hyderabad.
He is currently overseeing the work of Urdu Short Term fellows who are exploring the Urdu Literary Publics of Hyderabad. Recently, he co-authored book with A. Suneetha, titled Faith in Democracy: Muslim Politics in the Telugu Region was published by Routledge. Previously, he worked with Dastakar Andhra, an organisation of handloom weavers, for over a decade, and is closely associated with the Confederation of Voluntary Associations, Hyderabad. Beyond research, Dr. Moid is actively involved in community engagement, public scholarship and coordinating Anveshi events.
Short Term Fellows (2025-26)
Mohammed Abdul Aleem is a Short Term Fellow at the Anveshi Research Centre for Women Studies, Hyderabad. His research focuses on the Digital Urdu Public Sphere in Hyderabad, with particular interest in Hyderabad’s heritage, cultures, language and history. He holds an MBA and a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is well versed not only in Classical and Modern Persian, but also in Spoken Persian. His research is driven by his love for languages, calligraphy and cultural histories. He has co-written and published an article on “Persian Prose Meets Pulp Fiction: How an 18th Century Fairy Tale Became a Multilingual Phenomenon” published on Scroll.in. He has written on the Persian inscriptions of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty for Qadar-ul-kalam, for an Urdu monthly magazine. He digitised the Arabic calligraphy of Badshahi Ashoorkhana, a heritage mourning hall in Old City, Hyderabad dating to the Qutb Shahi Dynasty, for a research project. He has also translated Persian inscriptions for the book Deccan: Illustrated, Hyderabad, published by Deccan Archive. Apart from research, Aleem is interested in reading Persian literature and watching cinema of all kinds.