Mihir Rajamane
Other affiliations
Exeter College Feminist Jurisprudence Discussion Group
Biography
Mihir (he/they) is a DPhil Candidate in Socio-Legal Studies. His doctoral research project looks at the legal recognition of gender minorities in South India, with a focus on schemes of affirmative action. Broadly, he reads and writes about trans, queer and feminist legal theory, socio-legal studies, constitutionalism, equality and judicial systems.
Mihir currently serves as a co-convenor of the Feminist Jurisprudence Discussion Group, and a part-time Research Fellow at the Centre for Law & Policy Research. They are also a Visiting Doctoral Scholar at the National Law School University of India. They have previously been a Waynflete Academic in Law at Magdalen College School, Oxford, and a legal journalist in Bangalore, India.
Mihir holds a BA in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford, where he was awarded the Law Faculty Prize for Feminist Perspectives in Law and a Demy-Scholarship by Magdalen College. He also holds an LLM in Transnational Law from King's College London, and was awarded the Best student in Transnational Law as well as Best dissertation in Transnational Law. At both Oxford and King's, he has taken up various roles for student community, outreach and access, and had success in mooting.
They have presented work at the Courts and Constitution Conference 2022, Transform: National Conference on Transgender Rights and the Law 2022, RHUL Symposium on Diversity in the Indian Judiciary and Legal Profession 2024 and the MK Nambyar SAARC Law Centre Law and Democracy Workshop in 2025. They have also written for various web platforms including the Oxford Human Rights Hub blog, Doing Sociology, The Quint, The Leaflet and the Supreme Court Observer.
Publications
Chapters
Mihir Rajamane and Vibha Swaminathan, ‘Navigating Reservations for Transgender Persons under the Indian Constitution’ in J Kothari (ed.), Transforming Rights: How Law shapes Transgender Lives, Community and Identity in India (QD 2026)
Conference Papers
Mihir Rajamane, ‘Can Judges Say ’I Don’t Know’: Knowledge Diversity in the Indian Judiciary’ (Diversity in the Legal & Judicial Profession: The Politics of Merit and Exclusion in India) Conference
Mihir Rajamane and Sudhir Krishnaswamy, ‘Suo Motu Writ Jurisdiction at the Supreme Court: A Quantitative Study’ (The Courts and the Constitution Conference) Conference
Mihir Rajamane and Vibha Swaminathan V, ‘EWS Reservations and Democracy’ (MK Nambyar SAARC Law Centre Law and Democracy Workshop) Conference
Selected Online Publications
Mihir Rajamane, 'Not Just Trans People, the 2026 Bill Expands State Control Over Everyone' (The Quint, 26 March 2026) View
Mihir Rajamane, ‘Gendered Bodies and Worlds of Labour: Re-Conceptualising Dignity After Puttaswamy vs. Union of India by Kalpana Kannabiran and Devi Jagani (2024): A Review by Mihir Rajamane’ (Doing Sociology, 20 October 2024) View
Mihir Rajamane, ‘How Much Does the Marriage Equality Judgment Support Further Queer Demands?’ (The Quint, 21 October 2023) View
Mihir Rajamane, ‘Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: A missed opportunity for horizontal equality’ (Supreme Court Observer, 23 August 2023) View
Mihir Rajamane, ‘Supreme Court handbook on gender stereotypes: Progressive, but will the law catch up?’ (Supreme Court Observer, 19 August 2023) View
Mihir Rajamane and Jayna Kothari, ‘Litigation as a Tool for Change: Transgender Rights in India’ (Smeal Review, 1 December 2021) View
Blog Posts
Mihir Rajamane, ‘A Socio-Legal Analysis of the Kenyan High Court’s Legal Recognition of Transgender Persons’ (Constitutional Law and Philosophy, 5 October 2025) View
Mihir Rajamane, ‘Defining ‘Woman’ in Law? Contextualising the Indian High Court Judgment That Affirms Trans Women Are Women’ (Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog, 24 July 2025) View
Mihir Rajamane and Deeksha Viswanathan, ‘The Supreme Court’s Marriage Equality Judgment – IV: Between Gendered and Neutral Approaches – Untying the Bench’s Self-Made Knots’ (Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy, 2 November 2023) View
Mihir Rajamane and Mansi Singh, ‘Welfare as a Human Right: An Intersectional Approach to Trans Rights in India’ (Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog, 12 April 2022) View