Publications

• Sathya D. & Kottai S. R. (2025) “Mental health of descendants of Indian indentured labourers in Suriname: A scoping review.” International Journal of Social Psychiatry, (Sage publication) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00207640251412216 

• Sathya D. & Kottai S. R. (2025) “Mental health of descendants of Indian indentured labourers in Guyana: A Scoping review” Geopsychiatry, (Elsevier publication) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geopsy.2025.100042

• Sathya D. & Kottai SR. Archives, mental health systems, and the history of mental health in colonial South India: Critical questions. Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. Published online first on December 6, 2025. DOI: doi.org/10.20529/IJME.2025.092 (This work was reviewed by Prof. Shardhanand Harinandan Singh, Hon. Professor of Girmitiyology, EIMT, Zürich, Switzerland, under the title "Girmitiyalogy Mental Health in Colonial South India reviewed December 11 2025" https://www.academia.edu/145370515/Girmitiyalogy_Mental_Health_in_Colonial_South_India_revieuwed_December_11_2025).

• Review of the article Sathya D. & Kottai, S. R. (2025). Archives, mental health systems, and the history of mental health in colonial South India: Critical questions" by 

• Sathya D. (2025), "Breaking the Barriers: A Journey of a First-Generation Woman Scholar", Eds. Uttam Gaulee, Krishna Bista and Courtney Brown: In First in Family: narratives of first-generation college journey, Vol. 3, pp. 17-21. Star Scholars Press, Maryland, USA. ISBN: 979-8-89524-044-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32674/nza4d056

Opinion page – Newspaper 

• Sathya D. & Sudarshan R. Kottai. (2026, January 7).  Scars that survive, Telegraph India.  https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/scars-that-survive-the-intergenerational-impact-of-colonial-indentureship-on-indian-diaspora-prnt/cid/2141420

Organised international exhibition at Kochi, Kerala

• As part of the Kerala urban conclave, an international exhibition on “The story worth telling: Unforgettable journey of Indian indentured labourers to South Africa (1860-1911) – A visual narrative” in collaboration with the Consulate General of India, Durban, South Africa (funding agency); the Gandhi Luthuli Documentation Centre, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; and the Local Self-Government Department (LSGD), Government of Kerala, at Maharaja’s College, Eranakulam, from September 11 to 14, 2025.

Paper presented - International conference

• Presented a paper on “Mental health discourses on descendants of Indian indentured labourers in Guyana—a scoping review” at the International Indentured History Conference organised by The 1860 Indentured Labourers Foundation, Verulam, and The Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre (ICC) held at Durban, South Africa, between 3rd and 5th August 2025.

• Presented a paper on “Mental health discourses on descendants of Indian indentured labourers in Guyana—a scoping review” at the Global Indian Diaspora Conference organised by the National Council for Indian Culture, Trinidad, South America, on May 31, 2025 (virtual mode)

Research grants and awards

• Got selected for the "Tamil Nadu Council of Historical Research Grant 2025-26" by the Tamil Nadu Council of Historical Research, Chennai (Government of Tamil Nadu). 

• Recipient of the Girmitiyalogy award from the Global Girmitiya Lineage Archive & Searching Centre (GGLASC), Bihar, India, for contributions made in promoting global girmitiyalogy awareness, issued on 12 January 2026.  https://gglasc.com/awardees

• Receive Rs. 200,000 research contingency from IIT Palakkad (funded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Government of India) to present a paper at an international conference and collect archival sources from South Africa, 3 to 22 August 2025 (20 days)

Invited lectures

• Invited as the guest at the National Seminar organised by the Department of English, Bharathidasan Government College for Women, Puducherry, on 10 October 2025. She delivered the valedictory address on the topic " Cultural Determinants of Mental Health among Historically Marginalised Communities – The Need for a Paradigm Shift"

• Delivered an online lecture at the Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre (ICC) as part of the ICC Thought Leaders’ Forum on 12 October 2025. Her lecture was titled "Mental Health of Descendants of Indian Indentured Labourers, with Special Reference to Suriname and Guyana – The Need for a Paradigm Shift".

Media appearance

• Our research findings on Indian indentured labourers were published in the leading newspaper "The Asian Times" on November 11, 2025. thesouthasiantimes.info/do-not-miss/news/the-state-of-mental-health-of-indians-in-the-diaspora/63

Training programme/workshop/conference attended

• Completed a ten-day GIAN course on “Culture and Health: Ethnographic Perspectives and Methods” conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad, held from July 8 to 20, 2025.

• The Medico Friend Circle (MFC) mid-annual meeting was held on “People’s health in the era of globalisation” at the Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience (IMHANS), Calicut (Kozhikode), Kerala, on 8 and 9 August 2024.

• A research writing workshop on “Here What Happened: Historians as Literary Sleuths” was held at Roja Muthiah Research Library, Chennai, on December 14, 2024.

• International Symposium on “Shaping the AI Landscape: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Technology, Society, and the Future” in collaboration with York University, Canada, and the Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad, Kerala, on 3 and 4 March 2025.

• Attended an online workshop on "Transforming Manuscript into Book" conducted by Khidki and Cambridge University Press on November 18, 2025.

Field visit

• Pietermaritzburg Archival Repository, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

• Gandhi-Luthuli Documentation Centre, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

• Bessie Head (Msunduzi) Municipality Library, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

• Tamil Nadu State Archives and Historical Research, Chennai.

• Kerala State Archives—Calicut branch.

• Institute of Mental Health (IMH), Chennai.

• Govt. Mental Health Centre, Calicut.