Her research focuses on the cultural politics of environment and development. Her first book In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley, discussed the struggle for survival by Adivasis in central India against a large dam. Her subsequent work further explores the themes of resource rights, subaltern resistance and cultural identity. She has edited Waterlines: The Penguin Book of River Writings , Waterscapes: The Cultural Politics of a Natural Resource and Contested Grounds: Essays on Nature, Culture and Power. Baviskar has taught at the University of Delhi, and has been a visiting professor at Stanford, Cornell and the University of California at Berkeley. She is co-editor of the journal Contributions to Indian Sociology. She was awarded the 2005 Malcolm Adiseshiah Award for distinguished contributions to development studies.