Hello! जिंदाबाद!

I am a student and researcher of governance and development in South Asia. My academic and experiential work grapples with questions of how political representation and development is realized in unexpected and divergent ways, particularly among tribal (Adivasi) communities in India. I am currently a PhD student in the Department of Political Science at Yale University.

My research explores three different lines of inquiry at the intersection of comparative politics and political economy. First, my prospective dissertation project examines how granting of property and representational rights transform forests and self-governance by tribal communities in India. Second, across solo and coauthored articles I study political intermediaries, exploring how party-voter linkages are shaped by local brokers, civil society organizations, and party workers . Third, in co-authored work, I investigate pathways and challenges to political representation across different levels of governance.

I bring multiple years of observing governance and claim-making by tribal communities in Western India - across the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh - to my research. I have extensive experience in leading large survey teams for my projects and creating original observational datasets of rural governance bodies in India. I continue to partner with a local tribal-rights NGO to identify ways to improve tribal governance and climate adaptability.