Hello/Namaskar!

I am a student and researcher of political representation and development in rural India. My academic and experiential work grapples with questions of how political representation and development is realized in unexpected and divergent ways, particularly among rural tribal communities in India. In Fall 2025, I will begin as a PhD student in Political Science at Yale University.

Currently my research pursues four different lines of inquiry. First, my prospective dissertation focuses on how the extension of political self-governance and forest management rights to tribal communities in rural India shape efforts towards community development and climate resilience. Second, in collaboration with Alyssa Heinze, I explain why election delays and vacancies in local governance bodies in India fail to generate political counter-mobilization. Third, with Feyaad Allie, I explain how non-partisan grassroots organizations balance electoral engagement in support of parties while retaining their autonomy. Fourth, in separate projects with Feyaad Allie and Rahul Verma, I explain how nascent ambition to run for elected office shapes attitudes of citizens and party workers towards hierarchical party systems and dynastic politics.

I graduated with a MA in Political Science (Development Studies) in May 2024 from McGill University, Canada. I have been a member of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship (CSDC) and the Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID) in Montreal, as well as a fellow at the Consortium on Analytics for Data-Drive Decision-Making (CAnD3). Prior to my MA, I completed a BA (First Class Honours) in Political Science at McGill University.