Contact
Department of Political Science
Vanderbilt University
230 Appleton Place
355 Commons
Nashville TN 37203
I am a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Vanderbilt University. In Fall 2025, I will begin a new position as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Global Studies at Swarthmore College.
My research lies at the intersection of comparative political behavior and the political economy of development, with a regional focus on South Asia. I study questions related to migration, identity, and democratic accountability. My dissertation—Exit as Disengagement: The Political Implications of Economic Migration in a Low-Income Democracy—examines the political implications of internal economic migration in rural India, focusing on how access to private coping mechanisms—such as migration—shapes citizen-state relations and political engagement in out-migration areas. My work also explores how politicians respond when significant portions of their electorate migrate, and the implications this has for political accountability in low and middle-income countries.
In addition to developing a book project based on my dissertation, I am working on two collaborative projects that (i) explore how exposure to slow-onset disasters—such as extreme heat, sea level rise, and recurrent floods—shape citizen-state relations in weak institutional settings, and (ii) evaluate the impact of electoral gender quotas on street-level public service provision. All of my projects are based in India and employ a range of methodological approaches, including panel and longitudinal designs, household surveys, survey experiments, and immersive ethnographic fieldwork. My research has been supported by the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), the American Political Science Association (APSA), the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India (UPIASI), and the Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science.
Prior to my graduate studies, I worked at a survey research organization in New Delhi, where I supervised public opinion surveys across more than ten Indian states. I hold an M.A. in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a B.A. (Hons.) in Political Science from Hindu College, University of Delhi.
In addition to developing a book project based on my dissertation, I am working on two collaborative projects that (i) explore how exposure to slow-onset disasters—such as extreme heat, sea level rise, and recurrent floods—shape citizen-state relations in weak institutional settings, and (ii) evaluate the impact of electoral gender quotas on street-level public service provision. All of my projects are based in India and employ a range of methodological approaches, including panel and longitudinal designs, household surveys, survey experiments, and immersive ethnographic fieldwork. My research has been supported by the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), the American Political Science Association (APSA), the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India (UPIASI), and the Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science.
Prior to my graduate studies, I worked at a survey research organization in New Delhi, where I supervised public opinion surveys across more than ten Indian states. I hold an M.A. in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a B.A. (Hons.) in Political Science from Hindu College, University of Delhi.