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 focus on migration, identity, and democratic accountability in South Asia. My dissertation examines the political consequences of internal economic migration in the context of a low-income democracy. I study how accessible migration opportunities can foster political disengagement among left-behind populations and undermine collective action in sending societies. In addition to developing a book project based on my dissertation, I am working on two collaborative projects, (i) exploring how exposure to slow-onset disasters—such as recurrent floods, sea level rise, droughts and desertification—reshape citizen-state relations in areas with weak formal institutions, and (ii) evaluating the effects of electoral gender quotas on street-level public service provision. All of my projects are based in India and draw on a mix of methodological approaches, including longitudinal and panel 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), SurveyCTO, the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India (UPIASI), and the Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science.

Prior to graduate school, 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.