I am a Visiting Assistant Professor of Global Studies at Swarthmore College. My research lies at the intersection of comparative political economy and political behavior, with a substantive focus on migration, development, and identity politics, and a regional focus on South Asia.

My work examines how access to private coping mechanisms, such as economic migration, shapes citizen-state relations and political accountability in developing countries. I also study how local elected officials respond to large-scale migration, and the consequences this has for governance and local development in origin communities.

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 shape citizen-state relations in weak institutional contexts such as urban slums and remote villages, and (ii) evaluate the impact of electoral gender quotas on the provision of public services. All of my projects are based in India and employ a range of methodological approaches, including longitudinal and panel designs, original surveys, experiments, and immersive ethnographic fieldwork. My research has been supported by the American Institute of Indian Studies, American Political Science Association, University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India, and Vanderbilt's College of Arts and Science.
 
I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University. Before 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 also 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.