Welcome! I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Reuters Institute, University of Oxford. In Fall 2023, I will be joining Texas Tech University as Assistant Professor of Political Science. Previously, I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Deliberative Media Lab (part of the Democracy Initiative) at the University of Virginia. I hold a Ph.D. in Government from the University of Essex.

My research consists of three interlinked pathways. Together, they explore themes and scholarship on political behavior, ethnicity and race, political communication, and politics of South Asia.

The first track studies the causal effects of Misinformation on intergroup relations and political behavior in diverse societies. It investigates the implications of ‘fake news’ (spread via Whatsapp and related social media) on ethnic relations, political behavior, and public policy choices in India is funded by Facebook, and grants from the University of Virginia’s Democracy Initiative and the Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation.  Some of the media reports on the award can be found here (1, 2, 3, 4).

The second path, funded by grants from the University of Virginia, studies how social capital, evidenced by residential segregation along ethnic and racal lines informs belief in misinformation, which, in turn, influences political behavior and attitudes towards identity outgroups.

The third lane studies the behavioral determinants and mechanisms behind women’s political representation in South Asia. The research is endowed by the International Growth Centre based in the London School of Economics.

Please feel free to get in touch!