I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen's University. I am based at Harvard University this year as a visiting scholar in the Department of Government. I study how social identity – ethnicity, class, and particularly social status – shapes political mobilization and redistributive politics. 

Why do politicians from marginal groups prioritize “identity politics” even when majority of their constituents live in poverty? How does social hierarchy shape public goods provision? When do diverse communities work together to improve local infrastructure? My research explores questions such as these through an interdisciplinary and multi-methodological lens, focusing on India.  I rely extensively on fieldwork and primary sources, particularly on historical data.

My work has attracted support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, International Growth Center, the American Institute of India Studies, Smith Richardson Foundation, the Library of Congress, MIT, Queen's University, and various centers at Brown University.  I received a PhD in Political Science from Brown University and a Masters in International Development from MIT. Between the two degrees, I worked on policy research for the World Bank in Washington DC. I also volunteered with a protest movement turned political party in Delhi for about a year.

I am currently working on my first book project, The Politics of Dignity. More information on other ongoing research can be found here. Feel free to reach out if you would like to chat about my work!