About Me
Hello! I am a political anthropologist, and my research examines how refugees and non-citizens create alternative social and political formations that extend beyond the traditional boundaries of nation-states and sovereignty. I received my PhD with distinction in Anthropology and South Asia Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022, and I currently serve as an Assistant Instructional Professor at the Pozen Center for Human Rights at the University of Chicago.
For over a decade, I have worked closely with the Tibetan refugee community in India and the United States. My research focuses on their liberation movement and distinct political systems, exploring how they carve out national worlds despite being fragmented across nation-states. Particularly, I study their grassroots politics and community-driven actions, which reveal how non-sovereign communities continue to build and sustain national projects in the absence of territorial sovereignty. My work underscores the urgency of addressing global challenges such as statelessness and migration by placing refugee voices at the center of the conversation. I have presented this work not only in academic circles but also in policy discussions.
Before joining the University of Chicago, I was the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities in Leadership Learning Series (HILLS) at Case Western Reserve University and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Asian Democracy at the University of Louisville. I also hold a Master’s degree in Media and Cultural Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in India.
My aim as a teacher is to guide students in critically engaging with the complexities of migration, displacement, and world-making in a geopolitical landscape shaped by political violence and climate crises. My courses explore themes of refugeehood, racism, and xenophobia, the intersections of geopolitics and capital, and the many dimensions of resistance and community-building. Like my research and teaching, my service is rooted in a commitment to social justice. I have organized and led workshops on citizenship rights and democracy at the Andrea Mitchell Center for Democracy (2021), the Wolf Humanities seminar on migration (2022), co-hosted the “Inside Asia” podcast at the University of Louisville (2023-2024), and served as an Associate Editor of Himalaya, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to amplifying regional scholarship (2021-2024)
Outside of my professional life, I am deeply drawn to the stillness of mountains on moonlit nights, having spent many evenings in the Himalayan foothills. On quieter evenings, I enjoy a glass of bourbon and a salmon roll, with the soulful sounds of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone as my company.