I see teaching and research as inherently symbiotic. Being able to teach well is the ultimate test of my own grasp of the literature and pushes me to think about complex ideas in terms of their barest most fundamental components. My central guiding principle as an instructor is to train students how to think, not what to think. I was awarded the P. Terrence Hopmann Award for Excellence in Teaching at Brown. I teach the following courses:

Political Economy of Caste  [Undergraduate Seminar | Spring 2026]

Caste is arguably one of the most important determinants of social and economic outcomes in India. It also shapes politics deeply; hence the common adage, “Indian do not cast their vote, they vote their caste.” This course examines the major themes surrounding the political economy of caste in contemporary India from a multidisciplinary perspective. It is broadly structured in three parts. We begin with core concepts – what is caste? How does it fit within the larger category of ethnicity? How is it different from related concepts like racial hierarchy? Next, we disaggregate the causes of caste inequality – how is caste reproduced and what distinguishes it from class mobility. The second part of the course focuses on how caste affects public policy and development. We pay particular attention to affirmative action or caste reservations and examine the effects of descriptive representation on public goods provision and social attitudes. Part three of the course centers on caste politics – the ideas of social justice that have shaped political ideology in India and the types of political mobilization that emerged from those ideas. We will try to uncover the complexity of caste-based movements, drawing on regional perspectives – North versus South, variation in lower-caste groups – OBC versus Dalit mobilization, and finally the backlash they generate from upper-caste elites. In doing so, we will challenge some of the dominant narratives of patronage politics and affirmative action that have characterized our understanding of caste politics.

Ethnic Hierarchy: Group-based Inequality around the World  [Undergraduate Seminar | Monsoon 2026 | Syllabus]

Ethnic subordination has been a principal way of organizing social relations for most of human history. Perhaps not surprisingly, mobilizations against group-based inequality, under the banners of say nation, race, indigeneity, and caste, have become the paradigmatic form of social movement since the end of the twentieth century. Yet, the idea of hierarchy remains peripheral to the study of ethnicity in mainstream scholarship; ethnicity tends to be conceptualized in terms of “cultural difference” or “diversity” instead. This course problematizes the conventional theories of ethnicity by bringing the idea of group-based hierarchy to the center of ethnic politics. We explore the following question: What are the types of group inequality and why does it matter? Are different hierarchical systems bound by any common underlying principles? What are the mechanisms through which ethnic hierarchy is maintained and reproduced? And finally, how can hierarchy be dismantled? We begin by surveying the literature on social hierarchy in different parts of the world, focusing in particular on the caste system, slavery, and colonialism. The second part of the course examines the consequences of ethnic hierarchy on socioeconomic inequality, state-formation, public goods provision, as well as political mobilization – both elite backlash and subaltern movements. We conclude on an optimistic note by examining models of social justice that go beyond class-based equality of opportunity and uncover instances where group-based hierarchy has been challenged. The themes discussed in the course reflect some of the most researched questions in the field of ethnic politics, drawing on insights from several disciplines in the social sciences, humanities as well as popular writing.

Introduction to Indian Politics/ Politics of India  [Undergraduate Lecture | Monsoon 2026; Winter 2020; Fall 2020 | Syllabus]

“Introduction to Indian Politics” provides an overview of the society, economy, and politics of India through the lens of some of the most influential theories in comparative politics. Each week, we will engage with a seminal political science theory along with empirical works on India that speak to the underlying theme. This format is designed to engage with key debates in the discipline and, in the process, challenge some of its canonical texts. We will focus on six key themes during the course of the semester: i) Colonialism and its legacies, ii) Nationalism and Nation-building, iii) State Formation and State Capacity, iv) Democratization, v) Identity and Ethnicity, and vi) Political Economy of Development. These themes reflect the most researched and debated ideas in the social sciences, as well as the key drivers that have shaped contemporary Indian society and politics. The following key questions will guide us: How did a country with hundreds of ethnic, religious, and linguistic cleavages manage its diversity when other multiethnic countries have disintegrated? How should we make sense of India’s democracy in the context of high rates of poverty, illiteracy, and diversity? How has the subcontinent’s history of colonialism shaped modern day institutions? How has Indian democracy responded to centuries of discrimination based on identity? And finally, how has the Indian state fared in promoting economic growth and social inclusion? As one of the required courses for the political science major at Ashoka, “Introduction to Indian Politics” is carefully designed to explore some of the core questions in both comparative politics and Indian politics.

Ethnicity and Development  [Undergraduate Seminar | Winter 2020; Fall 2020 | Syllabus]

Ethnic diversity is consistently associated with poor public goods provision across countries. The negative relationship between social divisions and development has, in fact, been described as the “most powerful hypotheses in political economy”. But what exactly about diversity hinders social goods? This course will explore the dominant themes in the study of ethnicity and development based on insights from political science, philosophy, sociology, economics, social psychology, anthropology as well as popular writing. We begin with a theoretical understanding of the core concepts: What is development? What is the relationship between identity and ethnicity? What are the social-psychological foundations of identity? We distinguish between public goods and common-pool resources and explore the distinct channels through which diversity shapes cooperation between groups in the maintenance of common resources at the community level as well as how identity can be instrumental in shaping the policy preferences of the political elite and hence state provision of public goods. In the process, we will explore the role of shared culture and social norms, differential preferences of ethnic groups, the effects of status inequality, and finally the historical role of ethnicity in the state-building process and its long-term effects on development. The themes discussed in the course reflect some of the most cutting-edge areas of contemporary research in the field of comparative politics and development.

Comparative Politics of Development  [Graduate Seminar | Winter 2019; Winter 2020 | Syllabus]

Expanding economic, social, and political freedoms remains one of the most significant challenges for the world in the twenty-first century. This course provides an overview of the current debates in development, focusing in particular on the reasons why we observe significant differences in living conditions across political units. We begin with a theoretical understanding of the concept of development and its philosophical underpinnings: what are the goals of development? Is there a relationship between development and freedom? Can the wellbeing of an individual be in conflict with the larger goals of the society? As we explore these questions, we will go through dominant theories that explain why some places enjoy higher levels of wellbeing than others, including modernization theory, the role of historical institutions, class-based coalitions, political regimes, ethnic diversity, social capital, and the nature of state-building. We will trace the history of the modern state in the development process across these themes, both in advanced industrialized societies and emerging economies. We conclude by narrowing in on the distinct challenges of development in multiethnic and postcolonial societies. The readings address the “big questions” in the field as well as microlevel theories of collective action by drawing on research in political science, sociology, economics, and anthropology.