Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Fellow Explorers of Ideas,

It is an honor—and quite honestly a pleasure—to serve as Academic Affairs Coordinator for the Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies. This role allows me to be at the heart of everything I love to do—bridging people, exchanging ideas, and facilitating interdisciplinary collaborative opportunities with transformative ideas and investigations to empower our misconceptions about the world.

Here, we don’t just undertake scholarship for scholarship’s sake to stay confined in libraries and at conferences (although we appreciate those, too). We engage with research that seeks to create an intervention for the greater good, getting our hands dirty with some of the most challenging, complicated contemporary concerns that plague South Asia.

For example, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate on the Global Justice and Policy Reform Program, a joint investigation with the National Law Institute of India and human rights-based NGOs across the globe. To have our research used as a vehicle for policy change in a country with vulnerable populations—mainly in some of the most convoluted metropolitan areas—was fulfilling.

We’ve similarly worked with the UNDP and the WHO on the Urban Health Equity Project, capturing the realities of health access in South Asia’s burgeoning metropolises. It’s exciting to have this work impact the redrawing of health plans moving forward.

But more than the projects mentioned above, my favorite part about what I do is the collaboration that initiates good-natured debate, genuine inquiry, and unexpected teaching moments. As part of our Editorial Exchange, we’ve hosted visitors from Oxford and the Seoul Institute for Policy Studies. Each visit teaches us something intriguing beyond specified academic fields; they humanize us.

I look forward to continuing this with all of you. All scholars, practitioners, and activists alike—if you have a passion for South Asia and are committed to thoughtful inquiry and collaborative efforts moving forward, please get in touch.

Let’s continue to push each other with challenging questions and inquiry, and see where our New Possibilities take us!rve as the Academic Affairs Coordinator here at the Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies. This role places me right at the heart of what I love most: connecting with people, exchanging ideas, and building collaborations that cross borders and challenge assumptions.

Around here, we see scholarship not just as something that lives in libraries or gets presented at conferences (although we do love those too!). For us, research is also about rolling up our sleeves and engaging with the big, messy, real-world questions that shape South Asia today.

One project that’s especially close to my heart is our Global Justice and Policy Reform Program. It’s been an extraordinary partnership with the National Law Institute of India and several international human rights organizations. Seeing our research contribute directly to policy changes that protect marginalized communities — especially in some of the most complex urban environments — has been deeply rewarding.

We’re also collaborating closely with the UNDP and the WHO on the Urban Health Equity Project, tackling the tangled challenges of healthcare access in South Asia’s rapidly expanding cities. It’s inspiring to watch this work begin to reshape how public health systems are being reimagined for the future.

But truthfully, what I treasure most about this role isn’t found in reports or programs — it’s in the friendships, conversations, and unexpected moments of learning that happen along the way. Through our Scholarly Exchange Program, we’ve had the joy of welcoming visiting scholars from Oxford, the Seoul Institute for Policy Studies, and many other institutions. Every exchange leaves us wiser, more curious, and above all, more connected.

Looking ahead, I’m genuinely excited about where this journey might take us next. If you’re a scholar, a policymaker, or simply someone passionate about South Asia and eager to think deeply and work collaboratively — I would love to hear from you.

Let’s keep asking hard questions. Let’s stay curious. And let’s see what new possibilities we can create together.