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Convenor

Eerishika Pankaj is the Director of New Delhi based think-tank, the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA), which focuses on decoding domestic Chinese politics and its impact on Beijing’s foreign policymaking. She is also the Convenor of ORCA's Global Conference on New Sinology (GCNS), which is India's premier dialogue driven China conference. She is also an Editorial and Research Assistant to the Series Editor for Routledge Series on Think Asia; a Young Leader in the 2020 cohort of the Pacific Forum’s Young Leaders Program; a Commissioning Editor with E-International Relations for their Political Economy section; a Member of the Indo-Pacific Circle and a Council Member of the WICCI’s India-EU Business Council. Primarily a China and East Asia scholar, her research focuses on Chinese elite/party politics, the India-China border, water and power politics in the Himalayas, Tibet, the Indo-Pacific and India’s bilateral ties with Europe and Asia. In 2023, she was selected as an Emerging Quad Think Tank Leader, an initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Leaders Lead on Demand program. She was recognised as a youth icon on India’s first 25 under 25 List for policy and politics in 2022 by Young India Foundation. Eerishika is the co-editor of the book 'The Future of Indian Diplomacy: Exploring Multidisciplinary Lenses' and of the Special Issues on 'The Dalai Lama’s Succession: Strategic Realities of the Tibet Question' as well as 'Building the Future of EU-India Strategic Partnership'. She can be reached on [email protected]

Co-Convenor

Rahul Karan Reddy is Senior Research Associate at Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). He works on domestic Chinese politics and trade, producing data-driven research in the form of reports, dashboards and digital media. He is the author of ‘Islands on the Rocks’, a monograph on the Senkaku/Diaoyu island dispute between China and Japan. He is the creator of the India-China Trade dashboard, the Chinese Provincial Development Indicators dashboard and co-lead for the project ‘Episodes of India-China Exchanges: Modern Bridges and Resonant Connections’. He is co-convenor of ORCA’s annual conference, the Global Conference on New Sinology (GCNS) and co-editor of ORCA’s daily newsletter, Conversations in Chinese Media (CiCM). He was previously a Research Analyst at the Chennai Center for China Studies (C3S), working on China’s foreign policy and domestic politics. His work has been published in The Diplomat, 9 Dash Line, East Asia Forum, ISDP & Tokyo Review, among others. He is also the Director of ORCA Consultancy.

Co-Convenor

Omkar Bhole is a Senior Research Associate at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). He has studied Chinese language up to HSK4 and completed Masters in China Studies from Somaiya University, Mumbai. He has previously worked as a Chinese language instructor in Mumbai and Pune. His research interests are India’s neighbourhood policy, China’s foreign policy in South Asia, economic transformation and current dynamics of Chinese economy and its domestic politics. He was previously associated with the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) and What China Reads. He has also presented papers at several conferences on China. Omkar is currently working on understanding China’s Digital Yuan initiative and its implications for the South Asian region including India. He can be reached at [email protected] and @bhole_omkar on Twitter.

Co-Convenor

Ratish Mehta is a Senior Research Associate at Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). He is the co-editor of the Special Issue on India’s Soft Power Diplomacy in South Asia and serves as the co-lead for the project ‘The Episodes of India-China Exchanges: Modern Bridges and Resonant Connections’, which is rooted in the desire to enhance public consciousness of cross-cultural contributions of both societies. Ratish’s area of interest includes understanding the value of Narratives, Rhetoric and Ideology in State and Non-State interactions, deconstructing political narratives in Global Affairs as well as focusing on India’s Foreign Policy interests in the Global South and South Asia. He was previously associated with The Pranab Mukherjee Foundation and has worked on projects such as Indo-Sino relations, History of the Constituent Assembly of India and the Evolution of its Democratic Institutions. He is also the co-convenor of ORCA's Global Conference on New Sinology (GCNS), which is India's premier dialogue driven China conference. He is an alumnus of Ambedkar University, Delhi.

Co-Convenor

Ophelia Yumlembam is a Research Associate at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). Before joining ORCA, she worked at the Dept. Of Political Science, University of Delhi, and interned at the Council for Strategic and Defence Research in New Delhi. She graduated with an M.A. in Political Science from the DU in 2023. Ophelia focuses on security and strategic-related developments in Myanmar, India's Act East Policy, India-Myanmar relations, and drugs and arms trafficking in India’s North Eastern Region. Her writings have been featured in the Diplomat, South Asian Voices (Stimson Centre), 9dashline, Observer Research Foundation, among other platforms.

Chitra Nair is a Research Associate at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). She is a postgraduate in Chinese Studies from SOAS University of London, holding a bachelor’s degree in International Relations with a minor in Environmental Studies from FLAME University, India. Her research explores contemporary Chinese politics, digital activism, political expression and censorship. She is especially interested in how the state and citizens negotiate power and legitimacy, questions which she seeks to explore through a political sociology lens. She previously interned at the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi, where she published work on media censorship and the queer community in China. Her dissertation, Digital Panopticon : Activism and State Surveillance in China, examines digital activism and censorship in China through three key case studies.

Afridi Ahmed is a Administrative Assistant and Junior Researcher at Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). He is a postgraduate in Conflict Analysis and Peacebuilding from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. His research interests span strategic studies, Japanese foreign policy, and China’s strategic interactions across South and Southeast Asia.

Neha Maurya is a Project Assistant at Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). A recent graduate of FLAME University with a major in International Studies and a minor in Public Policy, her research interests include strategic studies, governance, and education policy. She is interested in contributing to research that informs effective policy design and implementation.

Arushi Sharma is a Research Intern at Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). She is a recent postgraduate in East Asian Studies from the University of Delhi and holds a Bachelor's degree in Chinese Language from K.R. Mangalam University. She has previously worked as a Subject Matter Expert in Mandarin Language at Unacademy. Her primary research interests focus on China's domestic politics and international economic statecraft.

Musssaib Rasool Mir is the Conference Coordinator, GCNS 2026 at ORCA and a Senior Research Fellow at the School of International Studies, Department of South and Central Asian Studies, Central University of Punjab, India. He has done his masters in Political Science from the Department of Political Science, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal Srinagar. He has qualified for JKSET, UGC NET, AND JRF. Also, he has been a contributor to various local as well as online portals like Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir, The Geopolitics, Mainstream Weekly, The Pioneer, etc. His ongoing Ph.D. research thesis is titled ‘Situating China in the Bilateral Relationship of India & USA, 2012-2022.’ Author has also presented papers at various national and international conferences in India like SOLH Woxsen University Hyderabad, RGNUL Patiala, Delhi University, IPSA, etc. Author has also published research articles in Journal of Political Science and International Relations, Inclusive Journal, IUP Journal of International Relations, Indian Studies Review, Indian Journal of International Studies, Chinese Journal of International Review, Journal of Peace Studies, Journal of Political Science and International Relations, etc. The author also published a book “Fundamentals of Political Science with the JSR Publications” in 2024.

Chhavista Singh is the Conference Coordinator, GCNS 2026 at ORCA and she is pursuing a Master’s in International Relations at South Asian University, New Delhi. Her interests lie in geopolitics, public policy, and soft power, with experience in research, youth diplomacy, and cross-cultural engagement through academic and international initiatives.

Bhumika Verma is the Conference Coordinator, GCNS 2026 at ORCA and an MA International Relations student at South Asian University. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Delhi. Her research interests include Chinese foreign policy, China in South Asia, feminist IR, and strategic narratives. She has previously worked with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE), contributing to research on India–China relations, BRICS and Buddhist diplomacy. Her broader interests lie in understanding China's evolving role in the regional and global order. Driven by curiosity, she has a habit of asking questions wherever she goes, turning that curiosity into research, conversations, and a constant search for new perspectives.