Head of Research & Operations Director
Senior Research Associate
Research Associate
Junior Research Associate
Research Intern
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 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 co-edited the ORCAxISDP Special Issue "The Dalai Lama's Succession: Strategic Realities of the Tibet Question" and edited the ORCAxWICCI Special Issue "Building the Future of EU-India Strategic Partnership: Between Trade, Technology, Security and China." She can be reached on eerishikap@gmail.com
Rahul Karan Reddy is an international relations analyst with a Masters degree from O.P Jindal Global University in Diplomacy, Law and Business. He is the author of ‘Islands on the Rocks’, a monograph detailing the Senkaku/Diaoyu island dispute between China and Japan. His research focus is China and East Asia. He was a research analyst at the Chennai Center for China Studies (C3S) and an intern at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), writing articles and reports on China’s foreign policy and domestic politics. His blog, Asian Drama, follows the rise of India and China as they navigate the Asian Century. He can be reached on rahulkaran.reddy@gmail.com
A postgraduate in Global Studies from Ambedkar University, Delhi, 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 Democratic Institutions in India. His forthcoming projects at ORCA include a co-edited Special Issue on India’s Soft Power Diplomacy in South Asia, Tracing India’s Path as the Voice of the Global South and Deconstructing Beijing’s ‘Global’ Narratives.
Omkar Bhole is a Senior Research Associate at Organization for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). He is a Chinese language student and completed Masters in China Studies from Somaiya University, Mumbai. He has completed the HSK 4 level of Chinese language proficiency and works as a Chinese language instructor. His research interests are China’s foreign policy in Asia, China’s economic transformation and China’s domestic politics. He has previously done internships at the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) and What China Reads. He has also presented a paper at the 1st All India Conference of East Asian Studies and 16th All India Conference on China Studies. He can be reached @bhole_omkar on Twitter or him email at obhole96@gmail.com
Trishala S is a Junior Research Associate at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). Holding an undergraduate degree from FLAME University, she specialized in Sociology with a minor in Public Policy. Possessing a profound interest in the intricate dynamics of socio-political landscapes and policy realms, she seeks to dissect their complexities. Her pursuits extend to the exploration of the intersections between gender studies, culture, activism, and legal dimensions, reflecting a multifaceted engagement with pressing societal issues. She can be reached at trishalasasianandkumar@gmail.com
Kriti is an undergraduate student at FLAME University pursuing Data Science and Economics. She is proficient in C++, Python, MySQL, and data visualisation tools such as Tableau. Her areas of interest lie in building predictive models and utilising machine learning to enhance decision-making and tackle real-world challenges.
Kushal Agrawal is a Research Associate at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia. He has a robust background, having worked at the Indian Pugwash Society and MP-IDSA. He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies from Jindal Global University and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Mumbai. Kushal has produced comprehensive news digests and issue briefs and has coordinated high-profile events, offering valuable insights into global and regional issues.
Aditi Dash is an undergraduate student of Literary and Cultural Studies at FLAME University. Her interests span the academic study of literature and art history, as well as anthropological concepts of culture and social behaviour.
Akshata is an undergraduate student majoring in International Studies at FLAME University. Her primary interests lie in research and cultural perspectives in politics.
Diksha is currently an undergraduate student at FLAME University, Pune. She is pursuing her degree in BA with a major in Literary and Cultural Studies and minor in Sociology. Writing is a part of her primary focus in building her career and one way to cater to that is by diversifying her academic reach in a field such as international relations. She is an avid reader and writes fiction in her leisure time.
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