Team ORCA Team ORCA

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. 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]

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 is also the co-convenor of ORCA's Global Conference on New Sinology (GCNS), which is India's premier dialogue driven China conference. He can be reached on [email protected]

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. 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 can be reached out at [email protected]

Omkar Bhole is a Senior Research Associate at Organization for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). 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 a Chinese language student and completed Masters in China Studies from Somaiya University, Mumbai. His research interests are China’s domestic economy, China's trade relations with other countries, its foreign policy in South Asia 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 email at [email protected]

Trishala S is a Research Associate at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). She holds a degree in Sociology with a minor in Public Policy from FLAME University. Trishala’s research interests lie at the intersection of socio-political dynamics, family and gender studies, with a particular focus on China. Her work examines the effects of aging populations, gender disparities, and rural-urban migration on social welfare, labor policies, and the integration of migrants into urban environments. She is also the co-convenor of ORCA's Global Conference on New Sinology (GCNS), which is India's premier dialogue driven China conference. She can be reached at [email protected]

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.

I am Shreya Parthiban, a 3rd year undergraduate student pursuing International Relations and Economics at Sai University, Chennai. I am currently working as a Research Intern at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia. I have previously interned at The Peninsula Foundation, The Prajnya Trust, and The Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), as Research Interns in the field of International Relations and Policy making. My interests mainly include Global Politics, Foreign Affairs, Policymaking, Sustainability, Climate Change, and International Relations in general. I look forward to working in the field of research in China and Asia and plan to pursue a career in policy research and international development in the future.

Lipun Kumar Sanbad, a postgraduate student of Politics and International Relations from Pondicherry University and a History and Political science graduate from University of Delhi. From the past three years working as a freelance researcher in the domain of global peace, conflict and security studies, and defence studies.

Yasheeta Sulakhe is a Research Intern at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). She holds two master’s degrees: one in International Relations & Strategic Studies from the University of Mumbai. She is currently pursuing another in China Studies at Somaiya School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Somaiya Vidyavihar University. Her academic focus spans India-China relations, comparative political thought, and the impact of classical strategic texts like Sun Tzu’s Art of War and Kautilya’s Arthashastra on modern foreign policy. Her research interests also include contemporary China, climate change and territorial disputes in South Asia. She has participated in the Chinese Bridge Indian Youth Delegation Program and cleared three levels of the Mandarin HSK exam. Outside academia, she is an experienced volleyball player and coach, and holds an NCC ‘C’ Certificate.