Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

• 2025. “Violent Sustainability: Blitzscale and counteraccounting in an Indian agtech start-Up.” Economic Anthropology. https://doi.org/10.1002/sea2.12333.
• 2017. “Mobilization in Vidarbha: A Comparative Study.” Economic and Political Weekly 52(39): 46-53. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26698515.

Public Writing

• 2021. “State of Rural and Agrarian India Report 2020: Rethinking Productivity and Populism through Alternative Approaches,” (co-authored with Richa Kumar, PS Vijayshankar, and AR Vasavi) Chennai: Notion Press. (translated and published in multiple Indian languages). http://www.ruralagrarianstudies.org/state-of-rural-and-agrarian-india-report-2020/
• 2021. “As agribusinesses proliferate, who is talking about sustainability of Indian agriculture?,” India in Transition, Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania, December 20. https://casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/nikhitkumaragrawal
• 2021. “Reform for farmers needs to look at more than mere efficiency of agriculture markets,” (co-authored with Richa Kumar) The Indian Express, January 5. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/farm-laws-controversy-narendra-modi-farmers-protest-7132953/ (translated in Hindi and published in Trolley Times, a farmers’ protest publication, March 31, 2021. https://trolleytimes.com/2021/03/31/कृषि-सुधार-कानून-कैसे-हो/)
• 2020. “Why experts believe the new agricultural laws are beneficial – but farmers don’t,” Scroll.in, December 22. https://scroll.in/article/981944/why-experts-believe-the-new-agricultural-laws-are-beneficial-but-farmers-dont
• 2020. “Neither Govt nor protesting farmers recognize challenge of depleting natural Resources and climate crisis,” (co-authored with Richa Kumar, PS Vijayshankar, AR Vasavi) The Indian Express, December 7. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/in-farm-debate-a-green-reality-check-7094384/
• 2020. “India hopes digital tech will save its floundering farm sector – but it’s working without evidence,” Scroll.in, September 20. https://scroll.in/article/973544/india-hopes-digital-tech-will-save-its-floundering-farm-sector-but-is-working-without-evidence
• 2020. “Some Key Questions That Need to Be Answered About the Three Agriculture Ordinances,” The Wire, June 24. https://thewire.in/agriculture/agriculture-ordinances-key-questions
• 2018. “India Should Recognize That Manual Scavenging is Akin to Slavery,” The Wire, July 18. https://thewire.in/caste/india-should-recognise-that-manual-scavenging-is-akin-to-slavery
• 2018. “India’s Future Growth Track Hinges on Supreme Court’s Aadhaar Ruling,” The Wire, June 1. https://thewire.in/tech/indias-future-growth-track-hinges-on-supreme-courts-aadhaar-ruling
• 2018. “Why India’s Oppressed Lack a United Voice,” The Wire, January 3. https://thewire.in/agriculture/indias-subjugated-lack-united-voice

Honors & Awards

• UCLA Division of Graduate Education: Dissertation Year Award for 2025–26 
• UCLA Department of Anthropology: Summer Research Grant Spring 2025
• University of California: Singh Fellowship Award, Nominated
• Society for the Anthropology of Work, American Anthropological Association: Eric R. Wolf best graduate student paper prize, Fall 2024
• Wenner-Gren Foundation: Dissertation Fieldwork Grant for 2023–24 
• UCLA Department of Anthropology: Dorothy Jewell Graduate Student Travel Award 
• UCLA Department of Anthropology: Robert B. Edgerton Endowed Award 
• UCLA Navin and Pratima Doshi Chair of Indian Studies: Summer Research Fellowship 
• UCLA College: Charles and Sue Graduate Student Fellowship Award, Nominated 
• UCLA Division of Graduate Education: Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Fellowship
• UCLA International Institute: Fieldwork Fellowship 
• UCLA Center for India and South Asia: Sambhi Summer Research Fellowship 
• UCLA College: Strategic Enrollment Fellowship Fall 2019
• IIT Delhi Board for Recreational and Creative Activities: Best Fresher Award 
• IIT Delhi Merit–cum–Means Scholarship 

Invited Talks & Lectures

• 2025 MA Research Seminar. Whose sustainability? Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, June
• 2025 Job Talk. Seeds of Hope, Fruits of Failure: Scaling climate-smart agriculture in India. Department of Anthropology, Yale University, February
• 2024 Undergraduate Course Lecture. Violent sustainability. Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California. November
• 2022 MA Research Seminar. Analyzing the impact of agtech start-ups in Indian agriculture. Christ University, Bengaluru, India. November
• 2021 Panel Discussion. India’s rural and agrarian economy today. Center for Development Studies. Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, June
• 2020 Undergraduate course lecture. Agtech in India: technology, start-ups, and development. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India, December

Conference & Workshop Presentations

• 2024, Violent Sustainability and Agtech in India. Impact Hau? Ethnographic Critiques of Sustainable Finance Conference, Bertinoro, Italy, May
• 2023, Paddy stubble management to prevent Delhi’s air pollution: rethinking modernization amid climate change in Indian agriculture. Managing Sustainable Transitions Conference, Institute of Rural Management, Gujarat, India, November
• 2023, The interplay of private capital and techno-fixes: an ethnographic study of agtech firms in India. Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, November
• 2023, Counter-accounting in the age of techno-fixes: an ethnographic study of agtech firms and their sustainability narratives. Annual Conference, Society for Social Studies of Science, Honolulu, USA, November

University Teaching Experience

• UCLA Institute for Society & Genetics
  • Teaching Fellow
    •  Ways of Knowing in the Human and Life Sciences, Spring 2025
      Human Biology & Society, Winter 2025
  • Teaching Associate
    • Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Algorithms in the Biosciences, Fall 2024
• UCLA Department of Anthropology
  • Teaching Associate
    • Anthropology of Social Systems, Winter 2022
      Culture and Society, Fall 2021
  • Teaching Assistant
    • Anthropology of Food, Spring 2021
      Culture and Society, Winter 2021 and Fall 2020

Work Experience

• ZealGrit Social Welfare Foundation, India, 2023–Present, Co-founder, https://www.zealgrit.org.
  • Focus on addressing health and nutrition challenges among women, adolescents, and young children in rural India.
  • Apply anthropological methods to design and refine community programs and inform organizational fundraising strategies.
  • Cultivate an inclusive and reflexive organizational culture by training team members in participatory methods and critical self-reflection.
• Professor Nicholas Shapiro, UCLA Research Associate, Spring 2025
  • Designed and developed a pedagogical exercise for Homesick, integrating critical theory and participatory learning methods to engage students in discussions on environmental toxicity and lived experience.
• Professor Jessica Cattelino, UCLA Graduate Student Researcher, Spring 2022
  • Edited and formatted an academic manuscript to meet target journal guidelines, enhancing clarity and strengthening the scholarly argument.
  • Transcribed qualitative interview data and drafted professional correspondence to journal editors to gauge interest in the manuscript, facilitating the submission process.
• Ashoka University, India, Associate to the Chief Minister, Government of Haryana, 2018–19
  • Consulted with over 40 district-level government departments to support technology adoption, program implementation, and data-driven decision-making.
  • Designed and facilitated strategic implementation plans to enhance service delivery and strengthen interdepartmental coordination across diverse policy areas.
  • Advised senior officials on operational challenges and process improvements, translating policy priorities into actionable district-level initiatives.
• Professor Richa Kumar, IIT Delhi Research Associate, 2015–16
  • Conducted primary and secondary research on the environmental impacts of industrial agriculture, including qualitative interviews, literature reviews, and data analysis.
  • Synthesized interdisciplinary research findings to support the development of evidence-based policy recommendations and academic publications.

Service

• Society for the Anthropology of Work, American Anthropological Association: Member, Eric R. Wolf Prize committee 2025, with Professor Lilly Irani and Professor Jasmine Folz, Fall 2025
• Committee on International Student, Department of Anthropology, UCLA: Student Member,  Spring 2025
• Big Data & Society, Social Anthropology: Journal Peer Reviewer, 2025
• Society for Cultural Anthropology, American Anthropological Association: Contributing Editor, 2024–26
• Fifth Annual Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference on South Asia, UCLA Centre for India and South Asia: Organizing Committee Member, Spring 2020
• Admissions Committee, UCLA Department of Anthropology: Student Member, 2019–20
• Network of Rural and Agrarian Studies, India: Core Team Member, 2020–Present
• Public Lecture Series titles “Democracy, Development, and Justice,” IIT Delhi, India: Coordinator, 2020 

Please download my CV here.