Current Research Faculty

P.K.Anand is a Research Associate at the Institute of Chinese Studies. He holds a PhD in Chinese Politics from the Centre for East Asian Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Awarded in June 2017, his doctoral thesis is titled 'Market Dynamics and State Responses in China: Social Welfare and Industrial Workers, 1987-2008'. He also completed his M.Phil from the same centre in 2008. He completed his Master's in Politics (with specialization in International Relations) from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2006. 

Reeja Nair is a Research Associate at the Institute of Chinese Studies. Her research broadly centres on issues related to labour and urbanisation in post-Mao China to present. She is particularly interested in understanding how workers navigate the city spaces in a rapidly urbanizing China, and a comparative assessment of these issues in the Indian context. 

Reeja recently submitted her PhD thesis titled, 'Workers and Urban Spaces in Post-Socialist China: A Study of Community, Leisure and Resistance, 1994-2008', at the Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She completed her MPhil from the same centre. Her MPhil dissertation examined the making of China's labour laws in the post- Mao period. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in History from Miranda House, University of Delhi (specializing in Modern Indian History). In the past, she  has worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Chinese Studies, on an ICSSR Project titled, “State  Responses  to  Social  Welfare  in  China  and  India:  A  Comparative  Study  of Workers  in  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises”.

Samanvya Hooda is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), Delhi. He has completed a B.A (International Relations) from the Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts. As part of his coursework, he has authored a dissertation exploring the factors that led to Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action of 2015, along with a seminar paper about 'Legal Aspects of Digital Surveillance in India'. Prior to working at ICS, he worked for a year with a New Delhi based advocacy consultancy, and also as a Research Intern for the Nuclear Security Programme at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi. His research interests lie in Nuclear Doctrines and Security, South Asian Geopolitics, Border Conflicts, Conventional Deterrence, and Security in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific. 

Adveetya Kachiar is currently working as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi. Previously she worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Conflict Management. Her work there mainly focused on creating an Armed Conflict Database in the South Asian region. Her area of interests include Indian Foreign Policy, India and the neighborhood, and Role of Technology in shaping the international order.

Anu is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Chinese Studies. She has completed M.A. in ‘Politics with specialization in International Relations’ from School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi. As per the academic curriculum, she presented two Research Papers during M.A., one on “Chinese aid in Africa: analysing it as a foreign policy tool” and other on “Chinese military reforms and changing civil-military relations”.  Prior to working at ICS, she has interned with UNES division of Ministry of External Affairs, India where she authored a research paper titled, “India and South-South Co-operation”. Her research interests include China`s bilateral and multilateral relations, India-China relations, Sino-US relations and their implications for India, dynamism in Foreign Policy discourse, and Chinese aid projects (especially in Africa). 

Anandita Thakur is a Research Assistant at ICS. Her master’s dissertation, entitled Karl Marx and the Taiping Rebellion, studied the rhetorical capacities of Marx’s articles on the Taiping Rebellion, and analyzed, through these articles, the state of larger European media surrounding the rebellion, the Chinese body and the Orient in the period between 1849-1860. Her research interests lie in the work of the Chinese-American literary diaspora, post-socialist urban architecture in China, and the influence of British colonialism in China. Prior to ICS, her research experience included a research grant by the Government of Taiwan and the International Institute for Cultural Studies at National Chiao Tung University. As a part of the grant, she worked on Taiwanese New Wave Cinema, focusing in particular on the director Hou Hsiao Hsien and gendered mediations in his film, The Boys from Fengkuei.  She has presented several awarded papers on the use and construction of the Chinese body through the work of author Marguerite Duras and Somerset Maugham for conferences at St. Stephen’s College and Ambedkar University. 

Reena Bhatiya is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Chinese Studies.She completed MPhil from Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. The title of the dissertation is “Linear Borders: Theoretical and Historical Analysis”.  Her research interest is broadly Non-Western International Relations Theory, Borderland Studies in International Relations, Border Theories, and Study of the Intractable Border Disputes in South Asia. Currently her specific research focus is on Sino-India Border Dispute in the eastern sector and Borderland Communities, Comparison of Infrastructure Development in Borderlands in China-India.

Preksha Shree Chhetri is currently pursuing her PhD from the Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. She completed her MPhil from the same centre. She has completed her MA in International Relations from Jadavpur University, Kolkata and her BA from Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. Her PhD thesis is titled “The EU-China Strategic Partnership, 2003-2017”.  Apart from her thesis, she has worked on BRI and is particularly keen on studying China’s role in the global climate change negotiations. In the past, she has worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Chinese Studies under the supervision of Dr. Tshering Chonzom Bhutia.