Ongoing
Unending Everyday Violence: Communal Riots, Rumours and Memories in the Digital Age
- Role: Doctoral Researcher
- Host Institution: Tampere University, Finland
- Funding Agencies: Koneen Säätiö, Finland (2022–2027)
- Output: Research on communal violence, rumours, and memory in the digital era
Indian Media Today
- Role: Collaborator
- Host Institution: Science Po, Led by Julia Cagé & Christophe Jaffrelot
- Funding Agency: Tides Foundation, US
- Output: Exploring media systems and their intersection with authoritarianism in India
Completed
2020 – Muslims in a Time of Hindu Majoritarianism
- Role: Cluster Lead – Media & Culture
- Host Institution: Columbia University, Princeton University, Sciences Po, Paris
- Funding Agency: Henry Luce Foundation, US
- Output: Headed social media research team studying social media’s role in enabling violence, lynchings, and securitisation practices
2023 – Mentor Special Investigations (The Daily Star), Bangladesh
- Role: Lead Consultant
- Host Institution: Fojo, Linnaeus University, Sweden
- Funding Agency: Fojo
- Output: Mentored newsroom to produce investigative stories and multimedia packaging with expansive digital reach (hybrid: one year; 60 days on-site in Bangladesh)
2023 – Improving Access to Trustworthy Information in Afghanistan
- Role: Lead Consultant & Trainer
- Host Institution: Internews, Central Asia
- Funding Agency: European Commission
- Output: Strengthened access to trustworthy information in Afghanistan through training & newsroom support
2019 – Images and Misinformation in Political Groups: Evidence from WhatsApp in India
- Role: Researcher
- Host Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), IDSS
- Funding Agency: MIT
- Output: Annotated 1,500 images circulating on WhatsApp
2021 – Volume and Patterns of Toxicity in Social Media Conversations during Covid-19
- Role: Research Assistant
- Host Institution: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), Oxford University
- Funding Agency: RISJ
- Output: Analysed toxicity in Covid-19 social media conversations
2019 – UNICEF India & Government of West Bengal: Schools Needs Assessment
- Role: Consultant (Communication Specialist)
- Host Institution: UNICEF India & Government of West Bengal
- Funding Agency: UNICEF
- Output: Led team across 5 districts; conducted FGDs, interviews, data collection & analysis; produced needs assessment report for policy implementation
2018 – Manufacturing Islamophobia on WhatsApp
- Role: Researcher
- Host Institution: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), Oxford University
- Funding Agency: RISJ Fellowship
- Output: Analysed 60,000+ WhatsApp messages from 200+ political groups to quantify Islamophobic hate speech
2012 – Hunger & Malnutrition among Indigenous People in India
- Role: Researcher/Author
- Host Institution: Akshaya Patra – One World South Asia
- Funding Agency: Akshaya Patra
- Output: Series of articles on hunger & malnutrition among vulnerable indigenous groups in southwestern Bengal
2011 – Tobacco Industry and Political Nexus in India
- Role: Researcher/Author
- Host Institution: Panos South Asia
- Funding Agency: Panos South Asia
- Output: Articles on contradictions between government’s anti-tobacco policies and profit/export motives
2011 – Justice at Bay: Implementation of Forest Rights Act (2006) in India
- Role: Researcher/Author
- Host Institution: Centre for Science & Environment, New Delhi
- Funding Agency: CSE
- Output: News stories & op-eds on FRA implementation in left-wing extremism–affected areas of West Bengal
Featured image: In 2014, a year after the 2013 Uttarakhand tragedy that claimed 6,000 lives, I trekked 18 km beyond the last road to reach Sumdum, which remained untouched by government