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. She was recognised as a youth icon on India’s first 25 under 25 List for policy and politics in 2022 by Young India Foundation. 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 has a B.A. from FLAME University, Pune and a M.A. from SOAS University of London. 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]

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]

Ophelia Yumlembam is a Research Associate at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). Prior to joining ORCA, she worked with the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi, and interned at the Council for Strategic and Defence Research (CSDR) in New Delhi. She holds an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Delhi (2023). Her research focuses on India’s Act East Policy, China–Myanmar relations, and China’s strategic influence in and around India’s Northeast region. Ophelia also hosts ‘Unfiltered Diplo-speak’, a podcast series under The ORCA Files, where she engages retired Indian Ambassadors in discussions on the complexities of regional and global diplomacy. Her writings have been featured in the Diplomat, South Asian Voices (Stimson Centre), 9dashline, Observer Research Foundation, the Indian Express, among other platforms. She can be reached at [email protected].

Chitra Nair is a Research Associate at Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). She is a recent postgraduate in Chinese Studies from SOAS University of London, holding a bachelor’s degree in International Relations with a minor in Environmental Studies from FLAME University, India. Her research explores contemporary Chinese politics, digital activism, political expression and censorship. She is especially interested in how the state and citizens negotiate power and legitimacy, questions which she seeks to explore through a political sociology lens. She previously interned at the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi, where she published work on media censorship and the queer community in China. Her dissertation, Digital Panopticon : Activism and State Surveillance in China, examines digital activism and censorship in China through three key case studies

Afridi Ahmed is a Administrative Assistant and Junior Researcher at Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). He is a postgraduate in Conflict Analysis and Peacebuilding from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. His research interests span strategic studies, Japanese foreign policy, and China’s strategic interactions across South and Southeast Asia.

Kashif Iqbal is a Project Linguist at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). He is a graduate in Chinese Language from the Central University of Gujarat, India. He has experience in Chinese–English translation, interpretation, language instruction, and AI data annotation. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, English, Hindi, and Urdu, he is passionate about promoting cross-cultural understanding and strengthening academic and professional engagement between India and China. His research interests include contemporary China, East Asian affairs, India–China relations, Chinese foreign policy, and regional cooperation in Asia.

Arushi Sharma is a Junior Research Associate at Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). She is a recent postgraduate in East Asian Studies from the University of Delhi and holds a Bachelor's degree in Chinese Language from K.R. Mangalam University. She has previously worked as a Subject Matter Expert in Mandarin Language at Unacademy. Her primary research interests focus on China's domestic politics and international economic statecraft.

Ishel Farooqh is a Project Linguist at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Chinese Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her academic and professional interests include Chinese language and culture, translation and interpretation, and cross-cultural communication. She is particularly interested in Chinese society, media, and gender studies.

Neha Maurya is a Project Assistant at Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). A recent graduate of FLAME University with a major in International Studies and a minor in Public Policy, her research interests include strategic studies, governance, and education policy. She is interested in contributing to research that informs effective policy design and implementation.