Biography

As I was born in Nepal but raised between Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh and Indonesia, I constantly grapple with the question: what defines identity and citizenship in regional, transnational and global contexts? Using my cross-cultural lens and my interdisciplinary experiences as a double major in International Studies and Strategic Communications and minor in Religious Studies, I plan to pursue an MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies at Cambridge to explore identity and intersectionality in context of South Asia. My proposed study explores how social media helped or hindered nuanced discussion on nationalism and identity in response to the 2015 unofficial border blockade between Nepal and India. By highlighting the ways in which social media driven narratives can influence how nationalism is embodied, my research would attempt to unpack the process by which complex phenomenon can turn into ‘broad-brush’ approaches to strategically influence particular stakeholders involved in the conflicts. The global rise in digital politics raises the need to develop necessary literature to understand its role in influencing public perception and framing dominant narratives around social issues.

Previous Education

Elon University