Featuring perspectives from analysts on the ground in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, including:
Bismellah Alizada, South Asian Voices Contributor and Co-founder, Rahil Foundation
Bismellah Alizada is the co-founder of Rahila Foundation, an organization working for youth empowerment through education and capacity building, and Deputy Director (on academic sabbatical) at Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS), a research and advocacy organization based in Kabul. He is currently pursuing an MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development at SOAS, University of London. His articles have appeared on Al Jazeera English, The Diplomat, Global Voices, and the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) in New Delhi. He has also co-translated into Persian the book China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know
Muhammad Faisal, South Asian Voices Contributor and Research Fellow at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad
Muhammad Faisal was an SAV Visiting Fellow, January 2018. Formerly, he was a Research Fellow at the Center for International Strategic Studies, Islamabad and a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies in Monterey, California in the spring of 2015. He holds a post-graduate degree in Defense and Strategic Studies from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. His research interests include India-Pakistan relations and South Asia’s security environment.
Jyotsna Mehra, South Asian Voices Contributor and Consulting Editor, The Kootneeti
Jyotsna Mehra is a Pacific Forum Young Leader and a Consulting Editor at the New Delhi-based publication, The Kootneeti. She graduated from the University of Oxford’s Modern South Asian Studies program in 2018.
Abdullah Rafee, South Asian Voices Contributor and Senior Research Associate, Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance.
Abdullah Ar Rafee is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance (IPAG) in Dhaka, Bangaldesh. He conducts research & analysis, develops policy briefs & concept notes, does outreach, and manages events & projects in the areas of regional security & strategic affairs, economic & digital governance, and technology & innovation. As part of IPAG’s team, he has led and managed multiple projects and international events on regional integration, cyber security, power & energy, and sustainable development in the United States, India, Bangladesh, and Bhutan.
Akriti Vasudeva, Research Analyst, Stimson Center and Managing Editor, South Asian Voices
Akriti Vasudeva is a Research Analyst with the South Asia program at the Stimson Center. She is the Managing Editor of South Asian Voices, an online magazine featuring strategic analysis and commentary from rising South Asian analysts and scholars. Her research interests include U.S.-India defense cooperation, geopolitics of South Asia and the Indo-Pacific, and Indian foreign policy. Previously, she worked as a print journalist in India, writing on environmental issues for The Indian Express in Mumbai, and on education policymaking for Hindustan Times, New Delhi. She holds an M.A. in Asian Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. and a bachelor’s degree in information technology engineering from the University of Mumbai. She has done research internships at the Embassy of India in Washington, D.C. and the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, among others.