Commentary
Sameer Lalwani
program
South Asia
Parekh Policy Initiative on U.S.-India Relations
The U.S.-India relationship will be one of the most significant drivers of geopolitics in the coming decades. As India seeks to transform into a leading power, the country finds itself at an inflection point that will determine its domestic prospects, global role, and competitiveness in a rapidly changing global system. Its relationship with the United States will be an indispensable part of this transformation. With a world-leading South Asia policy research program in Washington and an established center in India, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is uniquely positioned to help define the future of the evolving U.S.-India relationship.
Led by Milan Vaishnav, Director and Senior Fellow, the initiative reflects the growing importance of the U.S.-India relationship in shaping the global order. The initiative will expand on research, convening, and policy engagement across three core pillars: India’s Domestic Future, India’s Global Role, and Elevating the Diaspora. Carnegie’s research and convening will not only inform policy but also shape it by challenging assumptions, generating new ideas, and building networks that can drive meaningful change.
This initiative is made possible thanks to the generous support of Deven Parekh and his wife Monika.
As Rubio Lands in India, the U.S.-India Relationship Is Stronger Than It Looks
South Asia
The South Asia Program informs policy debates relating to the region’s security, economy, and political development. From strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific to India’s internal dynamics and U.S. engagement with the region, the program offers in-depth, rigorous research and analysis on South Asia’s most critical challenges.
Initiative Leaders
Milan Vaishnav
Director and Senior Fellow, South Asia Program
Milan Vaishnav is a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program and the host of the Grand Tamasha podcast at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His primary research focus is the political economy of India, and he examines issues such as corruption and governance, state capacity, federalism, and electoral behavior. He also conducts research on the Indian diaspora.
Sameer Lalwani
Senior Fellow, South Asia Program
Sameer Lalwani is a senior fellow in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is also a research affiliate with the MIT Security Studies Program and a contributing editor to War on the Rocks.
Team
Shoumitro Chatterjee
Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program
Shoumitro Chatterjee is a nonresident scholar in the Carnegie South Asia Program and an assistant professor of international economics at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.
Evan A. Feigenbaum
Vice President for Studies
Evan A. Feigenbaum is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees work at its offices in Washington, New Delhi, and Singapore on a dynamic region encompassing both East Asia and South Asia. He served twice as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and advised two Secretaries of State and a former Treasury Secretary on Asia.
Apoorva Jadhav
Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program
Apoorva Jadhav is a nonresident scholar in the Carnegie South Asia Program. Her work centers on translating complex global demographic trends—specifically fertility changes, population aging, and migration—into actionable frameworks for governments and international institutions.
Rohan Mukherjee
Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program
Rohan Mukherjee is assistant professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science and deputy director of LSE IDEAS, the foreign policy think tank of the LSE. He is also a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and at the National Bureau of Asian Research.
Avinash Paliwal
Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program
Avinash Paliwal is a nonresident scholar in the Carnegie South Asia Program. He is also a reader in international relations at SOAS University of London. His research focuses on India’s foreign and security policies, and the strategic affairs of South Asia and the Indian Ocean region.
Nikita Singla
Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program
Nikita Singla is a nonresident scholar in the Carnegie South Asia Program.
Paul Staniland
Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program
Paul Staniland is a nonresident scholar in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.