The event will be moderated by Professors Deepa Ollapally of the Elliott School of International Affairs and Kavita Daiya of the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences. The student panel will feature the following young scholars of international affairs:

Rahul Bhatia graduated from the Elliott School of International Affairs with a master’s degree in Security Policy Studies in 2019. He is currently the Security Studies Program Coordinator and a Research Assistant at Carnegie India. Rahul leads Carnegie India’s project on the study of Sino-Indian border tensions and also coordinates events, seminars and dialogues. His research focuses on Indian security policy and the Indo-Pacific region. He is based in New Delhi.

Vaibhav Jain is a 2019 graduate of George Washington University with degrees in Economics and International Affairs. He is currently based out of his hometown—New Delhi—where he is a supply chain manager with a leading steel company. He is also the co-founder of a stealth startup that is working on digitizing India’s small and medium businesses. He is the Director of Policy Initiatives at Young India, a DC-based progressive diaspora organization that is focused on making India’s democracy work for her last citizen.

Akshaya Sadras is from Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh and she graduated in 2018 from the Elliott School of International Affairs with a concentration in Economic Development and double majoring in Economics. She worked at the Indian Mission to the UN in the Humanitarian and Social Council. She is currently working at her family law firm specializing in criminal, civil and family law while pursuing her law degree.