Sharik Laliwala

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. My research explores how urban residential segregation shapes minority political leadership. Specifically, my dissertation focuses on Muslim political leadership in Indian cities amidst segregation. In another project, I aim to parse India's recent electoral/voter rolls into an analyzable format using machine learning, which will facilitate research on demographic trends and elections. 

Previously, I worked as a researcher at institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Sciences Po, and the Trivedi Centre for Political Data at Ashoka University. Across these roles, I contributed to building large-scale electoral datasets, implementing surveys, and conducting in-depth qualitative fieldwork.

I disseminate my academic research to wider audiences through public writing. I regularly contribute to leading English and Gujarati media outlets, including The Caravan, Indian Express, Scroll, The Wire, BBC Gujarati, LSE Blog, and Ahmedabad Mirror. A complete list of my popular writings is available here: https://bit.ly/41XixDl.

I hold an M.A. in Contemporary India from King’s College London and a B.B.A. with dual majors in Economics and Finance from Ahmedabad University.