https://rithikakumar.com/bio daily 0.75 2026-07-08 https://rithikakumar.com/contact daily 0.75 2022-04-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/6600a876-26c5-4121-9ef0-baae11403b4c/IMG_20190723_110543.jpg Fieldwork Migrants traveling to the nearest town https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/1649163825283-2WTSMHSZG4ONB6J4J1O3/tempImageQfD5aL.jpg Fieldwork Campaign poster showing the female candidate and her husband https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/1649163773744-2KVA25NSKUCG2P3DAR6D/tempImage8cZlUv.jpg Fieldwork Survey in progress in Raniganj, Araria https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/1649163795693-T8Q4Z3YUI4QI1RIAYBHH/tempImagewiBeYn.jpg Fieldwork Two friends getting ready to go to the market together https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/1649163756530-LT9I2IG871E7K5OGJWY1/tempImage2BYblt.jpg Fieldwork Taken while waiting at a Mukhiya's office for an interview in Jokihat, Araria https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/1644046983947-VVVU5XSY5Y0UK1VA92V0/tempImagepoiha3.jpg Fieldwork Taken right outside our respondent's home in Araria, Bihar https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/305d81df-7022-49f3-9711-bd8c9b63ff5d/tempImageyrlUas.png Fieldwork Campaign posters adorn a wall before village elections https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/d9af4f46-52ac-495c-8cac-c40a4e8360ff/IMG_2958.jpg Fieldwork Team work. Survey team in Araria, Bihar https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/1649163849560-2MRBL6UV3IPKIEKQXUNU/tempImageDaIMKY.jpg Fieldwork A dummy ballot box to educate voters which button to press in Bhargama, Araria. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/0af8dd0f-7c48-4e4f-9b51-df4dc2a871c7/april_2019-07-28-21-44-43-901.jpg Fieldwork Entry way to a ward member's house in Gogunda, Rajasthan https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/50bd450e-4e7b-4b2b-b3a7-6477b49610bc/april_2019-07-28-15-14-55-907.jpg Fieldwork Gangaur Ghat entrance, Udaipur Rajasthan https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/4ecc77f9-e167-497b-9b74-dc613a73a96f/map.png Fieldwork Hand drawn map for sampling https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/51a7eff8-f007-41bb-834c-19098b785c69/IMG_20180617_184310.jpg Fieldwork Indian railways https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/c59abfe7-f065-4d87-98a2-e5e510cb2f30/IMG_20180620_105429.jpg Fieldwork Cycle with straw hats https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/d570a8d7-59c1-43f9-9441-5ea1cf33a491/IMG_20190724_172905.jpg Fieldwork Election campaign slogans https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/4306d0b9-32f7-433b-9d8b-97907dc2c7fc/IMG_20180625_144548.jpg Fieldwork Shepherd in Ganjam, Orissa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/6eb048db-6e0f-4692-867b-29064fe0dfd4/IMG_20180628_132909_1.jpg Fieldwork View of primary school in Ganjam, Orissa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/e932c960-3f20-4238-84a4-1dd44738a4bd/IMG_20180628_133534.jpg Fieldwork Women helping women https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/1649163865305-TBONDK9AD5K4U600Q9B0/tempImageeS2kZB.jpg Fieldwork Workspace at Mona Hotel, Araria. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/1649163882301-C8POE16CYOZVNLAP2GND/tempImageX0N2qJ.jpg Fieldwork The courtyard outside a respondent's home in Araria, Bihar https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/a869505e-63e7-4092-9e52-791e944b8d99/lady_sickle.jpeg Fieldwork A woman walking home after working in the field https://rithikakumar.com/home daily 1.0 2025-05-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/d8d3c79a-1f64-46fc-b469-88890d2e49c0/JWF_1095.jpg Home Gender and Politics | MIGRATION | SOUTH ASIA Rithika Kumar I study how the household shapes women’s political lives. Specifically, who speaks to the state, who runs for office, and who governs once elected. I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Rice University. My research lies at the intersection of gender, urbanization and politics with a regional specialization on South Asia, specifically India. I ask how development processes such as economic migration and political decentralization change local political engagement by reshaping the relationship between private and public life. I utilize a mixed methods approach combining large scale observational and administrative data, with fieldwork intensive quantitative and qualitative data. My research has been published in the Journal of Politics and I am currently working on my book project, Silent Shifts: Male Migration and the Feminization of Politics. I received my PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023, and spent AY 2023–24 as a postdoctoral fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to starting at Penn, I was a Research Associate at IDFC Institute, a think-tank in Mumbai. In my free time I enjoy bringing to life recipes saved on my NYTimes Cooking app! My email address is rk115@rice.edu. You can also follow me on Twitter @kumar_rithika. https://rithikakumar.com/teaching daily 0.75 2026-06-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/baae2813-937c-4234-a4eb-1152a7d16d21/BBC0E24C-EFC2-4044-B968-B9DE7FB93328-COLLAGE.jpg https://rithikakumar.com/resources daily 0.75 2025-04-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6022e67999e32170c156c5cc/fe01c25f-983d-4e44-917f-7eec86aa2810/IMG_20180605_081350.jpg https://rithikakumar.com/writing daily 0.75 2026-07-23 https://rithikakumar.com/get-started daily 0.75 2025-05-09 https://rithikakumar.com/get-started/p/relationship-with-youothers-ymxbl monthly 0.5 2026-08-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ced8e1d5fd4c700018dd761/1560190004400-XTA0DF0S9WOZJUG994C8/Stocksy_txp824ffa5crXt000_Original_845035.jpg Get Started - Relationship with You+Others https://rithikakumar.com/get-started/p/relationship-with-others-rzsyc monthly 0.5 2026-08-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ced8e1d5fd4c700018dd761/1560189982811-KFAJF1TCUH1SXZ827UMC/Stocksy_txp824ffa5crXt000_Large_844923.jpg Get Started - Relationship with Others https://rithikakumar.com/get-started/p/relationship-with-you-zy9zl monthly 0.5 2026-08-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ced8e1d5fd4c700018dd761/1560189874730-3B0TSLDUHTQ93497V3L8/Stocksy_txp824ffa5crXt000_Large_844934A.jpg Get Started - Relationship with You