Hi, I’m Arunima Mandwariya, a rising third-year student at Ashoka University, majoring in Political Science with a minor in China Studies
I’m interested in how stories, whether told through data, design, or history, shape the way we understand politics. My academic work sits at the intersection of political thought, governance, and cultural memory, and I'm especially drawn to the small, seemingly mundane moments that reveal something larger about how power operates.
As an Indian, I’m curious about the contrasts between Chinese and Indian governance systems, and equally fascinated by the cultural similarities that quietly persist between the two. This has deepened my engagement with Mandarin and shaped how I approach questions of identity and statecraft.
Outside the classroom, I enjoy turning complex ideas into accessible narratives - visual or written. I work with tools like R, Python, DaVinci Resolve, and Canva, and I gravitate toward projects that bring clarity, structure, and meaning to abstract themes.
This website is a place where I collect the work I’ve done, the ideas I keep returning to, and the stories I’m still trying to tell.
In Indore: Printing on Thin Margins
Published by PARI · June 2025
Last summer, I spent time learning about Indian textile traditions, especially printing and weaving techniques. Simultaneously, while interning at People’s Archive of Rural India I had the opportunity to report a story that brought those interests together. This photo-essay follows a family of hand block printers who migrated from Chanderi to Indore, tracing how their craft survives through intergenerational knowledge, informal apprenticeship, and quiet resilience in the face of economic uncertainty.
Analysis of Survey on Household Consumption Expenditure: 2022-23
Published by PARI Library · June 2024 This was a summer deep dive into India’s 2022–23 household consumption survey. I unpacked what the numbers say and don’t say about inequality, rising non-food expenditure, and regional divides.
I also looked at how survey methods might miss the realities of the poorest households, raising questions about how we measure well-being in policy and practice.
Other publications: People’s Archive of Rural India
Research Project · May 2025
In this research project for Data Science for Social Sciences course, Parth and I examined how women’s education and workforce participation shape foundational learning outcomes for children across Indian districts. Using micro-data from Annual Survey on Education Report (ASER) 2011, merged with socio-economic indicators from SHRUG and the Census 2011, we constructed district-level datasets that captured both outcomes (reading and arithmetic ability) and predictors (maternal education, female labor force participation, household assets, etc.).
