Mahika Khosla

Mahika is a DPhil candidate in the Oxford Department of International Development (ODID), where her research explores the intersections of environmental justice and the politics of urbanisation in India. She examines the ways in which urban histories of land, labour, and governance shape distinct forms of urban environmental politics in informal settlements and in the context of the climate crisis. Her research is jointly funded by the Clarendon and Lincoln-Kingsgate scholarships at the University of Oxford. Mahika also co-convenes Contested Environments, a new discussion series at ODID aiming to bring together researchers to advance critical research on development and environmental change across disciplines.

Mahika previously completed an MPhil in Development Studies at Oxford. Her dissertation explored the political ecologies of urban flooding for informal settlements in the southern Indian megacity of Bengaluru, and she was awarded the Eugene Havas Memorial Prize for Best Overall Performance. Mahika also holds a B.A. in Political Science with Highest Honours from Tufts University.

Before coming to Oxford, Mahika worked as a policy researcher for the Stimson Centre in Washington D.C., where she worked on issues of geopolitics and climate change in South Asia. She was also Deputy Editor of the online policy platform South Asian Voices. Mahika has held research positions at the Human Rights Foundation and the Wilson Centre, and has published her work on various media and policy platforms.