Jahnavi Chamarthi
Atlanta, GA| Grant Category: | Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Program |
| Project Title: | Caste & Gender in Tamil Nadu's Legislative Assemblies: Implications for Maternal Healthcare |
| Field of Study: | Political Science |
| Home Institution: | Emory University, Atlanta, GA |
| Host Institution: | SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu |
| Grant Start Month: | September 2025 |
| Duration of Grant: | Nine months |
Brief Bio:
Jahnavi Chamarthi is a recent graduate of Emory University, where she earned a BA in political science with a minor in predictive health. A member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and Emory’s 100 Senior Honorary, she was awarded the highest honors for her thesis investigating how the intersectional representation of women from Scheduled Caste and Tribe backgrounds in Indian state legislatures influences budgetary and legislative outcomes on healthcare and education policies for lower caste women. Drawing on theories of descriptive and substantive representation, her work introduced an original quantitative index to assess how identity-based leadership shapes legislative priorities.
Jahnavi’s interdisciplinary approach to research is reflected in her forthcoming co-authored article, “Cultivating Attentiveness to Law in India through Legal Anthropology”, in the Socio-Legal Review. At Emory, she served as a research assistant at the School of Law, a staff writer for the Emory Political Review, and as an intern at the Center for Civic and Community Engagement. Her leadership roles in Emory’s South Asian cultural and dance organizations further underscore her commitment to building inclusive, collaborative spaces rooted in cultural identity.
Jahnavi’s Fulbright-Nehru research is building directly on her undergraduate thesis. Through interviews with legislators, policy advocates, and public health stakeholders, she is examining how caste and gender influence the implementation – not just adoption – of maternal health programs in Tamil Nadu. She is exploring how women from marginalized caste backgrounds in legislative bodies, who share identities with their constituents, translate descriptive representation into substantive policy advocacy and implementation. The study is also examining the effects of India’s quota systems, which reserve seats for lower caste individuals and women. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research is analyzing stakeholder interviews and quantitative data on healthcare access in order to assess maternal healthcare implementation in districts of varying intersectional representation. Her project aims to advance a deeper understanding of intersectional political representation and its potential to drive more equitable public health outcomes in Tamil Nadu.