Natasha Raheja

Natasha Raheja is a political and visual anthropologist and documentary filmmaker at Cornell University, focusing on migration, borders, and state power in South Asia. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from New York University, a Graduate Certificate in Culture and Media, an MA in Urdu from University of Texas at Austin, and dual bachelor's in Biology and Asian Studies from UT Austin. Her work combines ethnographic research with film to explore majority-minority relations, religious nationalism, and cross-border belonging through projects like her documentary Kitne Passports? and book Selective Welcome: Pakistani Hindus in India. She has received grants from Wenner-Gren Foundation, American Institute for Indian Studies, and Fulbright-Hays Program. Her films have been screened at international festivals and institutions, including Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland and Royal Anthropological Institute Film Festival.

• PhD in Anthropology, New York University
• MA in Urdu, University of Texas at Austin
• BS in Biology and BA in Asian Studies, University of Texas at Austin

Her research spans political theory, visual anthropology, and South Asian studies, analyzing how majority-minority dynamics transcend nation-states. She employs multi-modal approaches, blending scholarly writing with experimental film, to investigate religious nationalism's impact on citizenship and infrastructure. Recent articles focus on media's role in migration, bureaucratic citizenship processes, and transnational identity formation. Raheja also teaches documentary production and has curated works like the Border Trilogy, examining non-human mobility across borders.