She received her A.M and Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University, and B.A. (Political Science) and B.S. (Chemistry) from the University of California at Irvine. Her areas of specialization include South Asian politics; women and gender; ethnicity and nationalism; religion and law; and politics of the developing nations. Her first book, Postcolonial Politics and Personal Laws: Colonial Legal Legacies and the Indian State, was published by Oxford University Press. Her current research examines the role of women and gender in religious nationalism in Indian politics. Before coming to UC, she taught in Virginia and Texas.