Researchers

Annunthra Rangan is a Senior Research Officer at the Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S). Her research focuses on China’s media censorship, influence operations, and relations with West Asia. Before joining C3S, she worked as a journalist with prominent media organisations such as News Today, The Hindu, and India Scanner News Network (Kolkata). An alumna of Loyola College, Chennai, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a Master’s degree in International Relations. Annunthra’s work spans academic research, journalism, and media production. She has authored papers on topics such as Print Media and Islamophobia in the United States, China’s Influence Operations, Sexual Abuse of Women on Social Media and so on. Her writings explore China’s geopolitical strategies, economy, and defence, and her articles have been featured on the C3S website as well as in India Legal News magazine, where she is a regular contributor. She has also produced and directed four documentaries for various platforms. In addition to her research and filmmaking, Annunthra runs her own website, The Write Wing (TWW) — https://www.thewritewingtww.com/ — where she writes on contemporary political and media issues. She currently serves as the Head of Media and Public Relations for the Pro Kabaddi League team Tamil Thalaivas.

Shilpa Susan John is a postgraduate in International Relations from Loyola College, Chennai. Her areas of interest include China, South Asia, and Africa, with a focus on the evolving geopolitical and economic linkages among these regions. As part of her postgraduate research, she undertook a study titled “Multilateralism and International Institutions: A Case Study of India’s Post-Independence Approach,” which examined India’s evolving engagement with global institutions and its pursuit of strategic autonomy within a multilateral framework.

Mary Sony is a postgraduate in International Relations from Loyola College, Chennai, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. Her academic interests lie in the study of terrorism, human rights violations, and the geopolitical importance of Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on the region’s growing significance in global and regional security dynamics.

Arul Braighta is a Research Officer at the Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S). She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Law from Oxford Brookes University. Prior to joining C3S, she worked as an Advice Assistant at Oxford Citizens Advice in the United Kingdom, a government-aided legal advice service, where she engaged closely with solicitors and barristers in a consultative capacity. She is currently also serving as a Research Associate at the office of Kamal Haasan, Member of Parliament, Ramya Sabha. Her research interests include international law, great power politics, international relations and political theory, US–China relations, and Global South approaches to international law.

Abia Fathima is a Postgraduate student at the Department of International Studies, Stella Maris College. Her interests include Geoeconomics, Foreign Policy, China and West Asia.