Dear fellow members,

I have recently joined the international boundaries e-mail forum and would
like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and give a brief account
of my interest in boundary research.

I am an academic based in Australia. My specialization is in the area of international
relations. I have a Ph.D. from the Flinders University of Adelaide. My doctoral thesis was on the topic

of post-colonial state formation with a special focus on frontiers and borders (From
Frontiers to Borders: Successor State Politics in the Indian Subcontinent
and the Making of a Regional States System). Since then I have continued my
research on state formation and boundary related issues. My article on State
Formation in South Asia has appeared in the Encyclopedia of India (Gale Thomson
Publications, 2006). I have also contributed an article on 'Frontiers and
Borderlands in South Asia' for the Encyclopedia of the Modern World being
published by the Oxford University Press.

Prior to obtaining my Ph.D. I completed an M.A.(Hons) in international
relations from the University of Sydney, on a topic dealing with political
economy of oil and India's relations with the Gulf States. It was a follow
up of my earlier work in political geography at the University of Calcutta,
India, from where I hold an M.A. in geography. I would like to highlight
that my background in geography has proven to be a great asset in my
subsequent research career.

My current research project is on boundary making and border security
problems, particularly the issue of border fencing. I presented a paper on
border fencing (Fencing off the Border: An Evaluation of India's Border
Protection Policy) at the IBRU conference in Durham in April, 2006. I am
preparing an expanded version of the paper for publication in a refereed
journal.

I look forward to interacting with other experts interested in this area of research.