Coming

Sandhya Gupta, a consular officer at U.S. Embassy New Delhi, was in India in 1998-99 to study women’s foray into local government politics. Her research focused on women in rural Haryana and it left an indelible mark on her, she says, even while she studied law and became an attorney. She returned to India in 2020 as a U.S. diplomat.

Excerpts from an interview.

Please tell us about yourself and your role in the U.S. Embassy in India.

Before I joined the U.S. State Department in January 2020 as a Foreign Service Officer, I was a civil rights attorney in Cleveland, Ohio, where I was born and brought up. I had moved back to Cleveland after studying and working in New York City. Before that, I also spent some time in Washington, D.C., working for an international human rights organization.

As a civil rights attorney, I represented plaintiffs who were suing companies, public agencies, or others who had allegedly violated their rights. It was very intensive work, not only deepening my commitment to equity and justice but also building my skills in, for example, analytical writing, research, case management, and oral communication— skills I believe are also applicable in the Foreign Service. While there were various reasons for shifting to the Foreign Service after a career in law, I credit my Fulbright experience for planting the diplomacy seed.

I now work as a consular officer in New Delhi, where I adjudicate nonimmigrant visas. I also spent about a year during this first tour working as a staff assistant in the Embassy’s Executive Office, where I supported the Chargé d’Affaires and the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission.

Can you tell us more about your time in India as a U.S. Fulbright scholar?

I was a Fulbright scholar in India from 1998 to 1999. It’s hard to believe I came here nearly 25 years ago. My research was focused on women’s participation in panchayati raj (rural village councils). A few years earlier, India had passed a constitutional amendment mandating that one-third of all local government seats be filled by women. It was an opportune time to see how that policy had been implemented in rural areas.

My research initially was focused on the Haryana region because of a connection I made with a professor at Kurukshetra University and because it was close to Delhi, where I was based. There I visited villages and met with women serving on panchayats. But my research also took me around the country and I was able to compare the experiences of different regions.

The Fulbright afforded an extraordinary opportunity to meet people, gain insights into social factors affecting women’s pursuit of their ambitions, and visit places, especially villages, where I would otherwise never have gone. I will never forget singing the American song “We Shall Overcome” with school girls in Andhra Pradesh or sleeping on the rooftop of a family’s home in a village. I am grateful to the Fulbright program for the opportunity to explore, see the diversity of India, and build deep and lasting friendships.

Why did you choose India for your Fulbright research?

Before coming to India, I had studied abroad in South Africa in 1997. It was an amazing time to be there because South Africa had recently held its first democratic elections and was grappling with its past of human rights abuses. I attended several hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and traveled to rural areas to study local governance structures in post-apartheid