SIS Professor Sumitra Badrinathan has won the American Political Science Award 2025 Rajni Kothari Award for best paper on South Asian politics for her co-authored article "Misinformation and Support for Vigilantism: An Experiment in India and Pakistan."

The Rajni Kothari award, awarded by APSA's South Asian Politics section, recognizes the best article on the politics of South Asia published in the past two years.

Badrinathan's article, co-authored with Simon Chauchard and Niloufer Siddiqui, explores whether reducing the credibility of rumors via corrections can decrease support for vigilantism. Focusing on Punjab, Pakistan and Uttar Pradesh, India, regions where anti-minority vigilantism has been preceded by misinformation, the paper concludes that correcting rumors reduces support for vigilantism and increases the desire to hold vigilantes accountable. 

Congratulations, Sumitra!