Soumya Awasthi was an Associate Fellow (Mar 2020 - Aug 2022) with Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), New Delhi. Previously, she has worked with Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense and Strategic Analysis (MPIDSA), New Delhi. She has also worked as a fellow at Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research (CAFHR) in United Service Institute, New Delhi and Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping Organization, New Delhi. Her research interest includes Counter Terrorism, De-radicalization, South Asian strategic studies, Afghanistan, and India’s defense and Strategic policy. She is particularly interested in the Deoband School of Islam in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. She is completing her PhD from the Center for International Politics, Organization, and Disarmament (CIPOD) at School of International Studies (SIS) in Jawaharlal Nehru University on the subject “Role of Religious Discourse in Regional and Global Geopolitics: Case Study of Deoband Philosophy in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan”. She has completed her MPhil on the topic “Defense Budget of India from 1947 till 2015 a Trend Analysis” in the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies at the Savitribai Phule University of Pune, Maharashtra. She has presented papers at several national and international conferences on her area of study.