Asmer Asrar Safi ’24 first learned he was a Rhodes Scholar this past October, making him Harvard’s only international recipient of the prestigious honor (nine other U.S. recipients will join Asmer at Oxford next fall). Originally from Pakistan, Asmer studies Social Studies and Ethnicity, Migration and Rights (EMR) at Harvard College, and intends to focus his MPhil studies on political messaging in South Asia. We spoke with Asmer about the scholarship, and his plans for Oxford.
Mittal Institute: Congratulations on your Rhodes Scholarship, Asmer! Can you talk to us about your journey from Pakistan to the halls of Harvard – where did you grow up, when did you first set your sights on the University and what drove you to apply?
Asmer Asrar Safi: Thank you so much! I spent the first half of my life in Karachi, after which I moved to Lahore in 2011 – here, I first became acquainted with Harvard beyond its relevance as a pop-culture reference. Upon entering high school, I was told that every year a handful of students would make their way to Harvard from Pakistan. I decided to try my chances, and tried to work as hard as I could to pursue the opportunity!
Mittal Institute: While here at Harvard, your academic studies have included human rights and ethnicity. Can you elaborate on these interests?
Asmer Asrar Safi: My interest in these fields was spurred by a sensitivity to the human rights situation in Pakistan, and the ways in which communities at the peripheries of mainstream political discourse are treated back home.
At the same time, I grew up in Karachi, where I heard about ethnic conflict and violence, and the institutionalization of ethnic politics through political parties was a regular occurrence. I wanted to study these issues from a comparative lens and understand better the ways in which political identities based on ethnicity occupy salience, and often result in strife. Naturally, I was drawn to exploring these issues through the Ethnicity, Migration and Human Rights secondary at Harvard. A lot of my coursework in this realm has remained focused on South Asia, and I’ve particularly come to enjoy reading about these themes through works of fiction and literature.
I grew up in Karachi, where I heard about ethnic conflict and violence, and the institutionalization of ethnic politics through political parties was a regular occurrence. I wanted to study these issues from a comparative lens and understand better the ways in which political identities based on ethnicity occupy salience, and often result in strife.
Mittal Institute: Tell us about the first moment you learned you were selected as a Rhodes Scholar. How did that feel, and what will your academic focus be while at Oxford?
Asmer Asrar Safi: I learned that I was a Rhodes Scholar some ten minutes after the interviews for the scholarship position concluded. I had been told that the decisions are announced to all of the candidates in person. We had all been chatting amongst ourselves when the Secretary of the Rhodes Scholarship in Pakistan entered the room and, without wasting any time, called out two names–of which mine was the second. I had no idea how to process it, and remember smiling nervously before heading to shake my peers’ and the interviewers’ hands. At Oxford, I’m going to be pursuing an MPhil in Intellectual History. Through this discovery, I hope to particularly delve deeper into Muslim revolutionary thought in South Asia during the anticolonial struggle, with a focus on the global movements, interactions, as well as indigenous epistemologies that enabled such political ideas to emerge. I hope to also build on my senior undergraduate thesis on the work and political thought of Maulana Abdul Rahim Popalzai, who as a Congress member and a leader of the Frontier Congress Socialist Party, articulated many such ideas and led peasant agitations against the British in the North-West Frontier Province of British India in the late 1930s.
Mittal Institute: At Harvard, you are the co-founder of the South Asians for Forward-Thinking Advocacy and Research Initiative. Can you share more about the focus of this group, and what it took to bring it to campus?
Asmer Asrar Safi: South Asians for Forward-Thinking Advocacy and Research (SAFAR) is a project co-founded by myself and Shraddha Joshi to enable opportunities for political education and discourse in Harvard’s South Asian community, and build a platform to organize for issues pertaining to South Asia. I was particularly disappointed to see the lack of political engagement within diaspora and international student communities when it came to issues confronting both mainland South Asia, and those confronted by communities here and elsewhere in the world. SAFAR was meant to counteract that lack of engagement, allowing people to access information and meet students similarly interested in these issues, and fostering a platform for students to host events and discussions they want to see more of. Since its founding last year, SAFAR has held events about caste, gender, journalism and military rule in South Asia, along with hosting solidarity events such as a panel on Kashmir and Palestine last year.
I was particularly disappointed to see the lack of political engagement within diaspora and international student communities when it came to issues confronting both mainland South Asia … SAFAR was meant to counteract that lack of engagement, allowing people to access information and meet students similarly interested in these issues.
Left: Asmer (bottom left) with South Asians for Forward-Thinking Advocacy and Research (SAFAR) members and Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) members. Right: Asmer presents at a SAFAR meeting.
Mittal Institute: What are you most proud of during your time here in Cambridge? What will you miss the most?
Asmer Asrar Safi: I’m most proud of being able to surround myself with people that care deeply about the world. These friends have been consistent at showing up for issues around the globe, have taught and encouraged me to do so, and have shown me that the most important part of an education is to use it to speak up for good. My co-organizers in SAFAR, the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, and the cultural communities I am part of have all shaped me incredibly in this process. I will miss them, and the many moments that we have shared in community together the most. One of my fondest memories is to see all of them come together for flood relief efforts for Pakistan last year.
Mittal Institute: What are you most looking forward to when you’re at Oxford next year?
Asmer Asrar Safi: Having unstructured time to do independent research and read a lot! I’m excited to learn from several leading academics on South Asia at Oxford, who have all, through their work, informed how I view the region and the ways in which I seek to engage with it.
Mittal Institute: If you think ahead post-Oxford, where would you like to see yourself in 10 years?
Asmer Asrar Safi: I’m not entirely sure, but I would love to be producing documentaries and making films of my own, or working in multimedia journalism! Or, I might take the academia route and see myself teaching History in classrooms.
Mittal Institute: And lastly, what has being a part of the South Asian community on campus meant to you?
Asmer Asrar Safi: Being part of the South Asian community at Harvard has been instrumental for my personal growth in college. I am particularly grateful for the Pakistan Student Association and the Harvard Pakistan Forum, which has been so incredibly important in providing me with a support structure in college, people to organize with, a large set of friends and most importantly, people to celebrate South Asia with. These groups have allowed me to find home away from home, and I hope that I can create a similar space for first-years and other South Asians at Harvard the same way.
☆ The views represented herein are those of the interview subjects and do not necessarily reflect the views of LMSAI, its staff, or its steering committee.