The Mittal Institute invites Harvard faculty from across the university to apply for funding for research related to any of the countries we work with in South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and/or Sri Lanka. This opportunity is open to all Harvard University faculty members. Applications are due by December 4, 2026.
The Mittal Institute is excited to announce the release of the 2025–26 Year in Review report. As every year, the comprehensive Year in Review Report includes updates on all major faculty-led programs, lists awards and fellowships, highlights the work of students, student organizations, and scholars, and summarizes events and other achievements. The report offers valuable insights into the institute’s mission of connecting Harvard and South Asia.
Vaishnavi Patil, an alumna of the Mittal Institute’s Graduate Student Associate program, earned her Ph.D. from Harvard’s Department of History of Art and Architecture in May 2025. Her doctoral research examined female deities—particularly mother goddesses—and how religious production, patronage, and institutional development shaped their evolution across South and Southeast Asia. She has since joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as Assistant Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art. We spoke with Vaishnavi about her new role and how her time at Harvard shaped her career trajectory.
The Mittal Institute is excited to announce a funding opportunity for faculty research on climate change in South Asia in the academic year 2026-2027. Harvard faculty members from any Harvard School are invited to propose impactful climate research projects or interdisciplinary collaboration through workshops that address the critical challenges of climate change in the region.
We join the Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association (HUNSA) in expressing our solidarity with the communities affected by the devastating floods and landslides across Nepal. Our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods, as well as the first responders and local volunteers working on the ground.
Harvard offers a diverse range of courses on South Asia, spanning language, history, politics, economics, religion, and beyond. Explore a selection of Fall 2026 offerings. For the latest updates, please consult the Course Catalog. We’ll continue to expand this list as new courses are announced.
Each semester, the Mittal Institute offers grants to Harvard students to further their research, language study, or internship opportunities. For summer 2026, 12 students received funding to pursue projects across five countries. Their work spans a wide range of topics, from examining postnatal care in India, to studying food and chronic disease in Nepal, to immersing themselves in the languages of Sanskrit and Tibetan.
Summer is the perfect season to slow down with a great book, and our community has shared a collection of recommendations to inspire your next read. Exploring themes from identity and belonging, to the promises and perils of artificial intelligence, these selections offer a rich range of perspectives and ideas. There’s something here for every reader. Happy reading!
As Harvard seniors prepare to graduate this May, three students are reflecting on an experience that took them far beyond the classroom. Liz Zheng, an applied mathematics concentrator; Kat Ravichandran, who is pursuing a double concentration in computer science and philosophy; and Brooke Decho, who is studying engineering sciences, participated in this year’s Program for Scientifically-Inspired Leadership (PSIL) in Goa, India — an immersive educational initiative supported in part by the Mittal Institute.
In this edition of our Alumni Spotlight we spoke with Dr. Lakshmi Priya, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). She hails from the state of Kerala, India, and is a medical doctor by training.
Sarthak Agarwal ’28, a doctoral candidate in Population Health Sciences at Harvard University, received a Mittal Institute grant to study India’s school feeding program, the largest of its kind in the world. While its benefits are widely recognized, understanding the operational, financial, and governance systems that sustain it is critical to its continued success. His research, which he details in the below Q&A, examines these enablers and challenges to identify practical lessons for policymakers.
The Mittal Institute community remembers acclaimed Indian photojournalist Raghu Rai, whose work captured the depth, complexity, and humanity of India for more than five decades. Widely regarded as one of the country’s most influential photographers, Rai brought global attention to everyday life across the subcontinent, transforming ordinary moments into powerful reflections. In October 2013, Rai visited Harvard as the featured speaker for the annual Harish C. Mahindra lecture. Over two days, he engaged the campus community through a photo exhibition, gallery talk, and keynote lecture, offering a window into his artistic process and extraordinary career.