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Imaan Mirza ’25 Explored the Pakistani Legal System through LMSAI Grant

Imaan Mirza ’25 Explored the Pakistani Legal System through LMSAI Grant

Imaan Mirza, a third-year undergraduate concentrating in History and Literature, earned a Mittal Institute student grant to intern in January with AGHS Legal Aid Cell in Pakistan. AGHS is a law firm that provides free legal representation to the vulnerable and fights for human rights for the disenfranchised. During Imaan’s three-week internship, she completed legal research, legal drafting, and administrative tasks – read on for more about her three-week experience. 

Sarah Umer, Fulbright Fellow, on Reconsidering the Harappan Religious Legacy

Sarah Umer, Fulbright Fellow, on Reconsidering the Harappan Religious Legacy

The Mittal Institute’s Fulbright Fellow 2024, Sarah Umer, comes to Cambridge from the University of the Punjab Lahore, where she is an associate professor in the College of Art and Design. Her research includes the study of art, ancient civilizations, and religions, predominantly in the South Asian region. We spoke to Sarah about her previous research and her research plans while in residence at LMSAI.

Extreme Urbanism: A Design Studio Trip to Mumbai

Extreme Urbanism: A Design Studio Trip to Mumbai

This February a group of Harvard Graduate School of Design students set out for Mumbai to explore urbanism in one of the world’s most crowded cities as part of the “Extreme Urbanism 9: Imagining Housing as Urban Form” course at the Graduate School of Design. Harish Krishnamoorthy (MAUD ’25) is an urban designer and architect from Bengaluru, India is a student in and teaching assistant for the studio, led by Rahul Mehrotra, John T. Dunlop Professor in Housing and Urbanization at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Harish kept a travelogue of his experience, which he shares with the Mittal Institute below. 

VAF Spotlight: Waleed Zafar on Exploring South Asian Identity through Art

VAF Spotlight: Waleed Zafar on Exploring South Asian Identity through Art

This spring, the Mittal Institute welcomes two new Visiting Artist Fellows from Lahore, Pakistan – Amra Fatima Khan and Waleed Zafar. Meet Waleed, an interdisciplinary visual artist and curator whose work explores South-Asian identity based on historical, socio-political and genetic markers. Learn about his artistic motivations and save the date for the March 4 Visiting Artist Fellows Art Exhibition.

Harvard Faculty Convene New Series on the Indian Elections 2024: A Q&A

Harvard Faculty Convene New Series on the Indian Elections 2024: A Q&A

2024 is a significant election year globally with more voters than ever before heading to the polls. India will hold the largest election of them all and is one of several South Asian countries to have national votes this year. This four-part series – led by Harvard Professors Arunabh Ghosh, Maya Jasanoff and Vatsal Naresh – will feature cutting-edge scholars across the social sciences and media who will come together over the next two months to provoke discussions about democracy, the press, and diasporic politics that resonate with parallel trends in the U.S., Asia, and globally. We spoke with the three event conveners for more on the ideation of the series, and what we can expect from the discussion. 

Faculty Grant Recipients Tackle Salient Issues Facing South Asia

Faculty Grant Recipients Tackle Salient Issues Facing South Asia

The Mittal Institute annually supports faculty research projects that unite scholars from different fields and regions whose research relates to South Asia. Interdisciplinary scholarship, as well as projects that catalyze connectivity between scholars at Harvard and those in South Asia, are a funding priority. We are pleased to announce this year’s grant recipients—earning the highest individual funding amounts in Mittal Institute history—and their research initiatives.

The 21st India Conference at Harvard Focused on ‘India Rising’

The 21st India Conference at Harvard Focused on ‘India Rising’

The annual student-led India Conference at Harvard returned to campus for its 21st year on February 17 and 18. The conference featured speakers from India as well as our very own Mittal Institute affiliates, including Faculty Director Tarun Khanna, Executive Director Hitesh Hathi, and Steering Committee Member Asim Khwaja. 

LMSAI Fellow Muhammad Imran Mehsud on the Politics of the Indus River

LMSAI Fellow Muhammad Imran Mehsud on the Politics of the Indus River

The Mittal Institute’s Syed Babar Ali Fellow, Muhammad Imran Mehsud comes to Cambridge from Hazara University Mansehra, Pakistan, where he is an Assistant Professor of International Relations. He is an expert on South Asian transboundary hydropolitics and his research project at the Mittal Institute examines the effectiveness of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in settling contemporary transboundary water issues between India and Pakistan. We spoke with Imran about his research, and his plans for his time at Harvard.