Nusrat Jahan Mim, a Harvard D.Des candidate, was a recipient of a Mittal Institute Summer 2021 Research Grant, and she shared her findings in the account below. As a part of her Doctor of Design thesis, she investigated and collected spatial data from the largest annual makeshift cattle marketplaces in Dhaka, Bangladesh during Eid ul Adha (July 19-23, 2021).
In this episode of the ‘India in Focus’ podcast, Bindu Ananth, Chair at Dvara Trust, speaks with Dr. Nachiket Mor, Visiting Scientist, The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health. Dr. Mor leads the financing workstream at the Lancet Citizens’ Commission, which seeks to address challenges related to the sources and utilization of health expenditures, in order to maximize financial risk protection and to ensure an effective, equitable, reliable, and responsive health system for all.
Join us on Wednesday, October 6 at 8:00am EST for “India at 75: The Global Roots of Independence,” moderated by Dinyar Patel, Mittal Institute Research Affiliate and Assistant Professor of History at the S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) in Mumbai. He will join a conversation on “India at 75: The Global Roots of Independence” with panelists Nico Slate, Professor and Department Head, Department of History, Carnegie Mellon University and Carolien Stolte, Senior Lecturer in History at Leiden University, The Netherlands. The Mittal Institute sat down with Dinyar to discuss the event and his new paper, which he will share at the talk.
Akshay Mangla, Mittal Institute Research Associate and Associate Professor in International Business at the University of Oxford, recently authored the new publication, “Social conflict on the front lines of reform: Institutional activism and girls’ education in rural India,” in Public Administration and Development. The study analyzes how institutional activists (frontline workers) within the Indian state negotiate social conflicts as they seek to integrate disadvantaged girls into the school system by mobilizing village women’s groups and encouraging deliberation with target households. The Mittal Institute sat down with Akshay to explore his recent work, and expertise in the comparative political economy of developing countries.
On behalf of the team at the Mittal Institute, our hearts are with the people of Afghanistan, who are reeling in the wake of new unrest. Over the past few decades, the people of Afghanistan have experienced large-scale and ongoing violence and conflict, with recent events only adding to this turmoil and resulting suffering. Our thoughts are with the Afghan people as they look to chart a new path forward – with the necessary support from their partners in the international community – to address their needs, and ensure that the rights and safety of the most vulnerable in their midst are upheld and respected. During this crisis, the Mittal Institute would like to bring attention to how our community can stay informed on what’s developing in Afghanistan, and ways that they can help.
Since its inauguration in 2017, the Crossroads Emerging Leaders Program (CELP) has been devoted to engendering a transformation in the lives of first-in-family college students globally. By providing an array of educational resources, direct connections to Harvard faculty, mentorship opportunities, and affinity networks, CELP identifies and supports young people around the world in reimagining their academic and professional futures, fostering “success” through locally-grown, aspirational narratives, and in the process, building cohorts of next-generation leaders. This past month marked the conclusion of the fourth iteration—and second virtual iteration – of the program.
Art is a lifeblood of society, and its place at the Mittal Institute is stewarded through an Arts Program that offers such programming as the annual Visiting Artist Fellowship (VAF). This eight-week research fellowship at Harvard connects artists from South Asia with Harvard’s intellectual resources. The Fellowship provides a platform for four mid-career artists to conduct independent research that explores critical issues in South Asia through the lens of art and design. Interested applicants can now apply to join the Spring 2022 cohort – applications are due on Tuesday, August 10, 2021.
Meena Sonea Hewett, Executive Director of the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard (MI) has spent the past decade growing and cultivating the work of the Institute both at Harvard and across South Asia. Now, as she departs the University, we spoke with Meena about her past 10 years of service, and her most important achievements.
Satchit Balsari, Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Steering Committee member of the Mittal Institute, co-authored a comment in The Lancet on evidence-based, affordable interventions to manage COVID-19 in India. His co-authors include a range of other medical professionals: Zarir Udwadia, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, P.D. Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Center, Mumbai, India (ZU); Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Breach Candy Hospitals & Research Centers, Mumbai, India; Ahmed Shaikh, Department of Emergency Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA; Abdul Ghafur, Department of Infectious Diseases, Apollo Cancer Hospital, Chennai, India; and Sushila Kataria, Department of Internal Medicine, Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon, India.