Category : News

Extreme Urbanism: A Design Studio Trip to Mumbai

Mar 5, 2024 | Announcements, In Region, India, News, Students

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.

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

Mar 5, 2024 | Announcements, Fellows, In Region, News

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.

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

Feb 28, 2024 | Announcements, Arts Program, Community, News

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

Feb 28, 2024 | Announcements, Community, Faculty, In Region, News, South Asia in the News

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

Feb 27, 2024 | Announcements, Faculty, News

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’

Feb 22, 2024 | News

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.

VAF Spotlight: Amra Khan on Gender and Sexuality Stereotypes in Art

Feb 21, 2024 | Announcements, Arts Program, Community, News

This spring, the Mittal Institute welcomes two new Visiting Artist Fellows from Lahore, Pakistan – Amra Fatima Khan and Waleed Zafar. Meet Amra, an interdisciplinary artist who investigates queer and alpha male archetypes through her work. Learn about her artistic motivations and save the date for the March 4 Visiting Artist Fellows Art Exhibition.

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

Feb 20, 2024 | Fellows, News, Pakistan, Students

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.

Student Group Spotlight: Afghanistan Caucus at the Harvard Kennedy School

Feb 14, 2024 | Afghanistan, Announcements, Community, News, Students

This academic year, there are two new Afghan student groups on campus: the Afghanistan Caucus at Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Afghan Students’ Association at Harvard College. The Mittal Institute spoke with Sal Parsa, co-founder of the Afghanistan Caucus, about their inaugural event on February 20 and further plans to foster a sense of unity and purpose among Afghan students and alumni.

On Climate and Health in Bangladesh: A Q&A

Feb 13, 2024 | Bangladesh, Climate, In Region, News

Sabina Faiz Rashid is a medical anthropologist and currently Professor and Chair of Health and Poverty at BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She is also the principal in-region investigator of Mittal Institute’s CLIMATE ADAPTATION IN SOUTH ASIA project, an interdisciplinary project that seeks to advance climate adaptation research and implementation at the household, community, state and federal levels in South Asia, particularly in the context of climate-driven migration.

Todd Lewis on the Revival of Newar Buddhism in Nepal

Feb 12, 2024 | Faculty, Nepal, News

The Harvard Buddhist Studies Forum launched its spring semester events series with a February 7 talk by Todd Lewis, Distinguished Professor of Arts and Humanities at the College of the Holy Cross and Research Associate in Harvard’s Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies. His talk, co-sponsored by LMSAI, explored “Reconfiguration and Revival: Newar Buddhist Traditions in the Kathmandu Valley (and Beyond).” We spoke with Todd to learn more about the motivations behind his research on South Asian religions, and what society can glean from their teachings

Harvard South Asian Student Leaders Gather at the Mittal Institute

Feb 8, 2024 | Community, News, Students

This week, the Mittal Institute along with the Department of South Asian Studies gathered over 20 representatives from the many (and growing!) South Asian student groups at Harvard to discuss how to strengthen ties and develop new collaborations.