Binalakshmi Nepram, a Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, is an indigenous scholar and human rights defender from Manipur in Northeast India. We recently spoke with her to learn more about her efforts in disarmament, the importance of women in peace processes, and her current fellowship with the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.
Last year, the Crossroads Emerging Leaders Program received 6,093 total applications from 115 countries spanning the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Latin America, South Asia, and US students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Selected students joined the Crossroads Virtual Program via Zoom to attend an interdisciplinary seminar series uniquely designed for them, curated to encourage their individual professional and academic aspirations. The Crossroads Virtual Program featured 13 fascinating and insightful lessons given by senior Harvard faculty across a range of disciplines.
The Mittal Institute’s Program for Conservation of Culture (PCC) promotes a climate for cultural conservation in South Asia. It aims to bring the global values of conservation practices in conversation with local needs and the existing know-how of materials, resources, climate, legal parameters, and history to build a stronger foundation for present and future safekeeping and conservation of South Asia’s heritage. As a part of the PCC, the Mittal Institute hosted two recent panel discussions on recent developments in science and the impact of these developments on the field of art conservation globally and in South Asia
The Seed for Change (SFC) competition aims to develop a vibrant ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India and Pakistan through an annual competition run by the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University. Grant prizes will be awarded to interdisciplinary student projects that positively impact societal, economic, and environmental issues in India and Pakistan. Applications for the 2021 cycle must be submitted by February 26, 2021.
Each semester, the Mittal Institute offers grants to Harvard students to further their research, language study, or internship opportunities. This semester, 14 students were awarded grants to carry out projects during the 2021 Wintersession, ranging from research on a timeline of South Asia history from the dawn of Indus valley civilization until 1947 CE, to language studies on Sinhala, Bangla, Kashmiri, and more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant and negative impact on the delivery of eye health services around the world, while pushing new behaviors of both consumers and healthcare service provides. We spoke with Ajay Chawariya, the Executive Director of Project Prakash Charitable Trust (PPCT), to understand how the Project Prakash team is dealing with the challenges of providing eye care during the pandemic.
Another big year for the Mittal Institute and our community has sped by. 2020 has been marked by big changes, and with it we have shifted our operations to the virtual world to continue providing events, in-region programming, and opportunities for our students and faculty to pursue their research on South Asia at Harvard.
New Delhi, December 11, 2020: India’s efforts to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) will now be catalyzed by the voices of its citizens and prominent stakeholders from across diverse sectors of India’s health system with the launch of Reimagining India’s Health System: A Lancet Citizens’ Commission. The work of the Commission will begin today, with an aim to publish a final report of its findings and recommendations in the next two years.
Due to COVID-related programming changes this year, our 2020–2021 Visiting Artist Fellowship was reimagined, bringing 13 of the top applicants from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal to the virtual world for a series of four online virtual seminars curated to support the artists’ long-term practice. In these courses, the artists participate in thought-provoking discussions with their peers and the faculty member facilitating the class. Centering on art history, creative writing, urban design, and more, the artists will learn using Harvard’s intellectual and creative resources.
The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute is delighted to announce a new gift from India’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, which will support the activities and research performed by the Mittal Institute. By enabling scholars from South Asia to work in a cross-disciplinary fashion with faculty, researchers, and students across Harvard on critical questions and issues related to the region, Sharma’s gift will significantly enhance the goals of the Institute to deepen the teaching and research on cultural and global issues related to South Asia.
Are you a Harvard student looking to fund your language study, internship, or research on South Asia next summer? Applications for our graduate and undergraduate grants are open for Summer 2021! Be sure to apply by Friday, February 12, 2021 at 11:59 PM.
Join us next Friday, December 11, for the launch event of the Lancet Citizens’ Commission on Reimagining India’s Health System. The Lancet Citizens’ Commission is an ambitious, cross-sectoral endeavor that is working to develop a citizens’ roadmap to achieve universal health coverage throughout India. The Commission will be the first participatory, country-wide report of its scale to be published by the Lancet, a leading international medical journal that has paved the way for medical reforms and global health discussions around the world.