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Category : News

New Podcasts: “Culture Eats Technology” and “How Scientists And Economists Get Things Done (And Save Lives)”

May 23, 2018 | Announcements, Faculty, News

A fascinating conversation from our 2018 Symposium between Professor Ashok Gadgil (UC Berkeley), Professor Tarun Khanna (The Mittal Institute; Harvard Business School) and Professor Asim Khwaja (Harvard Kennedy School) – they talk about how difficult it is to solve life-or-death problems, even with great resources, and the kinds of things you have to do in order to get things done. The podcast is published in two parts. 

Seed for Change 2018 Winners Announced

May 10, 2018 | Announcements, India, News, Pakistan

Congratulations to Green Screen and Umbulizer, the winners of our 2018 Seed for Change Competition. Umbulizer, the winner of Seed for Change Pakistan, will receive $15,000 to further develop a reliable, low-cost, and portable device that can provide continuous ventilation to patients in resource-limited healthcare settings. Green Screen, winner of Seed for Change India, will receive $40,000 to produce a zero-electricity, modular ventilation panel made from an agricultural waste byproduct and designed for the slums of New Delhi, India.

Q + A: Tracing the Tracks of Diaspora Hinduism

May 3, 2018 | Announcements, Associates, News

In anticipation of her upcoming book, The Mittal Institute Research Affiliate Vineeta Sinha sat down with us to discuss her work on the Hindu Diaspora in Singapore and her thoughts on being a woman in academia. “Sitting on recruitment and reviewing committees and on management boards, I have witnessed that even my lone presence as a woman tempers the tone of the discussion and prevents loaded and blatantly sexist and even racist questions to be raised — even if it is just for political correctness,” she says.

Ten Minutes with Professor Vikram Patel

May 3, 2018 | Announcements, India, News

In the developing world, 95% of people with a clinically significant mental illness receive no treatment at all, and it costs the global economy an estimated trillion dollars a year. Vikram Patel is a distinguished Indian psychiatrist and The Pershing Square Professor of Global Health at Harvard Medical School. The Mittal Institute’s Hasit Shah caught up with him before our 2018 Symposium, where Professor Patel was one of the key speakers.

Director’s Letter: “It’s Been A Pivotal Year For The Mittal Institute”

Apr 26, 2018 | Announcements, Faculty, News

“The transformational support from Indian industrialist Mr. Lakshmi Mittal and his family ensures that South Asia remains an education and research priority at Harvard. The $25m naming endowment builds on the foundation established by the University and our Advisory Council. The Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute (The Mittal Institute) at Harvard University enters a new era of being a catalyst for interdisciplinary, Harvard-wide initiatives across South Asia.” – Tarun Khanna (Director, The Mittal Institute; Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School)

Student Voices: Studying Mughal Manuscripts

Apr 26, 2018 | Announcements, News, Students

Was that a flash of gold I just saw? I moved around to the other side of the table, hoping to catch the light just right again. I was in a storage room of the Archäologisches Zentrum of the Museum fur Islamische Kunst in Berlin, viewing a folio of calligraphy signed by the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh (1615-59). I tilted my head as I followed the flowing lines of nast’aliq script around the page.

Q + A: Using Art as a Way of Reflection

Apr 19, 2018 | Announcements, News

As a 2018 Mittal Institute Visiting Artist, Rajyashri Goody’s art revolves around the complexities of identity seen through the lens of larger social, political, economic, and religious structures at play — and consequently the tug between power and resistance that manifests itself within minority communities.

Q+A: Studying the Past Through Genetics

Apr 19, 2018 | Announcements, News

Before her participation in the upcoming panel “Are South Asians a Single Population? Insights from Culture, Genetics, and Disease,” The Mittal Institute asked Priya Moorjani about her research, which uses statistical and computational approaches to study questions in human genetics and evolutionary biology. 

South Asian Sisters Bring Yoni Ki Baat to Harvard

Apr 12, 2018 | Announcements, News, Students

Theater and performance art can bring many things to both its audience and actors. It can educate, empower, and start difficult conversations. As part of Asian Heritage Month, the South Asian Sisters @ Harvard are producing Yoni Ki Baat, a South Asian version of The Vagina Monologues, to place a spotlight on gender, sexuality, and femininity in this cultural context. SAI chatted with co-directors Amberine Huda and Sheliza Jamal, SAI communications intern, about their involvement and passion for this production.