Simi Shah ’19 and Ayman Mohamed ’19 discuss this year’s production of Ghungroo with SAI. “In 1988, students organized the first Ghungroo show to raise funds after a cyclone devastated an area in Bangladesh. It has now evolved into an annual dance show that brings people together from South Asia and beyond.”
“We learn more about this world-changing event from the stories of men, women and children who were not in the top tiers of the Muslim League or Indian National Congress parties whose history has come to define this seminal event in the world’s memory.” – Nabil A Khan, Visiting Scholar, FXB Center, Harvard
“I remember first seeing her when I was a freshman at Kinnaird College, an all-women institution in Lahore, Pakistan. I sat at the very back of a large hall packed with young women waiting to hear the great Asma Jahangir speak. We sat in awe of her bravery and most of us were also afraid for her life.”
A wide range of India-focused research, innovation and social entrepreneurship projects are under way, led by leading Harvard University scholars and academic colleagues from two other world-class educational institutions: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), in an unprecedented collaboration with Tata Trusts, one of India’s largest and most important philanthropic organizations.
This vlog is part of a series of reports from Harvard students who have traveled to South Asia with support from an SAI grant. This Winter Session, Cole Scanlon traveled to India to conduct fieldwork for his thesis which will include a cross-country comparison of school leaders in India and the USA.
Congratulations to the following Harvard College students, who have been chosen by SAI as winners for the Office of International Education’s Annual International Photo Contest.
SAI India Country Director Sanjay Kumar is responsible for expanding SAI’s presence in the region. He has initiated a monthly India Seminar Series, beginning in January 2018.
“The first step in making wastewater ‘safe’ is education through scientifically sound studies from reputable sources that prove that wastewater irrigation is not a health hazard. In fact, municipal wastewater is replete with nutrients.” – SAI Research Affiliate and MIT SPURS Fellow, Alka Palrecha Rawal
SAI is one of the partners of the student-run India Conference. Three of the organizers spoke to us about their involvement with the conference and this year’s theme of “Disruptive Innovations.”
Sutopa Dasgupta is part of Sakhi, the team that won SAI’s 2017 Seed For Change competition. She spoke to SAI to update us on the status of Sakhi’s project – the development of high-quality, affordable, and environmentally safe menstrual cups for people in India.
SAI will host dozens of seminars and co-sponsored events in Spring 2018, on topics including the arts and humanities, social sciences, and science. Information on additional events will be updated throughout the semester.