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Category : South Asia in the News

Pakistan Flooding Relief Fundraiser

Sep 8, 2022 | Announcements, Community, In Region, News, Pakistan, South Asia in the News, Students

Pakistan Flooding Relief Fundraiser

The torrential monsoon rains in Pakistan have eclipsed the label of a mere natural disaster; Pakistan is undergoing a humanitarian crisis. In the past two months, the heaviest rainfalls on record have killed over 1,300 people and have severely impacted 33 million others. The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) estimates that over half a million homes have been destroyed. Relief efforts are direly needed given the rapidly-worsening situation. Harvard College Pakistani Students Association is raising funds to provide victims with meals, shelter, sanitary products, and more. Please donate what you can so we can help give much-needed funds to those suffering in Pakistan and please share this far and wide so we can raise much-needed awareness for this perilous situation.

75 Years of Azadi: The Mittal Institute Commemorates Freedom from British India

Aug 31, 2022 | Announcements, Community, Faculty, In Region, News, South Asia in the News

75 Years of Azadi: The Mittal Institute Commemorates Freedom from British India

The start of the new academic year at Harvard coincides with a pivotal moment in history for South Asia: August 15 marked 75 years since the end of British rule on the subcontinent. To mark this momentous year, the Mittal Institute is launching a series of events celebrating and commemorating 75 years of “azadi” or “freedom,” and many of the Institute’s faculty and affiliates took a moment to reflect on this momentous occasion in several opeds and interviews.

Tina Liu has Witnessed the Growing Threat of Fires Firsthand. Now She’s Studying Their Impacts.

May 4, 2022 | Announcements, Graduate Student Associates, News, South Asia in the News

Tina Liu has Witnessed the Growing Threat of Fires Firsthand. Now She’s Studying Their Impacts.

Tianjia (Tina) Liu joined the Mittal Institute as a Graduate Student Associate in the 2021-2022 academic year and is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. Tina’s research focuses on using satellite data and atmospheric modeling to quantify the impacts of fires on air quality and public health in India, Indonesia, and globally. She has recently published 2 papers with another in review on the topic of crop residue burning and the impact on air quality degradation. Prior to joining the Mittal Institute, Tina received her B.A. in Environmental Science from Columbia University, and her research has primarily been focused on fires and air quality since her undergraduate days.

On Crisis and Consequences in Pakistan: Yaqoob Bangash Previews May 5 Panel

Apr 27, 2022 | Announcements, Fellows, In Region, News, Pakistan, South Asia in the News

On Crisis and Consequences in Pakistan: Yaqoob Bangash Previews May 5 Panel

Dr. Yaqoob Khan Bangash is a historian of Modern South Asia and a current Fulbright Fellow at the Mittal Institute. His current research interests lie in the emergence of Pakistan as a post-colonial state, with broader interests in decolonisation, modern state formation, formation of identities, and the emergence of ethnic and identity based conflicts. He also regularly writes for The News, Daily Times, The Express Tribune and other newsmedia. He spoke with the Mittal Institute about the current political crisis in Pakistan, and explored what implications it might have for the larger world.

Bhutan and the “Inbetween”: The Work of Dr. Nitasha Kaul

Mar 29, 2022 | Announcements, Faculty, In Region, News, South Asia in the News

Bhutan and the “Inbetween”: The Work of Dr. Nitasha Kaul

Nitasha Kaul, a Kashmiri novelist, multidisciplinary academic, poet, economist, and artist who is based in London, headlines the April 7 talk, ‘Inbetween’ India and China: Bhutan’s International Relations. The talk, sponsored by the Mittal Institute, Asia Center and Fairbank Center, traces Bhutan’s history as a Himalayan country sharing borders with India and China, and its foreign policy trajectory. Dr. Kaul, who is also an Associate Professor (Reader) in Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster, spoke to the Mittal Institute ahead of the talk about her work.

Decarbonizing India’s Energy Economy: A Conversation with Professor Michael B. McElroy

Mar 22, 2022 | Announcements, Faculty, In Region, India, News, South Asia in the News

Decarbonizing India’s Energy Economy: A Conversation with Professor Michael B. McElroy

Professor Michael B. McElroy, Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies at Harvard University and Chair of the Harvard-China Project on Energy, Economy and Environment, leads a research group studying how India might forge a path towards a decarbonized energy system. He will present his thoughts at the upcoming March 30 event, “Decarbonizing India’s Energy Economy,” hosted by the Harvard-China Project and LMSAI. The Mittal Institute sat down with Professor McElroy to learn more about his research and the future energy and climate outlook of India.

Post Pandemic: Driving Inclusive Growth in Asia (Videos)

Mar 22, 2022 | Announcements, COVID-19, News, South Asia in the News

Post Pandemic: Driving Inclusive Growth in Asia (Videos)

This semester, the three-part series “Post Pandemic: Driving Inclusive Growth in Asia,” focused on the unique challenges faced by many Asian countries recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted by the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research, Harvard University’s Center for International Development, and Harvard University’s Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, the series explored the following topics: Education in Asia (January 19); Healthcare in Asia (February 16); Economics and Social Policy Driving Social Cohesion in Asia (March 16)

Fleeing Afghanistan: Fara Abbas on Starting Over

Mar 1, 2022 | Afghanistan, Announcements, Community, Fellows, News, South Asia in the News

Fleeing Afghanistan: Fara Abbas on Starting Over

Fara Abbas, a Fellow with the Negotiation Task Force, based at Harvard’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, is a specialist on Afghan affairs with over 10 years of in-country experience on security, peace, and development. She fled Afghanistan in August after the Taliban takeover, and a stipend by a number of Harvard entities – including the Mittal Institute – is supporting her year-long Fellowship at Harvard.

‘Indian Sex Life’: Durba Mitra on Strict Social Norms

Mar 1, 2022 | Announcements, Faculty, News, Social Enterprise, South Asia in the News

‘Indian Sex Life’: Durba Mitra on Strict Social Norms

Durba Mitra, Carol K. Pforzheimer Assistant Professor at the Radcliffe Institute and Assistant Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality has been awarded the Bernard S. Cohn Book Prize by the Association for Asian Studies for her book, Indian Sex Life: Sexuality and the Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought. This prize honors “outstanding and innovative scholarship across discipline and country of specialization for a first single-authored monograph on South Asia.” Indian Sex Life, which demonstrates how ideas of deviant female sexuality became foundational to modern social thought, also received an honorable mention for the J. Willard Hurst Book Prize from the Law & Society Association.