Newsletter   January 19, 2018

"To my left was a street vendor selling papaya and mangosteen; ahead of me was a dense urban jungle of palm trees and thicket, and between us stood a uniformed military official, with an AK-47 draped over his shoulder." - Cresa Pugh, Harvard doctoral student, who visited Myanmar in June 2017 with an SAI grant.


Spotlight on Harvard Fellow: Shalini Singh
" When I first became a journalist, I did not want to write about celebrities, gossip and fashion, which many editors would want you to. There is nothing wrong with these topics; however, because a majority of the country does not have access to these lifestyles, it was always on my conscience to bring out untold stories. "

Fellow sitting in front of laptop
The Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute (SAI), Harvard University, offers opportunities for scholars and practitioners to utilize the university's resources to contribute to self-driven, independent research related to South Asia. The deadlines for the 2018-2019 Aman Fellowship, Arvind Raghunathan and Sribala Subramanian South Asia Visiting Fellowship and Babar Ali Fellowship are March 6, 2018.
Featured Publications:
Image of Neel Ghose smiling
Harvard MBA Candidate Neel Ghose is one of the co-founders of the Robin Hood Army (RHA), a social initiative that began in India, and distributes surplus food to the hungry in over 15 countries. Ghose spoke to The Hindu about RHA's work in India and Pakistan: "More people die of hunger in both countries than terrorism. So we have taken up the initiative to eliminate hunger from our countries."

Sugata Bose in front of a microphone
"Clear violation of the freedom of expression"
Professor Sugata Bose, Harvard University,  criticized India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for its censorship of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen (Harvard): "I would not accept this cut. It sets a very bad precedent for filmmakers having to negotiate with the chairman of the board to get their films cleared." 


Harvard Kennedy School doctoral candidate Rohit Chandra writes in The Hindu:  " The renewable energy vs. coal debate in eastern India reflects a larger problem in the Indian investment scenario: private capital herds toward States with fewer governance problems, better business environments, and higher probabilities of quick returns."



Student Opportunities:



Flash Back Friday:
On October 6, 2016, filmmaker Subsari Krishnan screened her  documentary film  What the Fields Remember.   The documentary revisits the 1983 Nellie massacre three decades later, and raises larger questions around collective memory - of what we choose to remember and why we choose to forget.


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