The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University

Catalyze change in India! Apply for the Seed for Change Student Grant Competition?to?win up to $30,000 for your entrepreneurial student project! Harvard undergraduate and graduate students from all schools and departments are eligible to apply. Learn more on our website: https://lnkd.in/ehwBsdBM

Waheed Ahmad?from Afghanistan is a Mason Fellow pursuing his MC/MPA at Harvard Kennedy School.? He brings over a decade of experience at the intersection of national security, governance, and development.? “I care deeply about the effects of conflict and weak institutions on human well-being and security, not only in Afghanistan, but in so many places around the world. There is much to be learned from Afghanistan, and my wish is for all of our loss not to be in vain,“ Waheed said. He served as a senior National Security staff of the Afghanistan Democratic Government (2001-2021) and fled Afghanistan as the U.S. withdrew from the country and the Taliban took power in Kabul.? Once in the U.S., Waheed served as Resident Practitioner at the Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP) at?Binghamton University, focusing on human rights issues in Afghanistan.? We spoke to Waheed about his past, his time at Harvard, and his future plans. Read the Q+A here: https://lnkd.in/emsDa25z

#JobAlert: AI/ML and Full Stack Developer, open to Harvard undergraduate or graduate students ?? About the job: We are seeking talented students to join our team in building FINGERTIPS, an innovative AI-powered clinical decision support tool for healthcare providers in resource-constrained settings. It is a collaboration between St. John’s Research Institute, Community Science Alliance, Social Alpha Bengaluru India, and the Mittal Institute. Eligibility: Open to Harvard undergraduate and graduate students (either FWSP or non-FWSP) with necessary skills and qualifications in AI/ML engineering, full-stack development, and DevOps to develop innovative AI-driven healthcare solutions. The successful applicants will have the opportunity to conceptualize, develop, and maintain the tool from end to end. PLEASE APPLY BY DECEMBER 13, 2024, ON THE?HARVARD SEO WEBSITE?(Job ID: 22081)?with your resume, cover letter, and relevant portfolio/GitHub links: https://lnkd.in/eZph7gvN

In mid-October, distinguished Indian classical musician?Bahauddin Dagar?was in residence at the Mittal Institute. The renowned?rudra veena player, who is carrying the Drupad tradition forward, spent?a week engaging with the Harvard community and sharing his art form and musical talents. Dagar's residency culminated in a captivating concert, where he was accompanied by tanpura player?Shraddha Aggarwal?and percussionist?Tejas Tope. Listen to the full concert on YouTube:?https://lnkd.in/eAupRhQr The event was part of?ArtsThursdays, a university-wide initiative supported by Harvard University Committee on the Arts (HUCA).

Join the Harvard Human Rights Journal and the Mittal Institute for a discussion about the theft, trafficking, and trade of precious artifacts from Nepal and countries around the world, and the ways in which students and advocates in the United States can advance the right to culture, identity, and property. Panelists: ?? Sneha Shrestha,?Nepalese Artist, Mittal Institute Arts Program Manager ?? Erin Thompson, Author, America’s only Crime Professor ?? Sanjay Adhikari, Nepalese Heritage Lawyer, Environmental Activist Moderated by?Grace Shrestha, Harvard Law School student ?? Wednesday, November 20, 2024 ? 12:20–1:20 pm EST / 10:50–11:50 pm IST / 11:05 pm – 12:05 am NPT ?? Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Room 2012, and online via Zoom Lunch will be provided for those participating in person, but no registration is needed. To join via Zoom, check out our website: https://lnkd.in/eFuH2buC

Join us for a seminar on the political impacts of one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded, the Bhola Cyclone that struck East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1970 and killed 300,000 to 500,000 people. Prof.?Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, Jerome Kasoff ’54 Professor of Management and Economics at Yale University, will explore research from a new working paper co-authored by Prof.?Sultan Mehmood, Assistant Professor of Economics at the New Economic School of Moscow and a research affiliate at the Harvard Law School’s Program in Islamic Law. The authors provide empirical evidence that the cyclone’s devastation and the Pakistani government’s “callous response” to it were instrumental in galvanizing support for an independence movement. Read more about their research here: https://lnkd.in/eUDdKJCS Join us next week! Please RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/eGAEtDQa ?? Friday, November 15, 2024 ? 2:00–4:00 pm ET ?? CGIS South, Room S153, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge The seminar will include an eyewitness account from Martha Chen, Mittal Institute Steering Committee member. Co-hosted by?the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and the Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia at Brown University.

Join us for a presentation by nilanjana mukherjee, Mittal Institute Bajaj Fellow Fall 2024, moderated by Robin Kelsey, Shirley Carter Burden Professor of Photography in the Department of History of Arts and Architecture at Harvard University. Lunch will be served! Please RSVP on our website: https://lnkd.in/e7efRRRX ?? Friday, November 22, 2024 ? 12:00–1:30 pm EST ?? CGIS South, Room S153, Cambridge In the seminar, Nilanjana Mukherjee will present her research on the Thar Desert in North-Western India, arguing how studies of nomadic pastoral peoples transmit an alternate cartographic imagination to the impervious frontier zone evolved under British imperialism. Join us!

[New date] Join us for a fireside chat with Lakshmi Puri, Former Assistant Secretary-General of the UN, to discuss her critically acclaimed and best-selling novel, ‘Swallowing the Sun.’ ‘Swallowing the Sun’ is a stunning exploration of love, value, and India’s struggle for independence through the eyes of three generations of women. The book has been characterized as one of the most powerful debuts by an Indian writer in the 21st century. The author, Lakshmi Puri, has served at the United Nations for 15 years, first as Director of the International Trade Division at UNCTAD and later as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and the founding Deputy Executive Director of UN Women. ?? Tuesday, November 19, 2024 ??2:00–3:30 pm ???Malkin Penthouse, Harvard Kennedy School Note: Non-Harvard ID holders need to register at least 24 hours in advance to be able to access Harvard Kennedy School. Please RSVP on our website: https://lnkd.in/eURnMYKT Co-hosted by The India Caucus at Harvard Kennedy School and the Mittal Institute.

Last week's Joint Seminar on South Asian Politics with?Rithika Kumar, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Rice University, explored how the temporary absence of men from the household due to migration affects female political engagement. It featured an introduction by?Feyaad Allie, Assistant Professor of Government, Department of Government at Harvard University, and was moderated by commentator?Gemma Dipoppa, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Brown University. Watch the recording on our YouTube page: https://lnkd.in/e7pzZN4i This event was co-hosted by the Mittal Institute,?the?Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University?and the Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia at Brown University.

Join us for a conference on "Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism and the Institution of the Dalai Lama."?The two-day event will look at the history of reincarnation, the esoteric practices of rebirth and divination, and the modern-day geopolitical implications of the practice across the Buddhist world. ?? 1?? Thursday, November 14, 2024 | 4:00-6:00 pm? ?? 2?? Friday, November 15, 2024 | 8:15 am – 5:30 pm? ?? Belfer S020, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/eKkyh-E4 To preview the conference, we spoke with Prof.?Janet Gyatso, Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies at Harvard Divinity School. Read the Q+A here: https://lnkd.in/eGj6jxHw Sponsored by the?Harvard University Asia Center,?Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University,?Harvard-Yenching Institute, and the Mittal Institute.