I begin with some bitter-sweet news. As you may have heard, after 16+ years, Dr. Sanchita Saxena has decided to step down as Executive Director of the Institute and Director of the Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies to pursue other research, teaching, and professional opportunities. Although all of us at the Institute warmly support Dr. Saxena’s desire to try something new, a nagging question remains: “Can we survive without Sanchita?” After all, Dr. Saxena wasn’t just responsible for managing, implementing, and administering the day-to-day operations of both the Institute and the Chowdhury Center but also overseeing all our public outreach, fundraising, and the diverse initiatives focused on South Asia at UC Berkeley. Three generations of Faculty Directors (Raka Ray, Lawrence Cohen, and myself) have benefited immensely from her always clear and sage advice, fierce loyalty to the Institute, cool under fire, imaginative approach to any problem, and her approachability and kindness toward all. Under Dr. Saxena’s watch, two new centers (focused on Bangladesh and contemporary India) were established, the number of Institute-affiliated faculty more than doubled, the Institute now hosts more initiatives, programs, and events than any other South Asia-focused center or institute in North America and Europe, millions of dollars were raised to protect or expand Berkeley’s South Asia-focused ecosystem, and the Institute developed a robust global presence thanks to a plethora of partnerships with universities, think-tanks, non-profit organizations, and governments. These are but a few of Dr. Saxena’s many accomplishments. Hers is an extraordinarily rich legacy of exceptional service to Berkeley and the world beyond. She will always be remembered for it. Bon voyage, Sanchita/Dr. Saxena!
While we will deeply miss Dr. Saxena, I am happy to say that we have found an exceptionally qualified replacement in Dr. Anirban Gupta-Nigam. He comes to us after an extraordinarily competitive search. To quote one of his recommenders: “Anirban has all the skills you will ever need to run the Institute. He is hardworking, intelligent, imaginative, understands how systems work, and is inclusive, patient and kind. He will immediately prove himself to be a huge asset to UC Berkeley.” Dr. Gupta-Nigam grew up in Delhi. He has a BA in History from St. Stephens College (University of Delhi), an MA in Art and Aesthetics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), an MPhil in Cinema Studies from JNU, and a PhD in Visual Studies from UC Irvine. He has variously worked for the People’s Union for Democratic Rights as well as the New Trade Union Initiative (both in Delhi), the University of California Humanities Research Initiative (Irvine, CA), and – most recently – as Associate Director for the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere (at the University of Florida, Gainesville). In addition to a number of peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Gupta-Nigam has a long history of public advocacy and engagement. Please join me in warmly welcoming him to campus.
In addition to the above events, the Chowdhury Center is sponsoring (or co sponsoring) two Zoom talks - Mahmudul Hasan will discuss Humayun Kabir’s Men and Rivers (Sept 12), and Mushtaque Chowdhury will talk about advances in Bangladesh's health sector (Sept 16), the Maya Mitra Das Lecture on Tagore by Sudipta Kaviraj (Oct 19), and 3rd i’s 21st Annual SF Int’l South Asian Film Festival (Oct 20-22). In Fall 2023, the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies is thrilled to welcome Asif Iqbal, the inaugural recipient of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Research Award. As a Bangabandhu Fellow, Dr. Iqbal will be in residence on campus from Nov 1- 4, 2023 during which time he will deliver a public lecture (Nov 2) and meet with faculty and students on campus.
We are thrilled that the number of South Asia-focused faculty at UC Berkeley continues to grow. Please join us in welcoming: Brian Bond, an ethnomusicologist whose research is focused on Sindhi-language Sufi music in Kachchh, Gujarat, and Sindh, Pakistan; Manisha Shah, a development economist whose primary research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of applied microeconomics, health, and development; and Travis Smith, an expert on Sanskrit language and South Asian religions. Their presence is on top of a large number of incoming graduate students in more than a dozen departments and programs across Berkeley. For more about some our current graduate students, see Aajkal's special issue.
We are also delighted to affiliate the following scholars and faculty with the Institute: Ramya Chandrasekhar (a research fellow who leads the Biometrics Project at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology); Angana P. Chatterjee (a research fellow who helped co-found the Political Conflict, Gender and People’s Rights Initiative); and Penny Edwards (a cultural historian with interests in colonial South and Southeast Asia).
We are delighted to report an exciting new South Asia Art Initiative related program in Fall 2023: an opportunity to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York to view Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 BCE–400 CE, the groundbreaking exhibition that both tells the story of the origins of Buddhist art and explores objects that speak of India’s place in the ancient global world through newly discovered and never before exhibited artworks. Highlights of the exhibition include an ivory yakshi from India that was excavated in Pompeii and a 1st-century Roman figure of Poseidon excavated in Kolhapur. The field trip will be led by Dr. Sugata Ray and will include seven students from UC Berkeley's Department of Art History.
We continue our work to build endowments to support the Center on Contemporary India, Art, language instruction (especially Hindi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu), and graduate students. We are especially grateful to all our donors and current advisory board members for their support over the past year. Please share any and all leads you might have of individuals and families interested in supporting the South Asia ecosystem at Berkeley.
Undergraduate and graduate students, please check out our Grants & Awards page for deadlines to fund a student-led conference, travel grants, research fellowships, internships, and a best paper prize.
Our Annual Reception will be on Wednesday, September 27, between 4 and 6 pm. The venue is the beautiful and recently renovated Stephens Hall terrace (right above the Institute, entry way through the main door of the Institute for South Asia Studies at 10 Stephens Hall. For DIRECTIONS to the Institute please enter “Institute for South Asia Studies” in your google maps or click this GOOGLE MAPS LINK.) Please come to meet old friends, make new ones (including Dr. Anirban Gupta-Nigam), enjoy good food and drink, and watch a performance by Dil Se, Berkeley’s premier desi acapella group.
All our events are recorded and made available for viewing on our website. So, in case you miss an event, know that you can always view it later on our Videos page.
If you know someone who might be interested in being added to our list serve, please contact Puneeta Kala. And if you have ideas, big or small, for advancing our mission to educate people about South Asia, drop me a line at [email protected].
Go Bears!
Munis D. Faruqui
Director, Institute for South Asia Studies
Faculty, Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies
A two-day academic conference featuring specialists across areas like philosophy, theology, astronomy, rhetoric, jurisprudence, hadīth, tafsīr, Perso-Sanskrit interactions, and infrastructures of knowledge production:
An exhibition curated by students of Art & Climate Change, a course on what art, architecture, sustainable design, urban planning, cinema, and performance practices can contribute to current debates on environmental justice and climate change.
