South Asia and Harvard University: An Overview

During the 2006-2007 school year, Harvard had 193 students attending from India and a total of 275 students from South Asia.

As of Spring 2006, University-wide there were 1,713 Harvard alumni from South Asia, including 1,137 from India.

The Harvard South Asian Association was created in 1986 to serve as a vehicle to engage with South Asia and its Diaspora through academic, political, outreach, social, and cultural initiatives. There are currently more than 300 members.

Harvard South Asian Journal is a Harvard College student publication published bi-annually by the Harvard South Asian Association.

The Committee on South Asian Studies is a multidisciplinary group of scholars appointed to coordinate teaching and research on South Asia.

Historical Facts, Events, and Visits

1872: Sanskrit is first taught at Harvard when James Bradstreet Greenough, a Latin grammarian, begins offering courses in Sanskrit and comparative philology as Latin electives.

1880: Charles Lanman becomes the first to preside over the Department of Indo-Iranian Languages, now called the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies.

1941: The first student from India enrolls at Harvard.

1945: Seven scientists from India visit Harvard as part of a tour of universities and research institutions designed to foster scientific contacts between India and the United States.

1955: Representatives of 20 College and Radcliffe organizations sponsor a program for the development of Indian villages to be undertaken by Indian students at the University of Delhi.

1961: Harvard President Nathan Marsh Pusey travels around East Asia, with stop-offs at six Harvard Clubs; 15 universities, including the Universities of Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and Delhi; and Osmania and Benares Hindu Universities

1961: The Harvard University Glee Club, 61 members strong, storms into India in its whirlwind concert tour of South Asia. The choral group performs in Calcutta, Madras, Delhi, and Bombay and Greece.

1961-1963: John Kenneth Galbraith, Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics, serves as the U.S. ambassador to India under President Kennedy. Galbraith remains a friend and supporter of India and regularly hosts lunch for Indian students at Harvard on graduation day.

1966: There are 66 students from India enrolled at Harvard.

1975: Government Professor Daniel Patrick Moynihan returned to Harvard after two years as U.S. Ambassador to India.

1983: King of Nepal, Birenda Bir Bikram Shah Dev, who attended Harvard as a special student from 1967 to 1968 to study liberal arts, comes to an exhibition on Nepalese urban restoration at the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts. After the presentation, the King and Queen dine with President Derek Bok at 17 Quincy Street. The King's gifts, a model of a Hindu temple and a model of a Buddhist Stupe, are displayed outside the dining room.

1984: At the MIT Chapel, the Harvard and MIT Vedanta Societies hold a memorial service for slain Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

1987: Harvard President Bok took a three month sabbatical and traveled to India. President Bok said that his first priority in expanding Harvard's coverage of India was to endow a permanent chair in Indian history.

1987: Harvard and the affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital announce a $2 million gift from the Hinduja Foundation (Bombay, India) to promote India-related research and education projects.

1993: A group of Harvard students raise funds for the victims of the earthquake that shook India, leaving close to 30,000 dead. Natasha D. Bir '96 and Rajni Rao '96, both of whom have relatives in India, work with the South Asian Association to send money to the International Red Cross in India.

1995: A Chair for Tibetan and Himalayan Studies is established. A range of courses in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies are now offered.

2006: Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers visited India. He speaks at the Reserve Bank of India, All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi, and the Higher Education Summit of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Regarding the trip, he says "Every American should visit the country that may be our most important ally two decades from now."

2006: The Harvard Alumni Association holds the Global Series in New Delhi, India.

Goals

engagement

Leadership