About Us
The South Asia Initiative is an independent inter-divisional effort at UCSD to promote discussion and exchange about South Asia. We support research, bring speakers, and sponsor courses toward an undergraduate minor in South Asian Studies. We host weekly seminars and round table discussions on Thursday afternoons. Our Steering Committee members are: Vineet Bafna, CSE; Prashant Bharadwaj, Economics; Lilly Irani, Communication; Vish Krishnan, Rady School, Steve Parish, Anthropology, Kamala Visweswaran, Ethnic Studies. Contact us to learn more, or join us at one of our events this quarter.
Next Event: June 14, 2018
Thursday, June 14: Navarasa Dance Theater performance, A Story and A Song launches the San Diego Museum of Art Epic Tales of Ancient India Exhibit. Co-sponsored by the Indira Foundation, the UCSD South Asia Initiative, and the SDMA/Committee for Arts of the Indian Subcontinent. Location: San Diego Museum of Art – 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park, 7-8:30 pm. Tickets on sale soon: $45 (Generaladmission); $25 (student/ID).
For the full schedule of events, please visit the events page.
Other events
Wednesday, June 13: Paryavaran Mitra (Friends of the Environment) Carving Path to Dignity, A talk by Ashish Agarwal, founder of Paryavaran Mitra
11:00 – 12:00 PM, CSE 1202
The speaker, Ashish Agrawal, founder-director of Paryavaran Mitra (Friends of the Environment) will talk about a social enterprise from Gandhi Ashram, India where poor rag-picking women play a crucial role in maintaining the cleanliness of the city yet earning a demeaning stature in society for this noble act. The emphasis of the talk will be on applying the entrepreneurial thinking and designing a self-sustainable business model which would allow overcoming prevalent issues like societal challenges, waste management, national policies, behavioral changes, women security, hygiene, social dogma, and others. The speaker will also discuss the results after being implemented for three successful years and unsolved challenges that lies ahead.