South Asian Studies Council at Yale

Scholars from around the world recently gathered to celebrate the retirement of former SASC Chair Kalyanakrishnan “Shivi” Sivaramakrishnan and honor his extraordinary contributions to South Asian anthropology, agrarian studies, and interdisciplinary scholarship at Yale. Through reflections from students, colleagues, and collaborators, our latest feature article traces Shivi’s lasting impact as a scholar, institution builder, and mentor whose generosity shaped generations of researchers. Read more on our website.

In our latest feature, we spotlight Kaitlin Emmanuel, our 2025–26 Singh Fellow, whose work on Sri Lanka, the Tamil diaspora, and visual culture has expanded conversations on art, archives, and memory at Yale.

From object-based learning in Yale’s collections to research on diasporic art after the Sri Lankan Civil War, the piece explores how Emmanuel brings questions of displacement, history, and representation into the classroom and beyond. Read more on our website.

SASC celebrates several graduating majors, student fellows, and prize winners who have been involved with South Asian Studies. We wish them all the best as they embark on new adventures beyond Yale! 🎓🎉

From debates on happiness and tourism to arguments about space colonization, students from across the country gathered in April for the 2026 Yale Hindi Debate—the only Hindi-language national debate in the United States. Our latest article highlights this growing platform for language learning, public speaking, and community building across universities. Read more on our website.

Dwaipayan Banerjee (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) will be speaking at the South Asian Studies Council on Tuesday, April 21st, on “Computing in the Age of Decolonization: India's Lost Technological Revolution.” Join us to hear this talk in Luce 203 at 12:00 PM.

Gautam Bhatia (Lawyer & Legal Scholar) will be speaking at the South Asian Studies Council next Tuesday, April 14th, on “The Indian Constitution: Conversations with Power.” Join us to hear this talk in Luce 203 at 12:00 PM.

April 15th | 3:00 pm | HQ 276
Please join us for a symposium marking 75 years since the adoption of the Indian Constitution, bringing together legal historians, constitutional scholars, and practitioners to reflect on the Constitution’s journey.

Please join us on Friday, April 10th, for the National Round of the Yale Hindi Debate! Students from across the country will be competing. This event will take place in Horchow Hall.

April 6th | 4:30 pm | Luce 203
Please join co-authors Rohit De and Ornit Shani for a conversation on their recently released book, Assembling India's Constitution: A New Democratic History, featuring discussants David Engerman, Karuna Mantena, and Nazmul Sultan. This book panel is part of our series marking the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution. To learn more, visit our website.

Sreekar Raghotham Matam (Yale University) will be speaking at the South Asian Studies Council next Tuesday, March 31st, on “Linguistic Science for the People.” Join us to hear this talk in Rozenkranz 102 at 12:00 PM. Please note the room change.
Find more information on our website here: https://macmillan.yale.edu/southasia/events/2026-02-24/sreekar-raghotham-matam-linguistic-science-people