Programs

The Sarah Kailath Chair of India Studies and Memorial Lecture

The Sarah Kailath Chair of India Studies was established in memory of Sarah Kailath (February 5 1941 - October 15, 2008) with a generous pledge by Thomas Kailath, the Hitachi America Professor of Engineering at Stanford University, and Vinita and Narendra Gupta in 1991. Named in honor of Sarah Kailath, the Chair supports teaching and research in India Studies at Berkeley, with the goal of enhancing awareness and knowledge of issues relating to the Indian subcontinent. The Sarah Kailath Chair is held by the Chair of the Institute for South Asia Studies. The current Sarah Kailath Chair is...

The Bhattacharya Program on Contemporary India

The Bhattacharya India Fund was established in 2016 with a generous contribution from Kimi and Shankar Bhattacharya, both long time supporters of Bangla Studies at UC Berkeley as well as of the Institute. The fund provides financial support for two programs:

The Bhattacharya Graduate Fellowship: research funding for students The Bhattacharya Lectures on the Future of India: an annual lecture series

The...

The Indo-American Community Lectures in India Studies

The Indo-American Community Lectures in India Studies enables ISAS to bring prominent individuals from India to Berkeley every other year to deliver a lecture and interact with campus and community members during a one to two-week stay. We are supported in this by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which pays the visitor’s international airfare.

The lectureship is an offshoot of the Indo-American Community Chair in India Studies Endowment. The endowment was established via a community-based campaign in 1990 and 1991. Helped significantly by the efforts of the Consul...

The Maharaj Kaul Memorial Program

Headshot of Maharaj KaulMaharaj Kaul (1940 - 2009), a UC Berkeley alum, was tireless campaigner against injustice and for peace, founder of groups such as India Relief and Education Fund, and Coalition Against Communalism, and long-time supporter of Institute for South Asia Studies (ISAS) at the University of California, Berkeley.P. Sainath, the 2007 winner of the Ramon...

The ISAS-VSB Lectures on Religion in the Modern World

The Institute for South Asia Studies, in collaboration with the Vedanta Society Berkeley (VSB), are proud to host a lecture series on religion in the modern world. Titled the ISAS-VSB Lectures on Religion in the Modern World, this series invites distinguished scholars of world religions to campus with the aim of improving and diversifying conversations about the role of religion in modern societies.

The ISAS-VSB Lectures April 5, 2024 Philip Lutgendorf:...

The Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada Lecture on Pakistan

The Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada Lecture on Pakistan derives from the Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada Endowment. The endowment, established by Rafat Pirzada and his wife, Amna Jaffer, and named after Rafat Pirzada’s father, Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada on the occasion of his 90th birthday, funds the Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada Dissertation Prize on Pakistan, an annual dissertation prize for the best work in the humanities, social sciences, law, or public health on Pakistan, conceived geographically and conceptually. The Pirzada Lecture on Pakistan is designed around the winner of the S.S. Pirzada...

The Mahomedali Habib Distinguished Lecture Series on Pakistan

The Mahomedali Habib Distinguished Lecture Series on Pakistan is named in honor of one of the leading figures in the history of the Habib family. In addition to successfully guiding the Habib family’s transition from India to Pakistan following independence in 1947, Mahomedali Habib laid the foundations for the House of Habib, a group of powerful business and financial companies. The group has a long-standing history of philanthropy and social service and is currently leading the establishment of Habib University, a liberal arts and...

The Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies

The Institute for South Asia Studies received a major gift from the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Foundation to establish the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies. In addition to promoting and integrating interdisciplinary scholarship, the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center will sponsor lectures and conferences. To learn more about the Center and it's activities visit their website.