Students Explore Culture, Politics and Institutions in India Trips Two groups of SAIS students recently traveled to India to explore the world's largest democracy and one of the globe’s fastest-growing economies. Ruth Wedgwood, director of the International Law and Organizations (IL) Program, led 20 students to India during the Thanksgiving break in November. The trip was designed to expose students to Indian culture, politics and institutions while giving them the opportunity to learn about specific issues affecting the rising power. A highlight of the trip was a private meeting with Shashi Tharoor, external minister for foreign affairs at the Ministry of External Affairs. Students coordinated visits to law firms, a trip to the High Court of Delhi, and meetings at the Prayas Institute of Juvenile Justice and Jamia Millia Islamia (National Islamic University). Maria Luisa Olivieri, a second-year M.A. student in the IL Program, was impressed by a tour of the studio of fashion designer Anupama Dayal. “Dayal told us how she is fulfi lling her dream with the label she has built,” said Olivieri. “She uses traditional style and technique from various parts of India in her work. It was a lovely glimpse into the story of a successful female entrepreneur—people like her are changing India.” A second group of 16 students, led by Walter Andersen, acting director of the South Asia Studies Program, traveled to India and also to Bangladesh over the January midyear break. The trip’s theme was energy needs in the South Asia region, with students examining issues of climate change, energy security, trade and foreign policy. Participants met with representatives from a variety of sectors and industries. In India, students met with Rick Bott, chief operating officer of Cairn India energy company, and made a site visit to rural India to learn about solar initiatives by the “Lighting a Billion Lives” campaign, organized and managed by The Energy and Resources Institute. The energy focus continued in Dhaka, Bangladesh, expanding into U.S.-Bangladesh relations and development issues. Students were briefed at the U.S. Embassy and met with members of the Bangladesh Secretariat. Trip participants also met with Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, a nongovernmental organization focusing on poverty alleviation, and had a private meeting with Nobel Prizewinning economist and Grameen Bank founder Mohammed Yunus. Interacting with SAIS alumni in the region was an important part of both trips’ travel agendas. In Delhi, IL students met at the Italian Embassy with Ambassador Roberto Toscano B’67, ’68. Raimund Magis B’96, ’97 and Ph.D. candidate Anit Mukherjee ’05 hosted a gathering of the students and local SAIS alumni at a café. Jay Lurie B’06, ’07 and Brad Roberts ’01 hosted a question-and-answer session with the South Asia Studies Program students and other participants at the offices of the International Finance Corporation. Students dined at the home of Zorawar Daulet Singh ’06, a foreign policy expert at the Center for Policy Alternatives in Delhi. In Dhaka, Miran Ali JHU’97 hosted the students at his family estate. U.S. Ambassador James Moriarty held a reception at his residence for alumni and the students on their last evening in the city. “The alumni events were undoubtedly the most memorable parts of the trip,” said second-year South Asia Studies Program student Saurabh Shome. “I was struck by the deep sense of belonging and felt proud and fortunate to be a part of the SAIS and JHU community.” The trips were made possible in part through a generous grant from the Starr Foundation. The Protection Project at SAIS provided funding for two students on the IL trip who conducted research on human trafficking. Both trips underscore the importance of the foreign travel component to the SAIS education. “We learned about India’s challenges and the people working on the ground to face them. From corporate social responsibility to justice for children to environmental issues, the Indian people are mobilizing themselves and seeking to improve their country and society,” said Olivieri. ● [return to contents] | 
