The South Asia Center congratulates the 2022 graduates of the MA in International Studies (South Asia) and affiliated South Asia Studies programs!
Sukhmann Bajwa
Degree: M.A. in South Asia Studies, Jackson School of International Studies- Research interests: Social Death, Resistance Movements, Gender, and Sexuality in South Asia
- Final papers: “Shifting Solidarities: Women and Queer Communities Mobilizing the Samyukt Kisan Morcha” and “Uneven Spaces: Transregional Human Commodification in Indian Ocean Historiography”
- Honors & awards: Twice FLAS recipient in Urdu
- Favorite class: GWSS 539 Social Movements in India
- Advice for new students: Build a supportive network with your colleagues and advisors.
Karishma Manglani
Degree: M.A. in South Asia Studies, Jackson School of International Studies- Research interests: Feminist ethnography; Gender and Sexuality in Urban Spaces; Women’s literature; Memory, Nationalism, and use of History; Belonging as an analytic;
- Final papers: “Remembering Partition ‘Right’: Understanding Hindutva’s Regionalization in Sindhi Hindu Memories” and “Longings and Belongings in a Delhi Park: Four Stories on Class, Gender, and Space”
- Honors & awards: 2020-21 and 2021-22 FLAS Recipient in Urdu
- Favorite class: Urdu and the Graduate Calderwood Writing Seminar
- Advice for new students:
- First and foremost – take care of yourself and your mental health!
- Be open to trying things outside of your existing interests and comfort zone.
- Be proactive about reaching out to professors when you need help!
- Cultivate your relationships with your peers – grad school can be isolating, but they are going through the same things you are.
Ilsa Razzak
Degree: M.A. in South Asia Studies, Jackson School of International Studies- Research interests: early modern South Asia; Islam; identity in South Asia; legal histories of the subcontinent; social and cultural histories; movement and belonging
- Final papers: “Law as social history in the Fatawa-i Alamgiri“and “Sufferers, Travelers, andClaimants: Narrating Resettlement in Pakistan, 1950-1959”
- Honors & awards: Fulbright 2020-2022
- Favorite classes: PRSAN 454: The Epic Tradition in Iran with Prof. Aria Fani and HSTAS 502: Indian History with Prof. Purnima Dhavan
- Advice for new students: Take breaks, find time for your hobbies, and build your community of friends (however small) who can help you relax since the quarter system is a tough one.
Sauharda Rai
Degree: Ph.D. in International Studies, Graduate Certificate in Global Health- Research interests: Global mental health; Decolonization of global health; Stigma and migration in South Asia, particularly Nepal.
- Final papers:
- Pathways of interaction between husband’s migration and their wife’s mental health in rural Nepal.
- Predicting the onset of depression among the wives of labor migrants in relation to their husband’s migration.
- The role of social ties as protective and risk factor against the onset of depression among wives of labor migrants in Nepal.
- Honors & awards:
- Frank F. Conlon South Asia Fellowship, 2021
- India Association of Western Washington Scholarships for the Study of South Asia, 2020
- Open Society Foundation – Civil Society Scholar Award, 2019
- Chester Fritz International Research and Study Fellowship, 2019
- Global Mental Health Fellowship, Department of Global Mental Health, University of Washington, 2019
- Diversity and Equity Committee Travel and Research Grant, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, 2019
- Global Mental Health Conference Travel Grant, Department of Global Mental Health, University of Washington, 2019
- Henry M Jackson Doctoral Fellow 2018-19, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, 2018
- Favorite class: Too many. But my favorites were Social Determinants of Health by Stephen Bezruchka, Global Mental Health by Deepa Rao and Statistics for Social Sciences by Jerald Herting for methods.
- Future plans: I am joining the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The George Washington University where I will continue to work in global mental health research focused on Nepal.
- Advice for new students:
- Find the right mentors and network – that is the key of how your graduate school experience is going to be. Connect with people with similar research interest and ideas.
- Do not hesitate to apply for fellowships and grants. Keep a list of available fellowship and their deadlines. Talk to your seniors, colleagues, graduate school advisors or just google to find them and get advice on approaching each of them.
- Though it is hard said than done, discipline is the key. Try to find at least sometime every day to focus on your own research out of your TA/RA responsibilities, course works and other million things that comes up in graduate school. In between never forget to have fun!