South Asian Studies deserves stronger standing at university

Parekh is a third-year political science and business
specialization student.

By Neetal Parekh

What does a region have to do to earn status at a university
such as UCLA? The South Asian region is the birthplace of a
civilization dating back 4.5 millennia and is currently home to
more than a billion of the world’s people. Rich in its
history, culture and arts, South Asia also presents a complex
puzzle with its current economic, political, and developmental
dilemmas.

Furthermore, the diasporic studies of South Asians span the
globe from Fiji to Kenya to America. But even with more than 50
South Asian related courses listed in the catalogue, a UCLA student
would be lost to find the South Asian Studies Library on campus, or
to add a South Asian Studies minor to their current load, and would
be most disappointed when he or she tried to declare their South
Asian Studies major at UCLA.

This is because UCLA, unlike other major public universities
such as University of Pennsylvania, UC Berkeley, University of
Michigan and the University of Chicago, does not have any of these
resources for South Asian studies.

The courses that are offered at UCLA are isolated courses; they
are not unified to form any kind of minor, major, or program. And
UCLA cannot show a single tenured faculty member currently teaching
in South Asian Studies.

To address this issue, students from various South Asian
organizations joined to form a South Asian Studies Task Force in
Winter 2001. But the Task Force was not conceived merely last
quarter; it has, in fact, been in gestation for the last
decade.

Since 1992, when the student movement’s agenda for South
and Southeast Asian Languages such as Hindi, Thai, Vietnamese and
Tagalog was finally approved, various student groups, individuals,
and coalitions have discussed the proposition of a South &
Southeast Asian Studies program at UCLA.

One of the earliest groups, the Asian Pacific Languages and
Cultures Committee, planned to pursue a minor in the area of study
after the approval of the language study in 1992; but as members
graduated from the university, the movement lost much of its
energy. South Asian organizations such as Sangam and the Indian
Student Union have had the issue on their yearly agendas for some
years.

But, without organization and structure, these efforts have been
spoken but not acted upon.

During Winter 2000 a South Asian Studies Coalition was formed
and initially held representation from many of the South Asian
organizations including Delta Phi Beta, ISU, Sangam and the
Pakistani Students Association. The coalition sparked interest and
educated students about the status of South Asian studies at the
UCLA campus.

But, as with earlier efforts, the group was limited by
graduating members and lukewarm support. Fall 2000 saw a renewed
interest in South Asian studies on campus.

On December 1, 2000, a student-faculty dinner was hosted by UCLA
Sangam to promote the discussion of issues regarding South Asian
studies and to provide a forum for students to meet some of the
South Asian Studies faculty on campus. The event sparked interest
for those students who attended.

A turning point for the South Asian community at UCLA, however,
was in relief efforts for the Jan. 26 earthquake in Gujarat, India.
The efforts to raise funds, educate through tabling on campus,
choose a reliable charity and organize the candlelight vigil
redefined the “unity” within the community. Across the
board, South Asian organizations and students gave their time,
effort and donations, resulting in the raising of thousands of
dollars toward the India Development and Relief Fund. This
solidarity gave a new vision of what our student activism could
accomplish.

Last quarter the South Asian Studies Task Force met weekly for
the latter part of the quarter. From guest speakers such as the
Asian American Studies Center’s Director Don Nakanishi and
Assistant Director Dennis Arguelles, the Task Force learned about
the history of the struggle for Asian American Studies at UCLA.
With this in mind, the group engaged in “power mapping”
exercises to outline goals, considerations, and methods of
addressing the lack of South Asian studies at UCLA. The Task Force
met with South Asian Studies teaching faculty to gain insight on
the potential of a program.

Furthermore, the group has been involved in researching to find
accurate numbers to support a call for South Asian Studies at UCLA
and in writing a statement to convey its findings. Most currently,
the SASTF met with Daniel Neuman, the Dean of the School of Arts
and Architecture, who is a specialist in South Asia. The Task Force
has provided an avenue for student activism to be effective. We
hope that our efforts pave the road for the swift arrival of South
Asian studies at our campus.

The time is ripe for UCLA, with its vast resources in research,
faculty and students, to follow the example of other major public
universities in recognizing the field of South Asian studies. Not
only would such a program of study benefit students but also the
University of California.

By bringing such a program, we can learn from existing research
and sources and can further the field of study by contributing our
knowledge and resources.

Thus, introducing South Asian studies at UCLA would help to
establish UCLA as a strong center for research of the region. Also,
we would support the university’s commitment to
diversity.