BY RAVJOT KAUR
LOS ANGELES, CA - The UCLA Center for India and South Asia and Friends of Sardar Patel Association hosted the 18th Annual Sardar Patel Award Presentation and the 3rd Annual Professor Emeritus Damodar SarDesai Memorial Lecture at the California Room, UCLA Faculty Center here on May 12.
LOS ANGELES, CA - The UCLA Center for India and South Asia and Friends of Sardar Patel Association hosted the 18th Annual Sardar Patel Award Presentation and the 3rd Annual Professor Emeritus Damodar SarDesai Memorial Lecture at the California Room, UCLA Faculty Center here on May 12.
The Sardar Patel Award was presented to Dr. Alpen Sheth, of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for his thesis on `Cultivating Risk: Weather Insurance, Technology and Financialization in India.’
300,000 farmers in India have committed suicide from 1995-2015. In his dissertation, Alpen Sheth asks how and why insurance, which never played a significant role several decades ago, has come to be a central planning strategy for agricultural policymakers. He shows how risk transfer in the agricultural sector has been increasingly financialized, with a growing dependence on new derivative instruments and the rising penetration of international reinsurance capital.
Sheth while sharing the insights of his thesis explained that his study is based on four major agricultural states - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab. For his research he has conducted extended interviews with over 40 insurance professionals and underwriters, 20 Indian government policy makers as well as with 60 farmers in the four states.
The annual $10,000 award encourages and honors the best doctoral dissertation on any aspect of modern India which involves social sciences, humanities, education and fine arts at any U.S. University or academic institution awarding the Ph.D.
Ken Silverman, Chairman of the Board , South Asian Studies Association introduced the Chief Guest for the event, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok, Consul General of India, San Francisco. Ambassador Ashok delivered the 3rd Annual Professor Emeritus Damodar SarDesai Memorial Lecture, and spoke on India- US Relations.
“In the history of India-US relations there has never been a more fortuitous convergence of strategic geo-political and economic interests of the two countries as at present. Our countries share a commitment to advance mutual prosperity, global peace and stability. Our deepening strategic relationship is rooted in shared values of freedom, democracy, universal values, rule of law, tolerance, pluralism and equal opportunities for all our citizens. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the relations between India and the United States.” Following the lecture, Dr. Vandana SarDesai presented the Ambassador with a signed copy of the book “India : A Definitive History” authored by her father, the late Professor Emeritus Dr. Damodar SarDesai, who was affiliated with UCLA for over 50 years. Earlier, a short presentation was made by Harkishan Vasa, President of the Association and Dr. Vandana SarDesai, Vice-President and Secretary, about how the award came to be established and about the Association. They shared that the Sardar Patel Award at the University of California, Los Angeles, was established in 1999, in conjunction with the celebration of Sardar Patel’s 124th birthday. The establishment of the prestigious Sardar Patel Award was an attempt in line with several contributions made to centers of learning by the Indian American community throughout the US with the desire of appreciably raising the level of interest and initiate research in the studies of India in the US with the intent of contributing to a deeper and better understanding between the two countries. They added that the award is annually conferred by the Center for India and South Asia at UCLA.
Dr. Akhil Gupta, Director of the Center then spoke on the various activities and the importance of supporting research. While explaining the significance of research on the Indian Subcontinent, he said that research is not only important to preserve the cultural heritage, history and art of such an old civilization that we are part of but also because such research and studies are required to understand the enormous transformation that is happening in contemporary India. He added that good policies can be formulated on the basis of the scholarly work, which will help in safeguarding the future of our country.
300,000 farmers in India have committed suicide from 1995-2015. In his dissertation, Alpen Sheth asks how and why insurance, which never played a significant role several decades ago, has come to be a central planning strategy for agricultural policymakers. He shows how risk transfer in the agricultural sector has been increasingly financialized, with a growing dependence on new derivative instruments and the rising penetration of international reinsurance capital.
Sheth while sharing the insights of his thesis explained that his study is based on four major agricultural states - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab. For his research he has conducted extended interviews with over 40 insurance professionals and underwriters, 20 Indian government policy makers as well as with 60 farmers in the four states.
The annual $10,000 award encourages and honors the best doctoral dissertation on any aspect of modern India which involves social sciences, humanities, education and fine arts at any U.S. University or academic institution awarding the Ph.D.
Ken Silverman, Chairman of the Board , South Asian Studies Association introduced the Chief Guest for the event, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok, Consul General of India, San Francisco. Ambassador Ashok delivered the 3rd Annual Professor Emeritus Damodar SarDesai Memorial Lecture, and spoke on India- US Relations.
“In the history of India-US relations there has never been a more fortuitous convergence of strategic geo-political and economic interests of the two countries as at present. Our countries share a commitment to advance mutual prosperity, global peace and stability. Our deepening strategic relationship is rooted in shared values of freedom, democracy, universal values, rule of law, tolerance, pluralism and equal opportunities for all our citizens. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the relations between India and the United States.” Following the lecture, Dr. Vandana SarDesai presented the Ambassador with a signed copy of the book “India : A Definitive History” authored by her father, the late Professor Emeritus Dr. Damodar SarDesai, who was affiliated with UCLA for over 50 years. Earlier, a short presentation was made by Harkishan Vasa, President of the Association and Dr. Vandana SarDesai, Vice-President and Secretary, about how the award came to be established and about the Association. They shared that the Sardar Patel Award at the University of California, Los Angeles, was established in 1999, in conjunction with the celebration of Sardar Patel’s 124th birthday. The establishment of the prestigious Sardar Patel Award was an attempt in line with several contributions made to centers of learning by the Indian American community throughout the US with the desire of appreciably raising the level of interest and initiate research in the studies of India in the US with the intent of contributing to a deeper and better understanding between the two countries. They added that the award is annually conferred by the Center for India and South Asia at UCLA.
Dr. Akhil Gupta, Director of the Center then spoke on the various activities and the importance of supporting research. While explaining the significance of research on the Indian Subcontinent, he said that research is not only important to preserve the cultural heritage, history and art of such an old civilization that we are part of but also because such research and studies are required to understand the enormous transformation that is happening in contemporary India. He added that good policies can be formulated on the basis of the scholarly work, which will help in safeguarding the future of our country.
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