CIAO DATE: 10/05

New Horizons in United States Relations with South Asia

Christina Rocca

CASI Working Paper
July 2004

Center for the Advanced Study of India

 

Abstract

Thank you for your warm welcome. I am very glad to be here today at the University of Pennsylvania, home to one of our country's most prestigious communities of scholars engaged in the study of South Asia. The Center for the Advanced Study of India, of course, is one of several leading American academic institutions that have served an important role in fostering the study of India by American scholars and the global community of scholars concerned with India. So it is great to have a chance to come visit you today, to meet you informally, and talk together about what we do.

South Asia scholars have long repeated a special "mantra" of their own: That it is critical for Americans to know more about this region, its history, its multiple cultures and its people. Your message has been received: the jump of South Asia to the top of Washington's agenda is one of the major foreign policy shifts of the past three years.

The growing academic interest in South Asia parallels the increased importance of the region for foreign policy makers, now facing some of the greatest challenges of our generation. At the State Department, and within the foreign affairs community, there is a growing need for people who understand South Asia's history, its languages and cultures and our complex relations with the region to inform our decisions during the policy formation process. U.S. businesses have discovered a need for people familiar with their growing regional list of clients and subcontractors. So opportunities in your line of business look good.

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