Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Fellow Explorers of Ideas,

It is both a privilege and a personal joy to serve as Academic Affairs Coordinator at the Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies. In this capacity, I find myself positioning at the crossroads of dialogue, discovery, and collaboration—situated where stubborn scholarship meets the imperatives of the world today.

In the Institute, we engage with knowledge in forms that do not comply with conventional conceptions of academic modes of investigation. Although we value the darkened archives and vaulted conference rooms where critical thought is bestowed upon our epilepsy, our mission stretches even further than that. We are a research Institute working for more than academic purposes—our aim is to explore the realities of South Asia meaningfully—research that not only interrogates but intervenes; research that not only theorizes but transforms.

Through our scholarship, we have action-oriented and serious agendas focusing on socio-political and ethical issues in the continent. We are working with intellectual courage, creativity, and collaborative possibility. In researching South Asia, we insist on a public focus and transdisciplinary engagement. We want to bridge theory and actions.

Of the many initiatives that I have had the honour to contribute to, the Global Justice and Policy Reform Programme is the strongest manifestation of this ethos. Conducted in partnership with the National Law Institute of India and a group of human rights NGOs, this project gave us focus to research and interface with policymaking practices that interface with the needs of some of the most socio-economically deprived communities across South Asia’s urban labyrinth. We were also lucky enough to see our research inspire and impact legislative and institutional models.

We also recently collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) through the Urban Health Equity Project, which grapples with the stratified inequities that are encountered in healthcare access across rapidly developing urban centres across South Asia. We are attempting to ideate around healthcare access and the role of urbanism, not just to gain a better understanding of public health inequities in urban centres but to engage with dynamics that can ultimately serve to inform equitable urban health systems for the 21st century.

Nonetheless, through these search processes, it has truly been the human aspects of academic life that have brought me the most satisfaction. To experience exchanges that are sincere, inquire together, and enrich through our Editorial and Scholarly Exchange Programmes are the essence of community. The other day, I learned more from our visiting fellows from the University of Oxford and Seoul Institute for Policy Studies than any number of readings from an article could ever convey, transcending disciplinary walls and demonstrating that scholarship, when engaged at our best, is fundamentally human.

As I conclude building on this foundation, I would like to extend an open invitation to scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and activists who are passionate about South Asia and critical in their inquiry and engagement with others. While the challenges ahead are considerable, we cannot forget the possibilities.

Let us strive to continue to challenge each other through difficult questions, recognize that real learning means embracing humble failure, and imagine together a world that is, at its core, about justice, intellectual integrity and shared purpose.