Harvard Historian Indian American to get MacArthur Award

Sunil Amrith and 38years Harvard University’s Department of South Asian studies is the only Indian American historian among 24Mac Arthur Foundation’s genius fellows for 2017 will in form of cash award of $625,000  over five years which can be as per their wishes.

Amrith’s work consists of ‘the role of centuries of transnational migration in the present day social and cultural dynamics of South and Southeast Asia’. Sunil is among 24 other categories winner whose name would  hardly figure in the same place since they are from musician, computer scientist, educators, social and human right activists, photographers, psychologists, writers, and journalists and this year being the first time in its 36-year history an architect included. Once the selection is was done they are called a few week earlier to when the announcement is made public on 11th October as they are told to keep new secret while Amrith is already on high with fellowship analyse how it will help him. He said “the main way in which it will help me is to allow those projects that are currently out there as an impossible dream projects to come closer to realization”. Amrith recalled how he was led to study migration around the Bay of Bengal and as the author of Crossing the Bay of Bengal, published in 2013, said in the book he “ really tried to paint a picture of the region from many perspectives as from migrant’s view. It was the second half of 19th Century and transformed the shape and face of modern South and Southeast Asia and his study includes most of were a part of British Empire. A historian Amrith has largely shown many views of in the book, he an alumnus of the University of Cambridge, from where he received a B.A. in 2000 and PhD in2005, Amrith was a research fellow of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge ( 2004-2006) and taught modern Asian history at Birkbeck College of the University of London (2006-2014) prior to joining the faculty of Harvard University where he is currently Mehra family professor of South Asian Studies and a professor of history. Currently he is director of Harvard Centre for History and Economics.

JohnD. and Catherine T.  from Mac Arthur Foundation said: “ Each of the recipients has been selected for having shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits.” And added that awards are viewed by the foundation as an investment in their potential.

Cecilia A. Conrad, MD of the Foundation and the leader of the fellows program said “ from transforming conditions for low wage workers to identifying internet security vulnerabilities, from celebrating the African American string band tradition to designing resilient urban habitats, these new Mac Arthur fellows bring their exceptional creativity to diverse people, places, and social challenges”. She says it their work give which gives us reason for optimism and inspires us all.

Times had described award as “Few honours are wrapped in mystery and speculation as for the Mac Arthur. Potential fellows cannot apply but are suggested by a network of hundreds of nominators from across the country in a range of field and winnowed down by an anonymous committee of about a dozen”.