Established in 2004, the Chakra Endowed Fund encourages the study of South Asia at Rutgers University by enhancing the Rutgers Library holdings in this area. The fund supports the acquisition of books, periodicals, films, microfilms, DVDs, and other media.

Additionally, the Chakra Fund supports the Chakra Student Paper Prize, an annual student paper competition that includes a cash award to encourage further study of South Asia. Undergraduate papers are expected to be approximately ten to twenty-five double-spaced pages in length, and graduate papers should be approximately twenty to forty pages in length. Submissions may include, but are not limited to, course term papers, chapters from honors theses, or papers produced during independent study or study abroad. The paper can be on any topic in any discipline (or combination of disciplines) related to one or more countries in South Asia or the South Asian diaspora.

Students interested in submitting a paper should download this application form and email the completed application with your paper to Prof. Johan Mathew (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by March 15, 2024 at 4:00pm.

We are deeply grateful to the generous anonymous donors who have established the Chakra Endowed Fund to support the Rutgers South Asian Studies Program and to fund this student paper prize. Individuals who would like to contribute to The Chakra Endowed Fund or to support SASP in some other way are encouraged to contact Prof. Johan Mathew, Director, South Asian Studies Program.


 

The 2023 Chakra Prize was awarded to:

Jeffrey Immanuel Jebastian, SAS-Geography, for his paper entitled “Caste is Space: Production of Caste and the Uneven Geographies of Brahminism."


 

Click here to view past award winners