South Asian Studies Council Congratulates 2026 Graduating Seniors and Prize Winners

Sumanth Ratna is graduating with a BS/MS in Computer Science and a second undergraduate major in South Asian Studies. He will begin working at an early-stage healthcare startup in New York City following Yale. 

Sumanth was awarded a Senior Essay Prize in South Asian Studies for his essay titled "Hindu and Buddhist Resources for an Ethics of AI Use," advised by Sonam Kachru, Assistant Professor in Religious Studies. "This thesis does not merely contribute to a growing field, but inaugurates a new inter-disciplinary horizon: applied Indian philosophy. And it succeeds brilliantly," Kachru wrote of Sumanth's essay. "Its interpretations of the relevant concepts and arguments is subtle; its application exhibiting a maturity I would expect from a professional in the field. It is also among the most humane works in this genre I have read in some time."

"The South Asian Studies program at Yale was an incredible opportunity for me to formally learn the humanities," Sumanth reflected. "The region's history, and by extension the courses offered at Yale, cover a history spanning millennia, letting me study everything from religious philosophy and the Upanishads to global affairs and nuclear deterrence theory. Pursuing extended individual time with highly accomplished professors during my independent study and senior essay was one of the highlights of my academic time at Yale!"

Lakxshanna Raveendran is graduating as a double major in Computer Science and Ethnicity, Race, and Migration, with a Certificate in Human Rights Studies. After Yale, she will be based in New York and pursuing a career in civil rights and technology policy, with the goal of attending law school. Lakxshanna worked as a Student Fellow at SASC for three years.

"Working with the South Asian Studies Council," Lakxshanna reflected, "has been one of the most meaningful parts of my time at Yale. The diversity of scholars and community members I have had the opportunity to engage with through the Council has genuinely broadened and deepened my understanding of South Asia in ways that extended well beyond the classroom. I'm especially grateful for how the SASC community helped shape the direction of my ER&M thesis, which examined Eelam Tamil archives as a site of memory and resistance, and for the community SASC helped me build here."

Sheel Trivedi is graduating as a  major in Neuroscience with a certificate in Global Health Studies. Sheel worked with SASC as a Student Fellow for three years and also received a Summer 2025 Research Grant in South Asian Studies to conduct independent research investigating the challenges of “transnational caregiving” for persons with dementia in Bengaluru, India, who have relatives in the United States. Following Yale, he will build upon this research as a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar to India, with the goal of informing culturally sensitive care frameworks and India’s dementia action plans to improve well-being for transnational families.