While it is known as a
leading center for the study of contemporary Northeast Asia, the Walter H.
Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) has also conducted
significant research and publishing activities about South Asia for more than a
decade. Rafiq Dossani, a senior
research scholar at Shorenstein APARC and a former director of Stanford's
Center for South Asia (CSA), serves as the executive director of the Center's South Asia Initiative. Addressing key South Asia issues, his diverse research
interests range from entrepreneurship and technology to economics and security.
"In a liberal
democracy with a functioning rule of law, the socioeconomic
condition of Muslims [in India] has, relative to the population, steadily
declined.
-Rafiq Dossani
Most recently, Dossani launched a research project with Shorenstein APARC's
Henry S. Rowen and CSA's Thomas Blom Hansen to study the socioeconomic
conditions faced by Muslims in India. He is currently working on an article on
the subject for the March 2011 inaugural edition of Avicenna, Stanford's new journal on Muslim affairs. "In a liberal
democracy with a functioning rule of law," says Dossani, "the socioeconomic
condition of Muslims [in India] has, relative to the population, steadily
declined." He emphasizes that since Independence in 1947, Muslims, who make up 13
percent of India's population, have had equal access to power in the Congress
Party-led national government. One difference, however, is that special
provisions have been made to provide jobs and education for members of
lower-caste Hindu and tribal groups. "Generally speaking, Muslims have lost out,"
states Dossani. India's government demonstrated its concern about this growing
issue by publishing a 2005 report acknowledging clear cases of discrimination against
Muslims, even at the government level. Discrimination, says Dossani, has led to
a ghettoization of Muslims and a movement towards a religion-based identity,
which he suggests will not only work against Muslims but also has security
implications for the country. "It is understood at the top level by
policymakers, and yet the situation persists," he cautions.
In addition to South Asia-specific research, Dossani has participated in
several interdisciplinary, multi-country studies, including a project examining
higher education in the "BRIC" countries of Brazil, the Russian Federation,
India, and China. Led by Martin Carnoy, the Vida Jacks Professor of Education
at Stanford's School of Education, members of the research team interviewed
approximately seven thousand students and studied one hundred colleges and
universities in India, focusing on engineering education. "It is one of the
most globally comparable [disciplines]," says Dossani. For India, the findings
indicate that the cost of education, which is approximately twelve hundred
dollars per year for tuition, is affordable for many families and it has a high
rate of return in terms of how quickly students find employment and recoup
tuition costs. On a global level, however, the quality of education does not
measure up to many other countries, such as the United States. Dossani cites
the highly politicized nature of India's university system as a major reason
for this. While 95 percent of India's colleges are now private, government-run
universities confer degrees, set the curriculum, and direct appointments to
high-level positions. There is a certain degree of corruption, and teacher and
student unions are tied to political parties. According to Dossani, states tend
to emphasize the quantity of campuses—particularly in poor, rural areas—over
the quality of curriculum and instruction, in order to garner votes. "[The
university system] is in a state of stasis," he says, "so the quality does not
improve."
Dossani is actively engaged in numerous other research projects, including
studies of telecommunications in India, and outsourcing, private equity,
security, and regional integration in relation to South Asia. He is also
currently serving as the co-chair of the 2011 conference held by the Industry Studies Association, which
annually convenes a large interdisciplinary academic conference. Scholars
participating in the 2011 conference will discuss findings in their areas of
specialization within the broader themes of general industry studies; energy,
power, and sustainability; globalization; innovation and entrepreneurship;
labor markets, organizations, and employment relations; and transportation and
logistics.
In addition to his research, Dossani is an avid volunteer. A recipient of the
2011 Asian American Heroes Award for Santa Clara County, he has volunteered for
many years with Hidden Villa, a San
Francisco Bay Area-based nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching about the
environment and social justice. He also chairs the United States branch of Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS USA),
an international non-profit group that conducts disaster preparedness and
response activities in developing countries. Dossani traveled last summer to
Taijikistan to visit villages where FOCUS USA is supporting the training of
emergency-response volunteers, the earthquake retrofitting of schools, the
installation of early-warning systems, the stockpiling of supplies, and the
building of shelters. The area is close to the border of Afghanistan and
surrounds Lake
Sarez, which at over ten thousand feet is one of the world's highest
glacial lakes. In addition to earthquakes caused by frequent seismic activity
in the area, flooding of Lake Sarez and its adjoining rivers due to heavy
glacial melt is an issue of major concern.
Through his work with FOCUS USA, Dossani has learned about techniques that work
to successfully address nontraditional security issues, such as the economic
hardship and the displacement of people due to natural disasters. Non-governmental
organizations and governments can successfully collaborate, he maintains, and nothing,
in fact, can be done in a country without the support of its government. Effective
results are less about policy than about focusing on establishing trust over a
period of time, especially at a local level, states Dossani. "Being effective
requires partnerships and trust," he says. He points to the United Nations, a
globally respected entity, as a successful organization for smaller or new
non-profit groups to partner with. Dossani's group has also found that disaster-preparedness
measures, such as paying emergency-response volunteers, can actually offer
significant economic benefits. For example, in the area where they operate,
where the per capita income is two hundred and thirty dollars, the additional six
dollars per day that volunteers receive is a major boost to a family's income.
The work of such groups could potentially serve as a model for governments
looking for more effective ways to address nontraditional security issues.
In conjunction with his Shorenstein APARC work to address key South Asia
issues, Dossani frequently speaks at events in the San Francisco Bay Area and
worldwide. More information about his research and publishing activities and
about Shorenstein APARC's vibrant South Asia Initiative, including publications
such as Does South Asia Exist? Prospects for Regional Integration (Shorenstein APARC, 2010) and Prospects for Peace in South Asia (Stanford University Press,
2005), can be found on the Shorenstein APARC website.