The Center for South Asian Studies at the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa serves as an intellectual hub for research on and learning about a highly diverse region that encompasses Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Lakshadweep, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet. The center was founded in 1985 with the main purpose of promoting interdisciplinary research on South Asia and the diaspora as well as assisting undergraduate and graduate students in the humanities, arts, language and linguistics, social sciences, business, and applied sciences to focus on the societies and cultures of the region.

The Center’s activities include colloquia, invited lectures and workshops, an annual international spring symposium, cultural education, and community building. For this, the Center works together with universities around the world as well as local institutions, such as the Honolulu Museum of Art and Shangri La.

The Center also facilitates study and research abroad for undergraduate and graduate students. The library’s South Asia collection is ranked among the top ten in the U.S. The Center draws on the expertise of more than 40 distinguished faculty members whose research interests spread over many geographical regions and disciplinary foci.