The Week in Brief

Ambassador evaluates India's progress at tea

LIZ OLINER/YH Indian Ambassador Naresh Chandra speaks at a Mon., Mar. 2 Branford College Master's Tea.

Indian Ambassador Naresh Chandra shared his views on his country's accomplishments and relations with the U.S. at a Branford Master's Tea on Mon., Mar. 2.

With national elections held last week and a new economic policy instituted a few years ago, Chandra, ambassador since 1996, said now is "a very important moment in contemporary Indian politics.... There has been in India a mode of introspection, asking if we have used our independence properly for the best interest of our people."

Chandra said that in 50 years of independence, India has made many advances. It has fed its huge population, advanced industry, and strengthened its defense. In 1991, however, the Indian government was almost bankrupt. "We had hardly any dollars left. We used to consider whether we'd be able to pay our bills," Chandra said.

Since 1991, the Indian government has relaxed its control over commerce and invited foreign investment. Chandra noted that while those developments have brought improvements, India still faces many setbacks. He said his country still needs to address the social status of women, family health care, and education.

--Alexander Dworkowitz

Yalies raise awareness about YPD negotiations

Three students, Noel Poyo, MC '98, Pete Stein, DC '99, and Rob Stilling, TD '98, have launched an informal publicity campaign of fliers and posters to raise student awareness of the Yale police union's troubled negotiations with the University. "Right now, our aim is to raise the issue in the public eye. [Yale students] need to be asking what the facts are," Poyo said.

The students decided last week to begin the campaign. Poyo then met with Carlos Perez, president of the Yale Police Benevolent Association (YPBA), to "let him know who was behind the campaign." According to Poyo, Perez said the campaign "wouldn't cause any problems for the union," although Poyo added that the effort is "completely student-run."

Stein noted that, "Unlike the people in Locals 34 and 35, this is an issue going on under the surface. [The YPBA] is a smaller union and hasn't got as much news." Stein said the students plan to hold "a night for the student community" to speak with Perez and discuss the contract negotiations. Both Stein and Poyo intend to continue their efforts if the union is dissatisfied with Yale's response. "If it becomes a big issue, we'll do whatever's appropriate at the time," Stein said. --Sangeetha Ramaswamy

Hyman shares prize for book on Jewish women

This year's Dartmouth Medal, the highest prize awarded by the American Library Association (ALA) for a reference book, will be presented in June to Yale professor Paula E. Hyman, the Lucy Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History, and Vassar College professor Deborah Moore for their work as editors of Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia.

This book is the first major reference work on Jewish women in the United States, and includes over 100 articles on organizations including Hadassah and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, and 800 entries on individuals ranging from a baseball player to a Supreme Court
Justice.

Hyman, chair of the Judaic Studies program, has been at Yale since 1987. Her works include From Dreyfus to Vichy: The Remaking of French Jewry, 1909-1939; The Emancipation of the Jews of Alsace: Acculturation and Tradition in the Nineteenth Century; and Gender and Assimilation in Modern Jewish History: The Roles and Representations of Women.

--Anika Singh

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