IN MEMORIAM - Ambassador Harsh Bhasin

It is with great sadness that I bring to you the news of Ambassador Harsh Bhasin's passing on Friday, March 24, 2023.  Ambassador Bhasin was a personal friend and a friend of the Mattoo Center for India Studies.  We first met him in 1995 when he was Consulate General of India in New York and he supported the idea of establishing a Center in 1996, which was inaugurated in 1997.  He worked with us on many projects, especially in bringing several ambassadors of India as speakers in our Distinguished Lecture Series.  His expertise in international relations was a natural fit as we were looking to expand the newly formed Department of Asian and Asian American Studies, where he served as a Visiting Professor and then as Chair, and later as a faculty member in the Department of Political Science.  Several generations of students remember his insightful courses on Contemporary India and Contemporary China, and his mentorship as they explored careers in foreign service. We will miss him. 

 

Ambassador Bhasin is survived by his wife Kumkum and children Aditya and Madhuri, and grandchildren. 

 

Visitation and prayers will be held from 11am-1pm on Tuesday March 28 at Moloney’s Lake
Funeral Home (132 Ronkonkoma Ave., Lake Ronkonkoma, NY 11779), followed by
refreshments. In lieu of flowers, we request that you make a contribution to support an award in
Ambassador Bhasin’s name for Stony Brook students interested in a career in the foreign
service (details below).

To make a contribution, please visit https://tinyurl.com/HarshBhasin.
When making your contribution check the box on the second page under Tribute Information,
select “in Memory of”, and insert Ambassador Bhasin’s name.
If you would like to send a check, please make your check out to the Stony Brook Foundation
(with Ambassador Bhasin’s name in the memo section) and mail it to:
Attn: Chris Scarpati
E3320 Frank Melville Jr. Library
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY 11794-3391