Apsara Iyer becomes first Indian-American student to be elected president of Harvard Law Review
New York, Feb 6: A second year Indian-American student at Harvard Law School has been elected president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review, becoming the first woman from the community to be named to the position in the prestigious publication's 136-year history.
A report in The Harvard Crimson said on Monday that Apsara Iyer was elected the 137th president of the Harvard Law Review, which was founded in 1887 and is among the oldest student-run legal scholarship publications.
Iyer said in The Crimson report that as Law Review president, she aims to "include more editors in the process of reviewing and selecting articles and upholding the publication's reputation for "high-quality" work."
"I think that right now I'm just focused on making sure we keep the lights on and everything going," Iyer said.
Iyer's distinguished predecessors in the role include Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and former president Barack Obama.
The Crimson report said Iyer graduated from Yale in 2016 and received a bachelor's degree in Economics and Math and Spanish.
Iyer's immediate predecessor Priscila Coronado said the publication is "extremely lucky" to have Iyer at the helm.
"Apsara has changed the lives of many editors for the better, and I know she will continue to do so," Coronado said. "From the start, she has impressed her fellow editors with her remarkable intelligence, thoughtfulness, warmth, and fierce advocacy."
The Crimson said that Iyer's interest in understanding the "value of cultural heritage" led her to work in the Manhattan District Attorney's Antiquities Trafficking Unit that tracks stolen works of art and artifacts.
Iyer worked in the office in 2018 before coming to the Law School, and took a leave of absence after her first year studying law to return to the role, it said.
The report added that Iyer joined the Harvard Law Review following a competitive process called "write-on," where Harvard Law School students "rigorously fact-check a document and provide commentary on a recent State or Supreme Court Case."
Iyer has previously been involved in the Law School's Harvard Human Rights Journal and the National Security Journal and is also a member of the South Asian Law Students Association.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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