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Only national Hindi debate in U.S. draws students to Yale
Students and faculty from more than a dozen universities gathered at Yale University for the only national Hindi-language debate competition in the United States.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sat, 23, May 2026
- 17:45 EDT
- 32
Yale Hindi Debate / Yale News
Yale University hosted students and faculty members from more than 12 universities across the United States on April 10 for the national round of the Yale Hindi Debate, the country’s only Hindi-language national debate competition.
The debate was organized by the Yale South Asian Studies Council under the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale and held at Horchow Hall on campus.
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Participants debated separate topics across three categories. Speakers in the Non-Native/Non-Heritage category debated whether “Happiness lies in money,” while Heritage category participants discussed whether “Excessive or mass tourism is a threat to the local environment and culture.” Competitors in the Native category debated whether “Investment in space colonization is a necessity, not a luxury.”
The preliminary round was held on March 27, when Yale students from Accelerated, Intermediate and Advanced Hindi classes competed for places in the national event.
Swapna Sharma, senior lector in Hindi at the Yale South Asian Studies Council, told University Press that the debate has grown into a national platform connecting Hindi learners and instructors across universities.
“Over the years, I have seen the debate grow into a strong national platform that connects Hindi learners and instructors across universities. Students today are more confident, vocal, and globally aware, and the event continues to evolve through new formats, technologies, and student input,” Sharma was quoted as saying.
The competition was judged by Anita Mehta of Vassar College, Chander Shekhar of the University of Delhi and Richard Delacy of Harvard University. Participants were evaluated on argumentation, speech presentation and responses to audience questions posed in Hindi.
The event also featured cultural performances, including a Kuchipudi recital by Ishita Valluru, program coordinator for the South Asian Studies Council, and a bhangra performance by Yale Jashan Bhangra, a competitive dance team founded in 2005.
Tom Guan of Yale University won Best Speaker in the Non-Native/Non-Heritage category, while Benjamin Keller of Pennsylvania State University placed second.
Arush Srivastava of Yale won the Heritage category, followed by Rahul Yates of Harvard. Mitsu Raval of Wesleyan University won the Native category, with Rishi Sankhe of Yale finishing second. Aryavardhan Agarwal of Duke University received the Best Interjector award.
Students from North Carolina State University, Ohio University, New York University, University of Texas at Austin, Vanderbilt University and Columbia University also competed in the debate.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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