Priyanka Chopra: 'You are the India I imagined'

On February 17, 2026, Priyanka Chopra addressed a packed auditorium at Harvard Business School, concluding India Week with a fireside keynote on 'The India we imagine.' Joined by her business partner Anjula Acharia, Chopra shared a deeply emotional reflection on her journey.

Chopra recalled her teenage years in the mid-1990s, attending high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and later in Massachusetts. She noted the scarcity of people who looked like her during that time. Seeing an auditorium filled with students, including many from her community, wearing traditional Indian attire at the prestigious institution moved her to tears and filled her with immense pride.

Her heartfelt speech at Harvard followed recent online criticism. Chopra had faced backlash over a clip from an interview with Variety, where a map of India displayed at the beginning was alleged by social media users to be inaccurate, missing Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Expressing hope for future generations, Chopra stated, 'We all stand on the shoulders of the generations before us.' She concluded her post by thanking the students and sending a special note to her husband and daughter, referring to them as her 'forever Valentine's.'