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South Asia in 1966 (part of the Wolfson College 50th anniversary celebrations)

9 July 2016, 9:30 am

Speaker(s): Matthew McCartney, Barbara Harriss-White, Kate Sullivan, Indrajit Roy, George Kunnath

Convenor(s):

Presentations will include: Matthew McCartney: South Asia's early economic capabilities Barbara Harriss-White: The Green Revolution Kate Sullivan: Reforming the Indian Foreign Service (tbc) Indrajit Roy: The rise and rise of Indira Gandhi George Kunnath: The roots of Maoism   This is a free ticketed event.  To reserve a place please visit the Wolfson College Eventbrite page.  Contact: Barbara Harriss-White barbara.harriss-white@qeh.ox.ac.uk For further information about Wolfson College's 50th anniversary weekend see Wolfson College 50th anniversary

Caste in South Asia and its Diasporas

4 July 2016, 10:00 am

Speaker(s): David Mosse (SOAS), Tariq Rahman (BNU), Annapurna Waughray (MMU), Meena Dhanda (UW), Shapan Adnan (Dhaka), Thanges Paramsothy (UEL), Barbara Harriss-White (Oxford), Uma Pradhan (Oxford), Matthew McCartney (Oxford), Muhammad Jan (Oxford), Clarinda Still (Oxford), George Kunnath (Oxford), Indrajit Roy (Oxford), Nicholas Martin (Zurich), Amarjit Singh (Anti-caste Activist, UK), Sufyan Abid (Chester), Lekh Pal (ACDA, UK)

Convenor(s): Dr George Kunnath

This one-day international conference explores the contemporary manifestations of caste in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, and their diasporas in the UK. Caste, although a pan-South Asian phenomenon, manifests itself in divergent ways in these countries. In India and Nepal, one can often discern the direct manifestation of caste in everyday social relations, while in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, it is more subtle and hidden. Nevertheless, caste is an important reality that influences politics, economy and social life in all these countries. Even among the South Asian communities living in the UK, caste is an important determinant in interpersonal and intercommunity relations. This conference aims to explore the public and hidden transcripts of caste relations through the lens of religion, economy, gender, politics, and ethnicity in South Asian countries and South Asian communities in the UK. The primary focus of the conference is to unmask and critically engage with the contemporary forms of caste-based discrimination, prejudice and marginalisation. The keynote lecture will be delivered by Professor David Mosse (SOAS). For full programme please click here.

South Asia Seminar Series: Tagore and the theology of the global

14 June 2016, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Pradip Dutta

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Vishwabharati, the university that Tagore founded, was an early experiment in producing a global habitation. While many of the ideas that motivated this institution hold out resonances for the contemporary debate on cosmopolitanism, Tagore worked in the field of modern Indian thought. The tradition was strongly inflected by Vedantism. In its modern incarnation Vedantism produced a universalism that announced its location. The presentation will look at how Tagore extended the theology of neo-Vedantism, shifting it away from its metaphysical orientation to outline a theory of global survival of which Vishwabharati, established in the rural hinterlands of Bengal, was designed as the institutional beginnings.

Photography Exhibition: A Spectacle of Everyday Pakistan

13 June 2016 (All day)

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Convenor(s):

Photographs by Soufia A Siddiqi An exhibition that captures the everyday lives and practices of rural Pakistanis through images of the ordinary.  Seemingly simple acts and artefacts of everyday presentation may appear to be child’s play (bazeecha-e-atfal); yet they take on deeper meanings when observed night and day (shab-o-roz) in their wider contexts. 

Ethnic unrest and rising nationalism in South Asia

10 March 2016, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Feyzi Ismail, SOAS

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Sub-Faculty of Inner and South Asian Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Education, Aspiration and Social Mobility in Chhattisgarh, central India

3 March 2016, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Peggy Froerer, Brunel University

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Sub-Faculty of Inner and South Asian Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Pakistan: The Need for a New Political Economy

25 February 2016, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Akbar Zaidi, Karachi University

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Sub-Faculty of Inner and South Asian Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies.

We Want Work! Fractured Stories of Loss and Hope from rural Bangladesh

18 February 2016, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Katy Gardner, LSE

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Sub-Faculty of Inner and South Asian Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Ghost Stories and Haunted Youth: College Girls in Chennai

11 February 2016, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Sneha Krishnan, Oxford University

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Sub-Faculty of Inner and South Asian Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Magical horrors and absurd realities: the law of the police in a terrorism trial

4 February 2016, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Mayur Suresh, SOAS

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Sub-Faculty of Inner and South Asian Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Public Opinion and the Politics of Consumption in the Indian Emergency, 1975-77

28 January 2016, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Patrick Clibbens, University of Oxford

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Sub-Faculty of Inner and South Asian Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies.

The Gender of Caste: Representing Dalits in Print

11 December 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Charu Gupta, University of Delhi

Convenor(s):

An additional event as part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

The dialectics of exploitation and agency in Indian labour migration

3 December 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Priya Deshingkar, Sussex University

Convenor(s): Professor Matthew McCartney and Dr George Kunnath

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Piloting Basic Income in India: A Transformative Policy for Sustainable Development Goals?

2 December 2015, 2:30 pm

Speaker(s): Professor Guy Standing, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, Professor in Development Studies, School of Oriental Studies, University of London and Co-President of Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN)

Convenor(s):

Pakistan Behind the Headlines

1 December 2015, 10:00 am

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Pakistan Behind The Headlines is a photography exhibition exploring the lives and stories of the residents of Kurram Agency (Durrani Camp) and the displaced of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Pakistan. FATA is a semi autonomous tribal region in northwest Pakistan neighbouring Afghanistan. The region is known for its stunning beauty along with instability and conflict. The works being exhibited are by British-born Pakistani photographer Sa’adia Khan. The exhibition is curated by journalist and former Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) field communications manager in Pakistan Shaista Aziz. Both travelled to FATA for MSF. Admision is free.

The Sarfraz Pakistan Lecture 2015

30 November 2015, 6:00 pm

Speaker(s): Professor Christophe Jaffrelot

Convenor(s):

The US - Pakistan Relations under Obama: Resilience of Clientelism? All Welcome, no tickets required. For further information, please contact college.secretary@wolfson.ox.ac.uk Please note that the College Photographer may take photos for the sole use of the College.

Laying Waste to India: Livelihoods and Social Discrimination

26 November 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Barbara Harriss-White, University of Oxford

Convenor(s): Professor Matthew McCartney and Dr George Kunnath

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Mapping the education-employment linkages made by rural youth in Tamil Nadu

19 November 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Shailaja Fennell, Cambridge University

Convenor(s): Professor Matthew McCartney and Dr George Kunnath

Mapping the education-employment linkages made by rural youth in Tamil Nadu: an example of a network design and analysis. Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

A Discussion with Dipesh Chakrabarty

18 November 2015, 5:30 pm

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Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Dipesh Chakrabarty, Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor of History, University of Chicago A panel discussion of The Calling of History: Sir Jadunath Sarkar and His Empire of Truth with Rosalind O’Hanlon (Oxford), Shruti Kapila (Cambridge) and Sanjay Seth (Goldsmiths).

Longing For the State: the Dialectics of the Local and the Transnational in Pakistan's Sunni-Shi'i Sectarianism

17 November 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Simon Fuchs (Cambridge)

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

The talk investigates the transformation of sectarian discourses in Pakistan since the 1970s. I contend that anti-Shiʿi religious scholars considered the Iranian Revolution as a threatening attempt at world domination and subversion of the fundamentals of Islamic politics. Even though they still highlighted doctrinal incompatibilities between 'real' and Shiʿi Islam, Shiʿis were now primarily framed as a political problem: they were blocking Pakistan from being molded into its true form, namely a Sunni state with aspirations to global leadership. Yet, in formulating their answer to Khomeini, these Sunni groups attempted to reclaim the Caliphate as a divinely-sanctioned office that strikingly resembled and transcended Iran's model of government. Simon Wolfgang Fuchs is a Research Fellow in Islamic Studies at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge. He is interested in questions of religious authority, transnational Islam, and renegotiations of the Islamic scholarly tradition in the modern and contemporary Middle East and South Asia. Simon completed his PhD dissertation, which focuses on Shiʿi Islam in colonial India and Pakistan, at Princeton University's Department of Near Eastern Studies in September 2015. Part of the St. Antony's College Asian Studies Centre South Asia Seminar Series.

Comparative State-Building in Colonial and Postcolonial India

12 November 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Manali Desai, Cambridge University

Convenor(s): Professor Matthew McCartney and Dr George Kunnath

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

The Delhi Killings of 1984: Is any justice still possible?

5 November 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Sanjay Suri, Political Editor, Europe, for CNN-IBN Television

Convenor(s): Professor Matthew McCartney and Dr George Kunnath

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Resource capture and exploitation in India: Adivasis and Dalits in a Telangana tribal area

29 October 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dalel Benbabaali, University of Oxford

Convenor(s): Professor Matthew McCartney and Dr George Kunnath

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

The State and Nation in the Making of Indian Capitalism

22 October 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Pritam Singh, Oxford Brookes University

Convenor(s): Professor Matthew McCartney and Dr George Kunnath

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Connections and Elections: Winning and Losing in Lahore?

15 October 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Azam Chaudhry, Lahore School of Economics

Convenor(s): Professor Matthew McCartney and Dr George Kunnath

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. This series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Elleke Boehmer Book Launch

1 October 2015, 6:00 pm

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Join Elleke Boehmer to celebreate the launch of two of her books - The Shouting in The Dark and Indian Arrivals 1870-1915. Please RSVP to elleke.boehmer@ell.ox.ac.uk by 22nd September

Militancy and Radicalism in Punjab and Sindh

9 July 2015, 6:00 pm

Speaker(s): Ayesha Siddiqua

Convenor(s):

Ayesha Siddiqua, distinguished Pakistani journalist and author of 'Military Inc' on Pakistan's military economy will talk at this SARC event.

Book Launch: The Farthest Field

23 June 2015, 7:00 pm

Speaker(s): Raghu Karnad

Convenor(s):

Oxford’s MSc in Contemporary India’s alumnus, Raghu Karnad (MSc CI 2008-2009), will launch his book The Farthest Field: An Indian story of the Second World War (his essay on this theme was runner up for the Bodley Head/Financial Times non-fiction prize in 2012). As part of the launch Liz Chatterjee, who graduated form the MSc in the same year and is now a fellow at All Souls College, and Raghu will be "in conversation" about life-writing, nationalism, family, the line between history and fiction, his gorgeous prose, and much more besides. Tickets are £3 and available from Blackwells Customer Service Department, by calling 01865 333623 or emailing events.oxford@blackwell.co.uk.     "a bravura feat of literary-historical imagination—like a superior commander himself Karnad marshals and orders a huge range of materials, locations and actions with apparently effortless skill... Karnad's handling of military action..sets the heart racing (and) should be mandatory reading for writers of action thrillers... The writing of history intersects gloriously with several other genres in this moving, eloquent, intelligent work". Neel Mukherjee, Financial Times "assured and moving ....from the very first page it is the brilliance of the writing that stands out....the imaginative power, intelligence and descriptive richness of a narrative that, again and again, startles by its originality....Karnad's achievement in FARTHEST FIELD is (to) rescue a largely forgotten strand of history that is as much ours as it is India's...For all the damning clarity of its political analysis, it is wonderfully generous, full of intelligence, compassion, curiosity and brilliant writing". David Crane, The Spectator   Raghu himself is a fascinating individual, a former editor of Time Out Delhi and reporter at Tehelka and Outlook. Now a contributing editor (and co-founder) at the brand-new outlet TheWire.in, he has written on everything from the Japanese in Delhi's Old Fort to the politics of liquor. It promises to be a great evening in his company. 

The Shape of Democracy in India and South Asia

19 June 2015, 5:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr SY Quraishi, former Chief Election Commission of India

Convenor(s):

India is often seen as a beacon of democracy in a turbulent region. In spite of the daunting scale of the country’s geography and the great diversity of its people, it has consistently maintained democratic institutions and a free and fair electoral process, which have eluded many of its neighbours. Most countries in the southern part of Asia (South and Southeast Asia) are now democracies, and the region is home to nearly one half of the democratic world in population terms. However, many of these are struggling. According to the Democracy Index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2014, no country in the region – not even India – can be classed as a ‘full democracy’. Six of them are described as ‘flawed democracies’ and as many are classified as ‘hybrid democracies’ – meaning that they display authoritarian or repressive elements. Dr SY Quraishi, the 17th Chief Election Commissioner of India and FICCI Visiting Fellow at the India Institute, King's College London, is currently conducting a study on democratic systems and electoral reforms in South and Southeast Asian countries. In this talk, he will share thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of democratic processes in India and throughout the region. Drawing on the findings of this study and years of experience at the helm of India’s democratic institutions, he will also discuss preliminary recommendations for strengthening democracy in this pivotal part of the world.

Capital Politics

18 June 2015, 6:00 pm

Speaker(s): Saba Naqvi, Political Editor at India's 'Outlook'

Convenor(s):

Saba Naqvi will talk before Wolfson's GND about 'capital politics' focussing on AAP at this SARC event.  

Women in Conflict Situations: A Study of North East India focusing Assam

16 June 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Sanghamitra Choudhury, Agatha Harrison Fellow, St Antony's College

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. For further information, please contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or call 01865 274559.

On the Banality of Caste Violence: Why Hierarchy is Far from Over for Dalits in Marathwada

9 June 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Suryakant Waghmore, Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. For further information please contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or call 01865 274559.

Non-violence, Anti-colonial Violence, and Communal Violence: Exploring the Dialectic

2 June 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Kama Maclean, University of New South Wales, Australia

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. For further information, please contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or call 01865 274559.

Exploring Gendered Experiences and Subjectivities in a Globalizing India

29 May 2015, 9:00 am

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South Asia Day 2015

28 May 2015, 9:30 am

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s): Indrajit Roy

The programme for South Asia Day 2015 has now been finalised. Please see below for full details.

The Ghaznavids: Medieval realities and modern myths

26 May 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): George Malagaris, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. For further information contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or call 01865 274559.

Origin and Foundation of Madras: the First Modern City of India

19 May 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): JBP More, Paris

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. For further information contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or call 01865 274559.

SARC Big Themes: Public Intellectuals Series

12 May 2015, 5:30 pm

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Convenor(s): Professor Barbara Harriss-White, QEH and CSASP

Networks of Faith and Action: Making Sense of Frontier Deobandiyyat

12 May 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Jan-Peter Hartung, SOAS

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. For further information contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or call 01865 274559.

The 1924-25 Vykom Satyagraha, “Conversion” and Mechanisms of Change

5 May 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Mary King. Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the UN-affiliated University for Peace, Costa Rica, and Distinguished Rothermere American Institute Fellow, University of Oxford

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. For further information contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or call 01865 274559.

India under Narendra Modi

4 May 2015, 9:00 am

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Translating Rāma as a Proto-Muhammadan Prophet: Mullāh Masih’s Masnavi-ye Rām va Sitā

28 April 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Prashant Keshavmurthy, McGill University

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. For further information contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or call 01865 274559.

The Political Economy of Development in India: Thirty Years On

19 March 2015, 9:30 am

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Deciphering the Modi Regime

18 March 2015, 5:30 pm

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The Wild East

12 March 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Barbara Harriss-White, University of Oxford

Convenor(s): Prof Matthew McCartney, Dr Kate Sullivan, Dr George Kunnath and Mr Shannon Philip

Part of the Department of International Development and Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series, funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Governing monsoon landscapes: East India Company expansion on its North eastern Frontier in the early 19th century

10 March 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Gunnel Cederlöf (Uppsala University)

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asia Seminar Series. For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or tel: 01865 274559

India-Pakistan Relations: Tension and Prospects

5 March 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

Convenor(s): Prof Matthew McCartney, Dr Kate Sullivan, Dr George Kunnath and Mr Shannon Philip

Part of the Department of International Development and Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series, funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies. 

Rising India: Status and Power

4 March 2015, 9:00 am

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Development of the Metabolic Rift: Reactions to the Contradiction

2 March 2015, 6:30 pm

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Convenor(s): Professor Gilbert Achacar. Email ga3@soas.ac.uk

Professor Barbara Harriss-White will be presenting this lecture at SOAS as part of The Globalisation Lectures series. See the SOAS event webpages for more details.

Divisions of Grandeur: Nation, Partition and Representation in Bengal

25 February 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Gautam Ghosh (Otago)

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asia Seminar Series. For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or tel: 01865 274559

Modi a' la Mode: Leadership and sartorial symbolism in Indian Politics

19 February 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Simona Vittorini, SOAS, University of London

Convenor(s): Prof Matthew McCartney, Dr Kate Sullivan, Dr George Kunnath and Mr Shannon Philip

Part of the Department of International Development and Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series, funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Concepts of Pakistan and Facets of Decolonization: Bengal and the Twentieth Century

17 February 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Neilesh Bose (St John's University)

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asia Seminar Series. For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or tel: 01865 274559

The New Welfare: A Case Study of Employment Guarantee in Rajasthan, India

12 February 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Deepta Chopra, IDS

Convenor(s): Prof Matthew McCartney, Dr Kate Sullivan, Dr George Kunnath and Mr Shannon Philip

Part of the Department of International Development and Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series, funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Muhammad Iqbal and the modern Muslim Mentality

10 February 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Farzana Shaikh (Chatham House)

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asia Seminar Series. For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or tel: 01865 274559

Book Launch: Odysseus Abroad

5 February 2015, 5:00 pm

Speaker(s): Amit Chaudhuri (UCL)

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asia Seminar Series. For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or tel: 01865 274559

Subnational politics and the implementation of India's national SEZ policy

5 February 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Loraine Kennedy, Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris

Convenor(s): Prof Matthew McCartney, Dr Kate Sullivan, Dr George Kunnath and Mr Shannon Philip

Part of the Department of International Development and Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series, funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Goans Abroad. A History of Migration across the Indian Ocean

3 February 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Margret Frenz (Oxford)

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asia Seminar Series. For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or tel: 01865 274559

Film Screening - Lakshmi

1 February 2015, 1:00 pm

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Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Sponsored by Asian Circle and the Oxford India Society. Please register to attend this event via eventbrite. Part of the South Asia Seminar Series. For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or tel: 01865 274559  

Securing our future despite our State: Young educated Nepalis' quest for salaried work within political turmoil

29 January 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Amanda Snellinger, University of Oxford

Convenor(s): Prof Matthew McCartney, Dr Kate Sullivan, Dr George Kunnath and Mr Shannon Philip

Part of the Department of International Development and Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series, funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Health reforms, equity and access to health care in selected states of India

28 January 2015, 5:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Kasturi Sen (Wolfson CRM and member of SARC)

Convenor(s): Dr Kate Sullivan

South Asia Work in Progress (SAWIP), Roundtable for Scholars of South Asia, presents: Health reforms, equity and access to health care in selected states of India: Findings of empirical research into health financing measures in India (1991-2008)   In India, the role of the state has been essential to public health and disease eradication programmes. Evidence from the past three decades shows that this function altered radically in the face of multiple political and economic pressures including donor-driven structural adjustment, disinvestment in public services and widespread commercialisation that has led to fundamental changes in the financing of health care. These have been explored in a major population based study using mixed methods and covering both public and private sectors providers in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu  and Andhra Pradesh state (now Telengana and Hyderabad). The findings of the study are set in the current policy context of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) particularly in relation to the financing of health care and its consequences for access to public health care among large sections of the population. Dr Kasturi Sen is a social and political scientist with more than 15 years of experience of research and teaching on the political economy of health and development. She has taught at London, Oxford and Cambridge universities and more recently at ITM, Antwerp, Belgium on health systems and policy, ageing, demographic change and mixed methods in international health research. Dr Sen has been involved in primary research in South Asia and the Middle-East on the impact of health reforms on equity and access to health care in low and middle-income countries, and also on the health effects of conflict.   Please join us after the talk for a discussion over wine.   South Asia Work in Progress (SAWIP) is an interdisciplinary forum for scholars of South Asia to present their ‘works in progress’ in a small-group setting. It forms part of the activities of Wolfson’s South Asia Research Cluster and is convened in partnership with the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme. SAWIP offers a friendly verbal peer-review environment for the presentation and discussion of journal articles, book proposals, research projects and any other kind of research undertaking, at all stages of production from ‘sketchy’ to ‘close to press’. It aims to unite scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds and provides a space to explore both the craft of research and ways of approaching scholarship on South Asia.

Mapping India's Soft Power: Buddha to Bollywood

27 January 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Daya Thussu (Westminster)

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asia Seminar Series. For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or tel: 01865 274559

India's Bid for a Permanent Seat on the UN Security Council: The Power of Distinction

22 January 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Kate Sullivan and Babak Moussavi, University of Oxford

Convenor(s): Prof Matthew McCartney, Dr Kate Sullivan, Dr George Kunnath and Mr Shannon Philip

Part of the Department of International Development and Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series, funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.   At the beginning of the twenty-first century, how can we understand India’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council? This is a question that bears upon three issues of broader significance: India’s relationship to the institution of the great powers, as legalised within the five permanent members of the UN Security Council; India’s self-positioning in relation to a broadly-conceived developing country constituency; and self-conceptions of India’s role and status in world politics. These three key strands of India’s foreign policy thinking and action stand as potential sites of recent and profound change: it is only since the early 1990s that New Delhi has sought formal accession to the small club of powerful states that hold permanent seats on the Council. Moreover, India’s bid appears to stand in contrast with a longer history of Indian aversion to great power politics, of solidarity with developing states, and of claims to status based on a principled defence of the weaker states in international society. While several analyses of India’s aspirations to join the Council as a permanent member conclude that it is India’s increasing material capability that has led its leaders to stake a claim on a coveted role at the high table of international politics, this paper questions such accounts, as well as accounts that see in India’s bid a fundamental shift in Indian values. Our reading of India’s engagement in the Security Council reform process—from the 1990s until the present date—suggests that for the Indian foreign policy establishment, India’s quest for a permanent seat on the UNSC is not aimed at securing recognition of its new status as a rising power. Instead, it is viewed as a means to achieve other, longer-standing goals that derive from the specificities of India’s international identity and Indian self-conceptions of an appropriate global role.

Making the Muslim judge: laws, lives and legalities in twentieth century Indian Islam

20 January 2015, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Justin Jones, Oxford

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asia Seminar Series. For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or tel: 01865 274559

Skill Development and Social Transformation in India

12 January 2015, 9:00 am

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s): Dr Nandini Gooptu

For further information, contact uma.pradhan@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Representations and presentations of young Pashtuns in urban Pakistan

4 December 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Ammara Maqsood, Oxford University

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra, Elizabeth Chatterjee and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Oxford Department of International Development's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series.

India and the Quest for World Order

3 December 2014, 3:30 pm

Speaker(s): Thorsten Wojczewski, Doctoral Student and Research Fellow, German Institute of Global and Area Studies and Visiting Fellow, Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme

Convenor(s):

Against the backdrop of a growing awareness for “global power shifts” and their impact on the contemporary world order in the prevalent International Relations discourse, this paper re-conceptualizes the phenomenon that is subsumed under the label of “global power shifts” through the lenses of poststructuralist discourse theory and postcolonialism as a shift of representational power that challenges ‘Western’ hegemony in the political and academic domain. “Global power shifts” fuel the hegemonic struggle for the fixation of meanings by dislocating existing identities, exposing tensions or contradictions in the prevalent conceptions of world order and enabling “new” agents to assert particular representations of the world as universal. This paper seeks to reconstruct the dominant world order conception in India’s foreign policy discourse and how this interpretative framework, framed in this study as Modified Nehruvianism, informed the foreign policies of Indian governments between 1998 and 2014. By adopting a discursive analytical approach that explores how meanings are ascribed to the structures, actors, processes and challenges of global politics, it goes beyond the current general reading of India’s positioning in global issues with respect to the compliance to ‘Western’ norms and looks at India as a potential norm-shaper and creator of ideas. This is a South Asia Work in Progress (SAWIP) event. South Asia Work in Progress is an interdisciplinary forum for scholars of South Asia to present their ‘works in progress’ in a small-group setting. It forms part of the activities of Wolfson’s South Asia Research Cluster and is convened in partnership with the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme. SAWIP offers a friendly verbal peer-review environment for the presentation and discussion of journal articles, book proposals, research projects and any other kind of research undertaking, at all stages of production from ‘sketchy’ to ‘close to press’. It aims to unite scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds and provide a space to explore both the craft of research and ways of approaching scholarship on South Asia.  For more information, contact Dr Kate Sullivan, lecturer in Modern Indian Studies, Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme.

Pakistan's Metamorphosis to Modernity

2 December 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Ayesha Siddiqa, Charles Wallace Trust Fellow

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Programme. See the St. Antony's Asian Studies website for more details. Email enquiries: asian@sant.ox.ac.uk Telephone enquiries: +44 (0)1865 274559

A Lecture and Discussion on the Blasphemy Law in Pakistan

28 November 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Naeem Shakir, Human Rights Lawyer and Rights Activist. Life Member of Lahore High Court Bar Association and Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan

Convenor(s):

A South Asia Research Cluster event.

Now! Youth prefigurative politics in India

27 November 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Professor Craig Jeffrey and Dr Jane Dyson, Oxford University

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra, Elizabeth Chatterjee and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Oxford Department of International Development's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series.

Networks of Faith and Action: Making Sense of Frontier Deobandiyyat

25 November 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Jan-Peter Hartung, SOAS

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Programme. See the St. Antony's Asian Studies website for more details. Email enquiries: asian@sant.ox.ac.uk Telephone enquiries: +44 (0)1865 274559

Music in Kashmir and capital in the twenty-first century

20 November 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Thomas Hodgson, King's College, London

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra, Elizabeth Chatterjee and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Oxford Department of International Development's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series.

Such a war has never been before: Colonial India and the First World War, 1914-1918

18 November 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Vedica Kant, Author

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Programme. See the St. Antony's Asian Studies website for more details. Email enquiries: asian@sant.ox.ac.uk Telephone enquiries: +44 (0)1865 274559

Primitive accumulation, land grabs and resistance in neoliberal India

13 November 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Shapan Adnan (Oxford University)

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra, Elizabeth Chatterjee and Sneha Krishnan

Primitive accumulation, land grabs and resistance in neoliberal India: persistence of self-employed labour and the 'transition to capitalism'? Part of the Oxford Department of International Development's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series.

Media, Politics and Society in India

11 November 2014, 5:00 pm

Speaker(s): Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief and News anchor of Times Now - India's most watched English news channel and Manish Tewari, Former Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Government of India

Convenor(s):

All are welcome. For enquiries contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0)1865 274559

A Postcolonial Agenda: the Challenge of Change in Indian Education

11 November 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Nita Kumar, Claremont College

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Programme. See the St. Antony's Asian Studies website for more details. Email enquiries: asian@sant.ox.ac.uk Telephone enquiries: +44 (0)1865 274559

Cleaning India: the new untouchables

6 November 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Professor Nandini Gooptu, Oxford University

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra, Elizabeth Chatterjee and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Oxford Department of International Development's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. 

South Asian History Seminar

4 November 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Burak Akcapar, Turkish Ambassador to India

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

As part of the South Asian History Seminar Programme, the Turkish Ambassador to India will be speaking in the Fellow's Dining Room, Hilda Besse Building, St. Antony's College. See the St. Antony's Asian Studies website for more details. Email enquiries: asian@sant.ox.ac.uk Telephone enquiries: +44 (0)1865 274559  

South Asia Research Cluster: Big Themes, Public Intellectuals

31 October 2014, 11:00 am

Speaker(s): Prashant Jha, Associate Editor of the Hindustan Times

Convenor(s): Professor David Gellner, david.gellner@anthro.ox.ac.uk

"The New Delhi Durbar: What it means for Nepal and for South Asia" ALL WELCOME.

The Sarfraz Lecture

30 October 2014, 6:00 pm

Speaker(s): Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Leader and Chairman of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party

Convenor(s):

"Pakistan is a viable and not a failed state if...?"

The politics of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan: ethnography of a state bureaucracy

30 October 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Ayaz Qureshi, SOAS

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra, Elizabeth Chatterjee and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Oxford Department of International Development's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. 

Kitchen Stories: Food Domesticity and Labour

28 October 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Anita Anantharan, Florida University

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Programme. See the St. Antony's Asian Studies website for more details.   Email enquiries: asian@sant.ox.ac.uk Telephone enquiries: +44 (0)1865 274559

Gender, federalism and state feminism in India

23 October 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Carole Spary, Nottingham University

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra, Elizabeth Chatterjee and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Oxford Department of International Development's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series.

South Asia Research Cluster Book Reading - Rohini Mohan

21 October 2014, 5:00 pm

Speaker(s): Rohini Mohan, Author

Convenor(s): Sneha Krishnan, krishnan.sneha@gmail.com

ROHINI MOHAN will read from her new book on Sri Lanka:  ‘Seasons of Trouble’ (Verso). Is it possible to find an ordinary life among the debris of war? 2014 marks five years since the end of Sri Lanka’s twenty-year civil war, but its devastating effects remain a large part of Sri Lanka today. Rohini Mohan’s searing account of three lives caught up in the aftermath shows how the war continues long after peace has been declared. While Sarva, a city-bred young man, is dragged off the streets by the police and accused of being a spy, his mother Raji attempts to search for him through the Kafkaesque Sri Lankan bureaucracy. Meanwhile, Swarna, once a child soldier, tries to rebuild her life as a new mother. Their intersecting, turbulent journeys reveal the realities of day-to-day living in a region wracked by violence and mistrust. ALL WELCOME. For any further details contact Sneha Krishnan.

The Exercise of Religious Authority: Haji Imdadullah and the North Indian Ulama

21 October 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Moin Nizami, Oxford University

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Programme. See the St. Antony's Asian Studies website for more details. Email enquiries: asian@sant.ox.ac.uk Telephone enquiries: +44 (0)1865 274559

Suffering and self-enlightenment: breast cancer voluntarism in urban India

16 October 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Alison Macdonald, UCL

Convenor(s): Lipika Kamra, Elizabeth Chatterjee and Sneha Krishnan

Part of the Oxford Department of International Development's Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series.

Climate Change - Meteorological Science and India's International Relations

15 October 2014, 1:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Matthew Huddleston, Deputy Chief Advisor to Government, Met Office, Dr Kate Sullivan, Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme, International Relations, Oxford University

Convenor(s): Salome Hughes, salome.hughes@some.ox.ac.uk

A Not-so-Hidden Transcript: India's Stance in International Climate Change Negotiations.  

The League of Nations and the Making of a National Economic Council for India

14 October 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): James Martin, Harvard University

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Programme. See the St. Antony's Asian Studies website for more details. Email enquiries: asian@sant.ox.ac.uk Telephone enquiries: +44 (0)1865 274559

World's Biggest Coffee Morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support

26 September 2014, 10:30 am

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

Join the Area Studies team for coffee, cakes, raffles and games to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support as part of the World's Biggest Coffee Morning. There will also be the opportunity for you to buy items from some local artist friends of the School, with some of the proceeds from their sales going to the charity. Sellers include Polly Bunce, REES Administrative Secretary, who will be bringing some of her botanical art for sale and Alison Morris who worked for the School for a number of years, and now makes stunning silver jewellery. Full details for the event can be found on Facebook along with regular updates and links to sellers' pages.

The Modi Mandate: an insider's view

17 June 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Swapan Dasgupta

Convenor(s):

Please see poster below for full details of this event

Visuality and Territoriality in South Asia Conference TORCH

10 June 2014, 5:30 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

Please see the poster below for full details of this event. Please also note that there is an earlier related event at St Antony's College from 9.30-5pm.

Visuality and Territoriality in South Asia Conference St Antony's College

10 June 2014, 9:30 am

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

Please see the attached poster for more information on the Asian Studies Centre Conference 'Visuality and Territoriality in South Asia'. Please also note that a second event will be held from 17.30 at the Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities.

Panel Discussion: Feminist Approaches to Development

6 June 2014, 2:30 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

Speakers: Devaki Jain, currently Plumer Visiting Fellow at St Anne’s College, is a practicing development economist and feminist activist. She is the Founder and former Director of the Institute of Social Studies Trust based in New Delhi, India. She was previously a lecturer at the University of Delhi, founding member of Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), Senior Fellow of the Delhi Policy Group, and member of the South Commission chaired by Julius Nyerere. In 2006, Dr Jain was presented with the Padma Bhushan Award for exceptional and distinguished service. She has also published several books and articles on Indian development and women’s status. Diane Elson is an emertius professor of Sociology at the University of Essex. Her current research and teaching interests are in global social change and the realisation of human rights with a particular focus on gender inequality and economic and social rights. She is a member of the Human Rights Centre, and on the Editorial Advisory Board of Gender, Work and Organisation, Development and Change and Journal of Human Development. Professor Elson is also a member also of the UN Taskforce on Millennium Development Goals and the UK Women's Budget Group, Council of Overseas development Institute. Winnie Byanyima is Executive Director of Oxfam International. As a devoted champion and recognized expert on women's rights she served 10 years as a member of the Ugandan parliament and founded the still-thriving civil society organization, Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE). She advocated for gender mainstreaming as director of gender directorates at the African Union Commission and then, on the global stage, at the United Nations Development Programme. As part of her drive to bring women’s perspectives into core development issues, she co-founded a Global Gender and Climate Alliance and chaired UN-wide task forces on gender aspects of the Millennium Development Goals and climate change. If you have any questions, please contact Lipika Kamra: lipika.kamra@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Conversation with Devaki Jain

4 June 2014, 6:00 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

Please see the poster below for full details of this event.

Film between colony and nation-state: information film in India 1940-1946

31 May 2014, 10:30 am

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Convenor(s):

The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, The Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image and the German Historical Institute (TRG Poverty and Education) have extended an invite to join visiting fellow Ravi Vasudevan, Professor of film at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, and SARAI, New Delhi for a programme of screenings, a talk and a symposium entitled Film between colony and nation-state: information film in India 1940-1946. For further information on the event itself and to book, please see the below document.

The Desais in Conversation

29 May 2014, 5:30 pm

Speaker(s): Anita and Kiran Desai

Convenor(s):

Part of the Wolfson College Public Lecture Series: New Challenges for South Asian Writing in the 21st Century

South Asia Day 2014 - India Decides

29 May 2014, 10:00 am

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s): Professor Matthew McCartney, Dr George Kunnath and Maryam Aslany (maryam.aslany@gmail.com)

Please join us at Queen Elizabeth House for the 2014 South Asia Day - India Decides: Elections 2014. For a full list of speakers and further information, please see the advertisement below. This conference is sponsored by the South Asia Research Cluster, Wolfson College.

A Tale of Two Forests - Comparing the Historical Patterns of Deforestation and Conservation in the Brazilian Atlantic and Amazon Forests - 1930-2012

28 May 2014, 5:00 pm

Speaker(s): Jose Augusto Padua, (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and Rachel Carson Centre in Munich)

Convenor(s): William Beinart

Who Buried the Bodies?

20 May 2014, 5:30 pm

Speaker(s): Kamile Shamsie

Convenor(s):

Part of the Wolfson College Public Lecture Series: New Challenges for South Asian Writing in the 21st Century.

Wolfson Lecture Series 2014: Michael Ondaatje and Hermione Lee

15 May 2014, 5:30 pm

Speaker(s): Michael Ondaatje, Hermione Lee

Convenor(s):

Michael Ondaatje, the Sri Lankan/Canadian novelist, winner of the Booker prize for his novel The English Patient, and College President Professor Dame Hermione Lee will be taking part in an event entitled: 'Mongrel Literature: A conversation between Michael Ondaatje and Hermione Lee' This event is part of the 2014 Wolfson Lecture series on 'New Challenges for South Asian Writing in the 21st century'. Free tickets are available at the Wolfson Lecture Series web page.  Live or video-linked seating allocated on first come first served basis on the day. Queuing from 4:45pm.

Big Themes, Public Intellectuals

15 May 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s): Barbara Harriss-White (barbara.harriss-white@qeh.ox.ac.uk)

Part of the South Asia Research Cluster Public Lecture Series. Please see the poster below for further details.

Pakistan: Opportunity in Crisis

10 May 2014, 9:30 am

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s): Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad, St Antony's College

Janus: At the Mirror Wall

8 May 2014, 5:30 pm

Speaker(s): Romesh Gunesekera

Convenor(s):

Part of the Wolfson College public lecture series: New Challenges for South Asian Writing in the 21st Century.  

Bollywood in Mumbai's Dreamscape

1 May 2014, 5:00 pm

Speaker(s): Professor Arjun Appadurai

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Please see full details on the pdf file below

Neoliberal Governmentality and Durable Disorder in the Margins

1 May 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Uday Chandra, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity

Convenor(s):

You are invited to attend this fascinating talk on the much publicized but little understood conflict (often pitched as that between 'Maoists', 'tribals' and the state) in the forests of contemporary India.  For further information, please see the event publicity below.

Dalits and Adivasis in India's Business Economy: Book Launch

22 April 2014, 5:00 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s): Dr Alessandra Mezzadri (am99@soas.ac.uk)

Professor Barbara Harriss-White will be attending a book launch at SOAS for the publication Dalits and Adivasis in India’s Business Economy (Three Essays and an Atlas) (2014, Three Essays Press, New Delhi).   Please see the SOAS website for further details.   In 2014, Prof Harriss-White has held a fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. The project she has directed, has been taken walkabout to the following conferences:   January 2014, Pondichery University, Conference on Agrarian Transition: paper on Multi Criteria Mapping – (Barbara Harriss-White with Alfy Gathorne Hardy and Gilbert Rodrigo). February 2014, JNU, New Delhi, Franco-Indian graduate students’ conference on Labour: paper on labour in the informal economy (BHW). March 2014, Inst of Human Development, International Conference in honour of Prof Yoginder Alagh: paper on informalisation of policy (BHW). March 2014, Oxford University Society of India: Oxford India Summit 2014 IIC, New Delhi: environment panel – on business, the environment, informality and policy (AGH and BHW). March 2014 Cambridge University, CRASSH conference - on Innovation and institutions in the informal economy (BHW).

China-India: Pathways of economic and social development Book Launch

16 April 2014, 6:00 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

Professor Barbara Harriss-White will be attending a book launch at the British Academy for the publication China-India: Pathways of Economic and Social Development (2014, OUP for the British Academy), with speaker Prof Athar Hussain (LSE). In 2014, Prof Harriss-White has held a fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. The project she has directed, has been taken walkabout to the following conferences: January 2014, Pondichery University, Conference on Agrarian Transition: paper on  Multi Criteria Mapping – (Barbara Harriss-White with Alfy Gathorne Hardy and Gilbert Rodrigo) February 2014, JNU, New Delhi, Franco-Indian graduate students’ conference on Labour: paper on labour in the informal economy (BHW) March 2014, Inst of Human Development, International Conference in honour of Prof Yoginder Alagh: paper on informalisation of policy (BHW) March 2014, Oxford University Society of India: Oxford India Summit 2014 IIC, New Delhi: environment panel – on business, the environment, informality and policy (AGH and BHW) March 2014 Cambridge University, CRASSH conference  - on Innovation and institutions in the informal economy (BHW)  

Visual Anthropology and Contemporary South Asian History

4 April 2014, 9:00 am

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s): Dr Annamaria Motrescu-Mayes and Professor Marcus Bank

The ‘Visual anthropology and contemporary South Asian history conference’ aims to offer historians, anthropologists and postgraduate history students a unique opportunity to share and strengthen their scholarship within a cross-disciplinary research network concerned with the crucial relevance of applying theories of visual anthropology to the study of contemporary South Asian history.  For full details of the event and to register, please see the CRASSH website. The deadline for registration is Tuesday 1st April 2014.

The Annual Oxford India Summit

14 March 2014, 9:15 am

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Convenor(s):

The Oxford University Society of India invites you to attend the Annual Oxford India Summit - India's foremost conference on Sustainable Development, Law and Governance and Healthcare Innovation. Full details can be found on the Society's website.

Delhi: Mostly Harmless - Book Launch

13 March 2014, 3:30 pm

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Please join us at QEH on Thursday 13th March to celebrate the launch of Elizabeth Chatterjee's latest publication Delhi: Mostly Harmless. Copies of the book will be on sale at the event. For more information, please see the promotional material below.

Pakistan's Best Kept Secret

13 March 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Rashid Amjad, Lahore School of Economics

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney matthew.mccartney@area.ox.ac.uk

  Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. Department of International Development and the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme present: Pakistan's Best Kept Secret: A Resilient Economy   This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Demonic Violence and Moral Panic in Post-War Sri Lanka

6 March 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Rajesh Venugopal, LSE

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney matthew.mccartney@area.ox.ac.uk

  Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. Department of International Development and the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme present: Demonic Violence and Moral Panic in Post-War Sri Lanka   This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Super-exploitation and the climate crisis in Bangladesh

5 March 2014, 7:30 pm

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Convenor(s):

Meeting with Badrul Alam   Bangladesh is one of the areas of the world most vulnerable to climate change, with sea levels rising faster than the global rate. Estimates suggest that up to 20 million Bangladeshis in low lying areas could lose their homes by 2050. Badrul Alam, was elected President of Bangladesh Krishok Federation (BKF), the largest peasant federation in Bangladesh in 2004. He has served on the international leadership of La Via Campesina representing the BKF. He is also a leader of a political organisation in Bangladesh which has permanent observer status with the Fourth International. The BKF are heavily involved in campaigning against climate change. They have organised a series of climate caravans to take the message out to large numbers of people both across Bangladesh itself and more widely to other parts of Asia.  And like comrades in the Philippines, a central part of that work is the promotion of food sovereignty as a sustainable alternative to agribusiness - hence their relationship with Via Campesina. They were also involved in work around the Rana Plazza disaster - many of the super-exploited women workers in Dhaka are climate refugees forced to leave the rural villages from which they come by rising sea levels and salinification.  This meeting in Oxford organised by Oxford Socialist Resistance is part of a tour that Badrul will be doing across Britain in the first two weeks of March. For further information see their website or call on 07791738577 or 01865-249001

Goonda Raj and Perpetual Peace in Indian Politics

27 February 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Anastasia Piliavsky, Cambridge University

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney matthew.mccartney@area.ox.ac.uk

  Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. Department of International Development and the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme present: Goonda Raj and Perpetual Peace in Indian Politics   This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Contested Sovereignty Territory, Rivers and Kashmir, 1940s-1960s

25 February 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Timothy Daniel Haines, Royal Holloway

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. Seminars will take place from 2pm-3pm.   Contested Sovereignty Territory, Rivers and Kashmir, 1940s-1960s For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or 01865 274559

University of Warwick India Forum 2014

22 February 2014, 10:00 am

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Convenor(s):

Building on the success of Warwick India Forum’s promotional events this year, from a comedy show with Anuvab Pal to a heated debate on the Kashmir issue, Warwick India Forum is proud to invite you to their flagship event this year, Warwick India Forum 2014: A Resurgence. Warwick India Forum 2014: A Resurgence attempts to make sense of the dramatic changes the country has undergone in the last few years. With a stumbling economy, crucial elections and a number of major social movements sweeping the nation it is indeed an interesting and perhaps uncertain time for India. This forum will seek to address these changes and consider what they mean for the nation's future. Having weathered much in the past year, can India look forward to a resurgence in 2014? With new political parties, RBI governors and tense elections ahead, not to mention the collapse of Delhi’s AAP government, what does the future hold for the world’s largest democracy? An eclectic mix of fascinating, inspiring and prominent speakers will engage the University of Warwick on a discussion on India’s future. This year’s highly reputed speakers come to you from a variety of backgrounds and include Dr George Kunnath of CSASP. For more information and a full speaker lineup, plesae visit the Forum Facebook event page and their website.

Chutney&Chips Productions presents A Night to Remember

21 February 2014, 7:30 pm

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Convenor(s):

'A Night to Remember' (याद करने की एक रात): A Chutney and Chips Production  'The course of true love never did run smooth' Chutney and Chips Productions present an annual play representing a fantastic fusion of Indian and Western Culture. Full of dramatic twists, comic incidents and dangerous romances, this year's production is not to be missed. With brilliantly choreographed Bollywood, Bharathnatyam, R&B, and Bhangra, the biggest multicultural event of the Oxford calendar is coming in 5th week! Dev and Hema come to the St. Catherine's College Ball expecting a night of world-class food, drink and entertainment to celebrate the couple's one-year anniversary . They meet up with Hema's best friend Hannah to celebrate the festivities. But when Hema's ex-boyfriend Len comes onto the scene, sparks begin to fly and tensions rise to surface. Soon enough all four find themselves out of the ball and into the darkness of the Oxford parks. Unbeknownst to the four, the ball president Danny has enlisted his friend Puck to play Cupid to the four ball-goers with a bizarre drug puck provides. History, bitterness, romance and passion will collide on one extraordinary night! Based on Shakespeare's much loved 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'A Night to Remember' fuses this traditional storyline with a modern multicultural twist. With a whole host of influences and spectacular dances ranging from classical Bharatnatyam to East-West fusion R&B, 'A Night to Remember' promises to be a multicultural spectacle not to be missed. Chutney and Chips Productions is a company of over 50 students at the University of Oxford ranging from seasoned actors to adventurous newcomers. Chutney and Chips aims to tell the untold stories, to amplify the unheard voices and carry forward the messages of a multitude of cultures. The 2014 production team wants to portray a story worthy of Bollywood on the stages of Oxford. Performances take place at 7.30 pm Thursday 20th to Saturday 22nd February with a Saturday matinee at 2pm. Tickets Adults £8 Students and Concessions £7 (with BOD card) For more information and to buy your ticket, see the production's facebook page and website  

Classes of Labour in Karnataka, India

20 February 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Jonathan Pattenden, University of East Anglia

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney matthew.mccartney@area.ox.ac.uk

  Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. Department of International Development and the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme present: Classes of Labour in Karnataka, India   This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Forged in Crisis

18 February 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Rudra Chaudhuri, King's College, London

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. Seminars will take place from 2pm-3pm.   Forged in Crisis: Recollecting a 'New' History of the US and India   For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or 01865 274559

Boom and Bust?

13 February 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Kunal Sen, University of Manchester

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney matthew.mccartney@area.ox.ac.uk

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. Department of International Development and the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme present: Boom and Bust? A Political Economy Reading of India's Growth Experience, 1991-2013   This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Tolerating the Tribal

11 February 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Humeira Iqtidar, King's College, London

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. Seminars will take place from 2pm-3pm.   Tolerating the Tribal: FATA Refugees in Urban Pakistan   For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or 01865 274559

De-Americanizing Soft Power

6 February 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Daya Thussu, University of Westminster

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney matthew.mccartney@area.ox.ac.uk

  Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. Department of International Development and the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme present: De-Americanizing 'Soft Power' - An Indian Perspective   This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

The Skin of Neoliberalism

4 February 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Sarah Hodges, University of Warwick

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. Seminars will take place from 2pm-3pm.   The Skin of Neoliberalism: Moral and Material Histories of Plastic India   For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or 01865 274559

Workers and Owners at Odds

30 January 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Azam Chaudhury, Lahore School of Economics

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney matthew.mccartney@area.ox.ac.uk

  Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series. Department of International Development and the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme present: Workers and Owners at Odds: Innovation and Incentives in Pakistan   This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Anti-Muslim Movements in Sri-Lanka and Myanmar

28 January 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Matthew Walton, University of Oxford

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

  Part of the St. Antony's College South Asia Seminar Series. Seminars will take place from 2pm-3pm.   Anti-Muslim Movements in Sri-Lanka and Myanmar: Connections and Commonalities.   For further information, contact asian@sant.ox.ac.uk or 01865 274559  

The Impact of Market Exposure on Public Goods Provision

23 January 2014, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Mahvish Shami, LSE

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney matthew.mccartney@area.ox.ac.uk

Part of the Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series.   Department of International Development and the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme present: The Impact of Market Exposure on Public Goods Provision   This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies

Wolfson South Asia Research Cluster Lunch (HT, week 1)

22 January 2014, 12:45 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

Wolfson South Asia Research Cluster will be holding its monthly informal lunch meeting on Wednesday 22nd January, week 1, at Wolfson. Please join us in hall at 12.45pm. Lunch will be on a pay-yourself basis and anyone with an interset in research on South Asia is very welcome.   For more details, contact matthew.mccartney@area.ox.ac.uk

Workshop: Towards an International Society of the Future

16 January 2014, 9:30 am

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s): Dr Kate Sullivan

This SIAS-wide workshop has two primary objectives. The first is to present an alternative set of reflections on India’s current place and role in the world to those narrated through standard Anglo-American analyses and conceptual frameworks. The second is to deepen and broaden our understanding of contemporary international society as it is experienced, understood, and shaped by a core group of ‘non-Western’ global stakeholders. In an era when the balance of power in the international system is shifting, the workshop as a whole asks how we can begin to understand relations between ‘other’ increasingly influential states who are already navigating, shaping and creating international institutions and processes in distinctive ways. Please see the project pages for more information and a schedule for the event.

India's Maoist Movement: Development or Armed Struggle?

5 December 2013, 5:30 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

Dr George Kunnath will be giving this lecture as part of the South Asia Research Cluster Public Lecture Series. For more information, please see the event poster below

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series in partnership with the Department of International Development

5 December 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Ben R. Campbell, Durham University

Convenor(s): Nikita Sud nikita.sud@qeh.ox.ac.uk and Indrajit Roy indrajit.roy@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series "Niches and Knotty Peripheries: Situating Energy Transitions in Nepal"

Natural Heritage and Colonial Legacies: India in the 19th Century

4 December 2013, 5:30 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Vinita Domodaran, Senior Lecturer in South Asian History

Convenor(s):

Dr Damodaran is a historian of modern India. Together with Richard Grove, she has pioneered work on social and political histories of the environment in the third world, and has been a seminal contributor to what has come to be known as 'subaltern' or 'third-world' political ecology.  Her publications include; Broken Promises, Indian Nationalism and the Congress Party in Bihar (1992),  Nature and the Orient, Essays on the Environmental History of South and South-East Asia(1998) and Post Colonial India, History Politics and Culture (2000), British empire and the natural world: environmental encounters in South Asia, (2010) She is also the author of several articles in established journals. She is particularly interested in questions of identity and resistance and is completing a manuscript on landscape and indigeneity in Chotanagpur. An experienced researcher and teacher she is the director of the Centre for World Environmental History at Sussex. The centre is host to several research projects and a number of research associates. For more information, please see the Indira Gandhi Centre website.

Wolfson South Asia Research Cluster Lunch

4 December 2013, 12:45 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

The Wolfson South Asia Research Cluster will be holding its monthly informal lunch meeting on Wednesday, 4th December, (week 8) at Wolfson. Please join us in hall at 12:45pm. Lunch will be on a pay-yourself basis and anyone with an interest in research on South Asia is very welcome. For more details contact: Matthew.McCartney@area.ox.ac.uk.

Democratic Transition and Security in Pakistan

4 December 2013, 12:00 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

Dr Matthew McCartney will be presenting a session entitled "From Boom to Bust: Economic Growth in Pakistan 2003-2013" during the second day of this conference at Durham University. For further information, please visit the conference schedule or the main School webpages.

Husna Bai's Profession: Sex, Work and Freedom in the Indian Constitution

3 December 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Rohit De, Yale University

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Series. For more information please see the St Antony's College website events calendar.

'Comparisons are Odious!' BASAS Annual Lecture

29 November 2013, 7:00 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

Professor Barbara Harriss-White will be delivering this year's BASAS annual lecture on Friday November 29th. In her presentation she will focus on the similarities and differences between the Indian and Chinese economy, society and environment. For more information and to register for the event, please see the BASAS website.

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series in partnership with the Department of International Development

28 November 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Bhabhani S. Nayak, Glasgow Caledonian University

Convenor(s): Nikita Sud nikita.sud@qeh.ox.ac.uk and Indrajit Roy indrajit.roy@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series "Hindu Modes of Accumulation in the Bhagavad Gita"

Between Theory and Practice: Fiction as ethnography

26 November 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Somnath Batabyal, SOAS

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Series. For more information please see the St Antony's College website events calendar.

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series in partnership with the Department of International Development

21 November 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Subhasis Dey, Manchester University

Convenor(s): Nikita Sud nikita.sud@qeh.ox.ac.uk and Indrajit Roy indrajit.roy@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series "Workfare Programme and Household Economic Security: Findings from Household Panel Data on World's Largest Workfare Programme of India, MG-NREGS"

An Indian Yenan: Revolution, Democracy, and the State in Telengana 1946-1952

19 November 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Sunil Purushotham, University of Cambridge

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Series. For more information please visit the St Antony's College website events calendar.

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series in partnership with the Department of International Development

14 November 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dwayne R. Menezes, Cambridge University

Convenor(s): Nikita Sud nikita.sud@qeh.ox.ac.uk and Indrajit Roy indrajit.roy@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series "The Imperial March: The Catholic British Subjects of South Kanara across the Anglophone World, 1890-1950"

The Dilemma for Rural India: Urbanisation or Village Prosperity?

13 November 2013, 11:00 am

Speaker(s): Prof. Bob Rowthorne, Emeritus Professor of Economics (Cambridge University), Prof. James Copestake, Professor of International Development (University of Bath)

Convenor(s):

Join us to examine india's vision for her rural poor and whether urbanisation is the only route out of poverty for India's 800 million villagers. India has reached a historic fork in the road towards the social balance that will serve her people best: she can either drift into the socio-economic model of urban/rural balance which 'developed' countries have typically followed during the past century, or she can grasp this chance to lead on a 'third way' between the market and Mao. Two contrasting models of development will be debated – massive unplanned urbanisation versus decentralised rural development. Panel sessions will then look at key issues and international and historical case studies associated with both models, and finally, explore solutions to urban and rural poverty and the respective roles of government, business and NGOs. Panellists include Jens Lerche (SOAS) on the agrarian crisis and George Kunnath (University of Oxford) on the Maoists. An overview from a UK or Indian Government minister to be announced shortly.   Space for this exciting event is limited - to register, please email becky@jeevika.org.uk. The suggested donation for non-students is £15, to support Jeevika's vital village livelihood projects in India.   For more information, please see Jeevika's website, blogs, facebook page, and twitter feed

Going Native: Iranian Émigré Poets in South Asia and Indian Languages

12 November 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Arthur Dudney, University of Oxford

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Series. For more information, please visit the St Antony's College website events calendar.

South Asia Work in Progress (SAWIP) Roundtable for Scholars of South Asia

11 November 2013, 3:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr Christine Moliner, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris

Convenor(s):

'Caste and its diasporic avatars'   South Asia Work in Progress (SAWIP) is an interdisciplinary forum for scholars of South Asia to present their ‘works in progress’ in a small-group setting. It forms part of the activities of Wolfson’s South Asia Research Cluster and is convened in partnership with the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme. As a forum, SAWIP offers a friendly verbal peer-review environment for the presentation and discussion of journal articles, book proposals, research projects and any other kind of research undertaking, at all stages of production from ‘sketchy’ to ‘close to press’. It aims to unite scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds and provide a space to explore both the craft of research and ways of approaching scholarship on South Asia. For more information please contact Dr Kate Sullivan, kate.sullivan@area.ox.ac.uk

Oxford and Kings India Institute Graduate Forum

9 November 2013, 11:30 am

Speaker(s): Dr Bhrigupati Singh, King's College, London, Dr Matthew McCartney, University of Oxford

Convenor(s):

"General Elections 2014" Academics and students from Oxford and King's Institute Graduate forum discuss: What does the rise of Narendra Modi say about Indian democracy? What are the stakes for India's secularism?  

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series in partnership with the Department of International Development

6 November 2013, 4:00 pm

Speaker(s): Faisal Devji, Oxford University

Convenor(s): Nikita Sud nikita.sud@qeh.ox.ac.uk and Indrajit Roy indrajit.roy@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series "Pakistan as a Political Idea"

The Wolfson South Asia Research Cluster

6 November 2013, 12:45 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

The Wolfson South Asia Research Cluster will be holding its monthly informal lunch meeting on Wednesday, 6th November (week 4), at Wolfson. Please join us in hall at 12:45pm. Lunch will be on a pay-yourself basis and anyone with an interest in research on South Asia is very welcome. For more details contact: Matthew.McCartney@area.ox.ac.uk.

Patronage and Print in Late Colonial India

5 November 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Ryan Perkins, University of Oxford

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Series. For more information, please see the St Antony's College website events calendar.

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series in partnership with the Department of International Development

31 October 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Rajesh Venugopal, London School of Economics

Convenor(s): Nikita Sud nikita.sud@qeh.ox.ac.uk and Indrajit Roy indrajit.roy@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Contemporary South Asia Seminar "Violence and Moral Panic in Post-War Sri Lanka"

New Narratives for Progressive Politics: Labour, Work, and Identity

31 October 2013, 12:00 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s): Indrajit Roy

Many academics, politicians and commentators have claimed that progressives lack a unifying narrative, in the wake of neoliberalism and the failure of Third Way politics, and in the light of sustained criticism of Marx.  Is this true? And what are some of the new narratives that might pave the way for a more promising future? This interdisciplinary discussion group, run by People's Political Economy, will explore these questions.  Each week we will take one new narrative, provide a summary of this narrative and a brief critique, before opening out into discussion.  We will be exploring work by Tony Judt, Nancy Fraser, David Harvey, and others, and will address key concepts such as the "lumpen proletariat" and "the precariat".    Please send an email to Max Harris (mxharris@gmail.com), Ioannis Katsaroumpas (ioannis.katsaroumpas@gmail.com) or Indrajit Roy (indrajit.roy@qeh.ox.ac.uk) by Monday October 28 if you would like to take part in the discussion.  We will send out the first piece of reading by the end of Monday once you have signed up.

Her Middle Passage: the Journey of Indian Women Through Indenture

29 October 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Gaiutra Bahadur

Convenor(s): D Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Series. For more information, please see the St Antony's College website events calendar.

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series in partnership with the Department of International Development

24 October 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Maya Tudor, Oxford University

Convenor(s): Nikita Sud nikita.sud@qeh.ox.ac.uk and Indrajit Roy indrajit.roy@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series "Origins and Path-Dependencies of Democracy in India and Autocracy in Pakistan"

Oil or Nothing: the Role of Energy in India's Macroeconomic History

22 October 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Anupama Sen, Oxford Energy Institute

Convenor(s): Dr Faisal Devji

Part of the South Asia History Seminar Series. For further information, see St Antony's College website events calendar.  

Contemporary South Asia Seminar Series in partnership with the Department of International Development

16 October 2013, 2:30 pm

Speaker(s): Vivek Chibber, New York University

Convenor(s): Nikita Sud nikita.sud@qeh.ox.ac.uk and Indrajit Roy indrajit.roy@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Contemporary South Asia Seminar "Two Steps Back: The False Promise of Postcolonial Theory"

South Asia Work in Progress (SAWIP) Roundtable for Scholars of South Asia

14 October 2013, 3:00 pm

Speaker(s): Dr McComas Taylor, School of Culture, History & Language, The Australian National University

Convenor(s):

'Seven days of nectar: the oral performance of the Bhāgavatapurāṇa' A vast ocean of humanity receding as far as the eye can see—perhaps as many as 20,000 devotees shelter from the blistering Bombay sun in a cavernous marquee.  For many hours each day, for seven days on end, they sit in rapt attention. At the front of the marquee a painted backdrop shows big-eyed Indian cattle and boyish cowherds disporting themselves in a stylised sylvan landscape. In the centre of the stage, on a raised dais, an immaculately groomed speaker holds this vast audience in thrall.  Devotees drink in his stories about the deity Viṣṇu and that deity’s most significant avatāra, the beloved Kṛṣṇa. The speaker expertly interweaves verses from the great Sanskrit classic the Bhāgavatapurāṇa with commentary and devotional songs in Hindi. For many in the audience the experience is deeply moving; for some, it is life changing—seven days of nectar. What makes it so? What is it about these week-long ritual performances that attracts, retains and transforms those who attend? What spiritual thirsts and social needs do they satisfy, that they should seem grow each year in size and number? South Asia Work in Progress (SAWIP) is an interdisciplinary forum for scholars of South Asia to present their ‘works in progress’ in a small-group setting. It forms part of the activities of Wolfson’s South Asia Research Cluster and is convened in partnership with the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme. As a forum, SAWIP offers a friendly verbal peer-review environment for the presentation and discussion of journal articles, book proposals, research projects and any other kind of research undertaking, at all stages of production from ‘sketchy’ to ‘close to press’. It aims to unite scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds and provide a space to explore both the craft of research and ways of approaching scholarship on South Asia. For more information please contact Dr Kate Sullivan, kate.sullivan@area.ox.ac.uk

India and China: the Makings of a Nuclear Rivalry?

8 July 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Professor Rajesh Basrur

Convenor(s):

Part of the ELAC Nuclear Research Seminar Series (Sponsored by the Department of Politics and International Relations) Rajesh Basrur is Professor of International Relations, Coordinator of the South Asia Programme, and Coordinator of the MSc International Relations Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Prior to joining RSIS in 2006, he was Director, Centre for Global Studies, Mumbai (2000-2006), and taught History and Politics at the University of Mumbai (1978-2000). He has engaged in advanced research at the University of Hull (2011, 2009), Stanford University (2002-2003), Sandia National Laboratories (2002), the Brookings Institution (2001-2002), the Henry L. Stimson Center (2001), amongst others. His work focuses on South Asian security, global nuclear politics, and international relations theory. He has authored four books, including South Asia’s Cold War (Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2008) and Minimum Deterrence and India’s Nuclear Security (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2006). He is currently writing a book manuscript on the domestic politics of India’s foreign and security policies for Georgetown University Press. All welcome. Convenors: Dr Nicola Horsburgh, nicola.horsburgh@sant.ox.ac.uk; Dr Kate Sullivan, kate.sullivan@area.ox.ac.uk

India: A Political Economy for the 21st Century

14 June 2013, 9:30 am

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

Co-hosted by Network 18 and the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme (CSASP), this  event will be covered extensively on CNBC TV 18, the leading business television channel in India, on CNN-IBN, the Hindi channel CNBC Awaaz, India's most watched business channel, the Hindi news channel IBN7, and other Network 18 channels.  The Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Lord Patten of Barnes, will be addressing the meeting. From India, the Minister for External Affairs Mr Salman Khurshid, will be attending, as will the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mr Kapil Sibal. Senior opposition leader from the BJP party, Mr Arun Jaitley, will also join the discussions. Speakers from Britain include Members of Parliament and academics (Dr Nandini Gooptu, Dr Kate Sullivan and Dr Matthew McCartney) from Oxford University. The meeting will be led by Raghav Bahl, Founder and Editor of Network 18. Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief of CNN-IBN, CNN’s local service in India, will host a session at the meeting. Please RSVP to indiaday@network18online.com  

Elections in Pakistan: Implications for the Country and the World

13 June 2013, 5:00 pm

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Convenor(s):

Open and free for all, the session will discuss the recently concluded elections in Pakistan that mark the first ever democratic transition in the country and saw the return to power of the Nawaz Sharif led PML (N) after 14 years of being over thrown in a military coup. Dr. Adeel Malik Dr Malik is lecturer in Development Economics at the Department of International Development, University of Oxford and Globe Fellow in the Economies of Muslim Societies at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. His research interests include political economy, development economics and the role of geography, trade and institutions in driving long term development outcomes. Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmad Dr. Ahmad is Quaid-i-Azam Fellow at St. Antony’s College and Research Associate at Centre for International Studies, University of Oxford. He has published widely on Pakistan's security and foreign policy issues, especially terrorism and counter-terrorism, Afghan policy, and relations with the United States and India Dr. Matthew McCartney Dr. McCartney is the Director of South Asian Studies and teaches political economy and human development at the School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies, University of Oxford. He is author of the book ‘Pakistan – The Political Economy of Growth, Stagnation and the State – 1951 – 2008’ (2011). Dr. Maya Tudor Dr. Tudor is Lecturer in government and public policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. She is author of the book ‘The Promise of Power: The Origins of Democracy in India and Autocracy in Pakistan’ (2013). Ms. Maria Rioumine, President of the Oxford Union for Hilary Term and a final year Politics, Philosophy and Economics student at Oxford, visited Pakistan just before elections and traveled all across the Punjab and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. She will share her observations and experiences during her stay in the country and the atmosphere just before the elections. The event will also include a Q&A session in which audience will get the chance to comment, interact and ask panelists questions relevant to the topic.

Marchioness of Winchester Lectures, A Symposium on India's Politics of Free Expression

31 May 2013, 2:00 pm

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Convenor(s):

Part of the South Asian History Seminar Series.

The Indian Ideology

28 May 2013, 5:00 pm

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Convenor(s):

  Wolfson College's South Asia Research Cluster welcomes Professor Perry Anderson from UCLA on May 28th, 5 -7 p.m. in the college Buttery. He will discuss his controversial essays on 20th century Indian political history which appeared in the London Review of Books last summer, now published by Three Essays Press as ‘The Indian Ideology’. All are welcome but spaces limited to about 50.

Politics and Poetics of Anonymity, the Interregional Everyday, and Empire in 19th and 20th c. Afganistan

28 May 2013, 2:00 pm

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Convenor(s):

Speaker: James Caron (SOAS). Part of the South Asian History Seminar Series.

Why South Asia? The Relevance of South Asian Studies Today

17 May 2013, 9:30 am

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Convenor(s):

Dr Matthew McCartney and Prof Barbara Harriss-White will be presenting at this conference which is being held at the British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH on 17 May 2013.

India in the Eyes of Others - World Perspectives on India’s Global Role

16 May 2013, 9:00 am

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s): Dr Kate Sullivan (kate.sullivan@area.ox.ac.uk)

Please join the Department of International Development and the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme for their annual South Asia Day. This event is generously funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies. The full programme for the event can be found below.

The Indian Sepoy in the First World War: Objects, Images and Words

14 May 2013, 2:00 pm

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Convenor(s):

Speaker: Santanu Das (King's College London). Part of the South Asian History Seminar Series.

Before Mughal Hegemony: Regional Identities and Imperial Consciousness in the Early Modern Deccan

7 May 2013, 2:00 pm

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Convenor(s):

Speaker: Roy Fischel (SOAS). Part of the South Asian History Seminar Series.

Portuguese Interaction with Malabar and its Muslims in the 16th Century

30 April 2013, 2:00 pm

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Convenor(s):

Speaker: JBP More (Institute for Research in Social Sciences and Humanitites, Kerala, and INSEEC Paris. Part of South Asian History Seminar Series.

2nd Annual National-British Pakistani Conference

23 March 2013, 9:00 am

Speaker(s): Father of Malala Yousafzai, Lord Qurban Hussain, Lizz Mackean and the Attorney General Dominic Grieve

Convenor(s):

There are three topics up for discussion on the day: 1. Terrorism, Radicalisation, and Islamophobia  2. Integration and Cohesion  3. Sexual exploitation, Gender and Religion  Some of the keynote speakers include the father of Malala Yousafzai, Lord Qurban Hussain, Lizz Mackean and the Attorney General Dominic Grieve. This is an excellent opportunity to network with people passionate about change, and receive information on current and up to date topics. There will be an opportunity after the end of each panel to ask questions and vote on policy recommendations. There will be a complimentary lunch and an exciting band performance, and an evening drinks reception.  Please view the website for further information: www.nb-pc.co.uk. To attend the event requires registration which can be completed at: www.nb-pc.co.uk/registration

Leonard Woolf Symposium Writer's Panel Event

9 March 2013, 4:45 pm

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Convenor(s):

4:50-6:00: Writers reading Chair: Charne Lavery Roshi Fernando Roma Tearne Romesh Gunesekera To find out more, see: https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/clusters/life-writing/events/lwoolf In order to register please fill out the form below and return to: leonard.woolf.symposium@gmail.com.

“A Superior Tone and Manner”: The Seeds of Self-Righteousness in Indian Diplomacy’ Kate Sullivan, Oxford University

7 March 2013, 2:00 pm

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Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney

This Seminar is part of Contemporary South Asian Seminar Series.

Keywords in Geography - Race/Caste - Caroline Bressey, UCL and Alpa Shah, Goldsmith in conversation

28 February 2013, 4:00 pm

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Convenor(s):

   

India a ' Rising Power': Myth and Reality - Sumit Roy, Jadavpur University, India.

28 February 2013, 2:00 pm

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This Seminar is part of Contemporary South Asian Seminar Series.  

Do political connections matter? The impact of patron-client relationships on public service delivery in Punjab

21 February 2013, 2:00 pm

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Convenor(s):

Speaker: Azam Chaudhury, Lahore School of Economics

Keywords in Geography- Crisis - Wendy Larner, University of Bristol with discussant Dariusz Wojcik, University of Oxford

19 February 2013, 4:00 pm

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Convenor(s):

   

CSA Seminar: Contemporary South Asian visual constructions of Self and Nation

14 February 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Annamaria Motrescu-Mayes, Centre of South Asian Studies, Cambridge University

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney

This Seminar is part of CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA SEMINAR - Hilary Term 2013 series presented by:- University of Oxford DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT and CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAMME All Welcome! This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.  

CSA Seminar: ‘Maulana’ Singh Yadav? Samajwadi Party in India and the 'Muslim vote' in 2012

7 February 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Raphael Susewind, CSASP, Oxford University

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney

This Seminar is part of CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA SEMINAR - Hilary Term 2013 series presented by:- University of Oxford DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT and CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAMME All Welcome! This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.  

Keywords in Geography - Post Colonial

5 February 2013, 4:00 pm

Speaker(s): Tariq Jazeel, University of Sheffield with discussant Richard Powell

Convenor(s): Dr Esther Rootham (esther.rootham@ouce.ox.ac.uk) // Sahar Romani (sahar.romani@ouce.ox.ac.uk)

This seminar is part of: Keywords in Geography hilary seminar series//transformations cluster//school of geography & environment//oxford Drawing inspiration from Raymond Williams' book Keywords: A vocabulary to culture and society, this series will open a dialogue on meanings and usages of key analytical concepts across contexts, histories, disciplines.

CSA Seminar: Disguised forms of capital and interlocked modes of exploitation in export contracting networks in India

31 January 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Alessandra Mezzadri, SOAS

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney

This Seminar is part of CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA SEMINAR - Hilary Term 2013 series presented by:- University of Oxford DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT and CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAMME All Welcome! This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.  

PANKAJ MISHRA Essayist, novelist, historian and commentator IN CONVERSATION

17 January 2013, 5:30 pm

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SOUTH ASIA RESEARCH CLUSTER – PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES no 2: BIG THEMES, PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS PANKAJ MISHRA Essayist, novelist, historian and commentator IN CONVERSATION For any further details contact barbara.harriss-white@qeh.ox.ac.uk

CSA Seminar: Sovereignty after Orientalism: devotee-citizens in a guru's court in rural south India

17 January 2013, 2:00 pm

Speaker(s): Aya Ikegame, Open University

Convenor(s): Dr Matthew McCartney

This Seminar is part of CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA SEMINAR - Hilary Term 2013 series presented by:- University of Oxford DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT and CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAMME All Welcome! This seminar series is funded by a grant from the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Religious and Ethnic Violence in Bangladesh and Burma - Professor Shapan Adnan

14 December 2012, 5:00 pm

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s):

South Asia Research Cluster– Extraordinary Meeting – Everyone Welcome Distinguished professor of agrarian sociology and associate of Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme in the university’s School of Area Studies will speak and lead a discussion about the interactions between religious and ethnic communalism on both sides of the Bangladesh-Burma border zone, including the destruction of the Ramu Buddhist temples in Bangladesh and the influence of violence on Rohingya Muslims in Burma. Destruction of Buddhist temples and homesteads by Bengali Muslims at the end of September 2012 in Ramu of south-eastern Bangladesh appears to have been partly linked to the ongoing violence on Muslim Rohingyas across the border in  Burma by Rakhaine Buddhists and Burmese security forces. These attacks in Ramu also reflect extension of pre-existing communal violence on non-Muslim (Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and animist) ethnic minorities in the adjoining Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh by Bengali Muslims and security forces, which have been going on for more than three decades. Ethnic and religious conflicts in the CHT are increasingly interacting with events and processes in Burma as well as the Cox's Bazar district lying in the intervening zone up to the Burmese border. At the same time, the Ramu violence marks a reconfiguration of communalism in the domestic politics of Bangladesh in an unprecedented hybrid form, combining religious and ethnic elements with the complicity of all the major political forces of the country. The presentation is based on a brief field visit to the sites of violence and destruction in Ramu and adjoining areas in October-November 2012 and discussion with Buddhists and Muslim respondents. Videos and still photographs of these events, collected during fieldwork, will be shown. The talk should be regarded as work-in-progress specifying what actually happened during the eruption of violence and attempting to explain how and why these might have taken place, subsuming political contentions, population displacements and prospective land grabs. Implications for the interactive nature of the religious-ethnic communal conflicts affecting Buddhists in Bangladesh and Muslim Rohingyas in Burma are tentatively drawn out.  

The Future of Interdisciplinary Area Studies in the UK: Developing Research and Research Training

6 December 2005, 9:00 am

Speaker(s):

Convenor(s): Roger Goodman

Workshop held in Oxford in December 2005 sponsored by the ESRC and AHRC and organized by the School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies.