SASNET Activity Report 2019
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SASNET Activity Report 2019 SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK 2 SASNET ACTIVITY REPORT 2019 SASNET ACTIVITY REPORT 2019 3 Table of Contents SASNET ACTIVITY REPORT 2019 5 SEMINARS AND PUBLIC EVENTS 6 WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES 8 Symposium on the Indo-Pacific in Singapore 8 South Asia across the Nordic Region (SANR) 2019 8 Workshop on Challenges to Media in South Asia 9 Workshop on Afghanistan: Migration and security issues 9 RESEARCH, TEACHING AND MEDIA 10 Publications 11 SASNET in Media 11 Affiliated research program & SASNET Grants 12 Summer school on gender and risk 13 SASNET-FF conference, The ninth International Conference on Fermented foods health Status and Social wellbeing 14 Brahmaner, imamer och heliga mödrar: religiös mångfald i dagens Indien 14 Teaching and supervision 14 NETWORKING 14 Rethinkingpopulism 16 Sydasien 16 Social media 16 South Asia initiative (SAI) 16 4 SASNET ACTIVITY REPORT 2019 SASNET ACTIVITY REPORT 2019 5 SASNET Activity Report 2019 During 2019, SASNET conducted a wide range of activities to bolster South Asia research and research-related accomplishments at Lund University. SASNET has collaborated with several organizations within Lund University and with organizations from all over the country through seminars, publications, networking, and conferences. During 2019, SASNET had four employees: office director/research coordinator Andreas Johansson (100%); postdoc Isha Dubey (100%), two student assistants, Hanna Geschewski (20%) and Ulrika Andersson (10%). SASNET also hired researcher Tullia Jack for a one-month contract (100%). SASNET also had two interns, Chirayu Thakkar (Central European University) and Anni-Elina Vänskä (Lund University). Lund University Library 6 SASNET ACTIVITY REPORT 2019 Seminars and public events SASNET hosted several events throughout the year, most March 24: of which were open lectures and many were also con- SASNET together with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute nected to ongoing courses at Lund University. SASNET of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law co-hosted the covered a wide array of topics and invited some of the screening of ”Breathless”, a documentary covering the most prominent South Asia scholars from around the gripping story of the fight of individuals against a boo- world. SASNET also held two internal seminars with ming and deadly asbestos industry. scholars presenting papers at our venue. March 6: May 9: Together with Center for Religious Studies and Theo- SASNET hosted a discussion on the past and present of logy, SASNET hosted a talk on Religious Comforts and Indian politics in view of the Indian elections, at the Cen- Practices for Indian Soldiers in the First World War. The ter for Middle Eastern Studies. The panel consisted of Dr. talk was held by Kristina Myrvold, Associate Professor of Henrik Chetan Aspengren, Professor Catarina Kinnvall Religious Studies at Linnaeus University. and As sociate Professor Ted Svensson. SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK INVITES YOU TO A PANEL DISCUSSION ON The Indian General Elections 2019 HENRIK CHETAN March 12: ASPENGREN RESERACH FELLOW AT THE SWEDISH INSTITUTE OF SASNET, together with Svalorna Indien, Bangladesh, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS hosted a talk on the Institutionalization of Folklore in CATARINA KINNVALL PROFESSOR AT THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL Contemporary Bangladesh. The talk was held by Profes- SCIENCE, LUND UNIVERSITY sor Frank J. Korom, Boston University. TED SVENSSON ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, LUND UNIVERSITY TH Hosted by MAY 9 • 15:15 - 16:45 CENTRE FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES FINNGATAN 16 May 18: SASNET hosted a screening of the award-winning film- maker Sarah Singh’s latest movie ”I Thought I Was Dreaming”. The event was organized in collaboration March 13: with Skissernas Museum Lund on the occasion of Inter- SASNET together with Center for Religious Studies and national Museum Day 2019. Theology hosted a talk on Guru Bawa and the making of a Transnational Sufi Family. The talk was held by professor Frank J. Korom, Boston University. SASNET ACTIVITY REPORT 2019 7 May 20: December 4: SASNET hosted a seminar together with the film studies SASNET and LUCSUS hosted a joint seminar on struggles department with filmmaker Sarah Singh. along the Narmada river in the context of water conflicts in India with water expert and former activist Shripad Dharmadhikary. July 4: SASNET, together with the Swedish Institute of Foreign LUCSUS & SASNET INVITE YOU TO A JOINT SEMINAR Affairs, hosted a panel at Almedalen about the Indian elec tions. The panel consisted of Dr. Isha Dubey, Dr. Henrik Chetan Aspengren, and Henriett Tjäder. September 16: SASNET hosted a panel discussion on the recent de- Conflicts along velopments in Kashmir and the Indian government’s de- the Narmada river cision to withdraw Articles 370 and 35A, in an attempt to change Jammu & Kashmir’s legal and constitutional with status. The panel consisted of Dr. Isha Dubey, Dr. Ama- SHRIPAD Water expert & former rita Gosh, and Pro fessor Catarina Kinvall. activist in the Narmada DHARMADHIKARY Bachao Andolan SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK INVITES YOU TO DEC 4TH 10:00 – 12:00 A PANEL DISCUSSION ON OSTROM, 3RD FLOOR, LUCSUS Recent Developments in Kashmir & The Revocation of Article 370 December 5: The Centre for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) and SAS- NET hosted a joint lecture with Indian water expert and former full-time activist Shripad Dharmadhikary at the LTH Division for Water Resources Engineering. CMES & SASNET INVITE YOU TO A JOINT LECTURE SPEAKERS POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHER ISHA DUBEY AT SASNET, LUND UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER AT THE DEPARTMENT AMRITA GHOSH OF LANGUAGES, LINNAEUS UNIVERSITY VÄXJÖ PROFESSOR AT THE CATARINA KINNVALL DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, LUND UNIVERSITY Re-imagining Water Resource Moderated by RISHI JHA Engineering in India Challenges for Sustainable and Equitable Development SEPT 16TH • 15:30 - 17:00 CENTRE FOR MIDDLE EASTERN with STUDIES (CMES), FINNGATAN 16 SHRIPAD Water expert & former activist in the Save the DHARMADHIKARY Narmada Movement October 3: SASNET, together with the department of Gender Stu- DEC 5TH 2019 14:30 – 15:00 LTH, V-HUSET, 3RD FLOOR, dies, hosted a seminar at the Gender Studies Seminar JOHN ERICSSONS VÄG 1 Series. The speakers were Anindita Datta, Associate Pro fessor at the Department of Geography, Delhi Uni- December 5: versity, who spoke on ”Conversations, Collaborations The Swedish Development Forum (FUF) and SASNET and Care – Feminist solidarities in a neoliberal world” hosted a joint lecture with Shripad Dharmadhikary, who and Ravinder Kaur, Professor at the Department of Hu- was a full-time activist for 12 years in Narmada Bachao manities and Social Sciences, IIT Delhi, who held a talk Andolan (NBA) with his main interest being water and on ”Surrogacy and gender imbalance”. the policies around it. 8 SASNET ACTIVITY REPORT 2019 Workshops and Conferences In 2019, SASNET hosted three workshops and helped with the organiza- tion of one conference. These events discussed contemporary issues in South Asia and Sweden. SYMPOSIUM ON THE INDO-PACIFIC IN After initial meetings in Copenhagen in 2017 and Oslo SINGAPORE in 2018, Uppsala hosted the 2019 conference on June On Monday 3 June, SASNET co-hosted the joint sympo- 11-12 at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. sium Europe in the Indo-Pacific: Moving from Periphery Event funding was shared between SASNET/Lund Uni- to the Center? in Singapore. The symposium was a versity, the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI) collaboration between the National University of Singa- in Stockholm, and the Swedish University of Agricultural pore – Institute of South Asian Studies, the EU Centre in Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala. Se veral scholars from Lund Singapore, the Embassy of Sweden Singapore, SASNET, University presented papers at the conference. the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Singapore. This symposium was a follow up meeting to the workshop on the Indo-Pacific that SASNET arranged in Lund in November 2018. The director of SASNET, Andreas Johansson, moderated a session that discussed an emerging European Perspec- tive on the Indo-Pacific. The symposium was followed by dinner at the Swedish embassy. Session 1, moderated by Andreas Johansson SOUTH ASIA ACROSS THE NORDIC REGION (SANR) 2019 SANR offers a platform for Nordic scholars of South Asia to present their research and meet other researchers. It is particularly intended to be a supportive meeting point for emerging scholars. Professor Göran Djurfeldt held the keynote lecture at SANR SASNET ACTIVITY REPORT 2019 9 WORKSHOP ON CHALLENGES TO MEDIA IN WORKSHOP ON AFGHANISTAN: MIGRATION SOUTH ASIA AND SECURITY ISSUES The School of Journalism and the Department of Strate- The two-day workshop on Afghanistan addressed se- gic Communication, in collaboration with SASNET and veral topics. On October 10 the first panel discussed Reporters Without Borders Sweden, hosted a full-day ”How do Afghanistan’s neighbors affect the country’s workshop about press freedom, journalism, and demo- security, now and in the future? What roles do the Tali- cracy at Mindpark, Helsingborg ban, NATO, and IS play?” The panel also examined the development of democratic institutions in the country. South Asia is the world’s most densely populated region The second panel examined the encounters of Afghan and one of the poorest and most illiterate regions of asylum seekers with Swedish and Afghan authorities. the world. At the same time, India is seen as being on Formal, informal, public, and private institutions were the rise, with around 500 million registered Internet consi dered with regard to the roles they play in this users creating new opportunities for the media industry. process, with particular attention given to networks or Several nations have been experiencing the profound groups without official recognition but which nonethe- political evolution of democratization over the last few less operate in an institution-like manner. decades, but remain the focal point of growing interna- tional concern regarding nuclear proliferation, the rise On 11 October, Dr.