4 Col PMS 485 A 4 Co4 Col l PMSPMS 485 485 4 Co4 Col l Annual Report 2015/16 B Our logo is a leaf from the Ficus religiosa (Sacred Fig), a tree found across the countries of South Asia. It symbolises social, cultural, religious and ecological benevolence, embodying a shared geography. This intrinsic commonality, cutting across political boundaries and identitarian constructions, provokes intriguing curiosity about the ties that bind this complex region. In amplifying this, our logo ties the Centre to LSE’s motto: Rerum cognoscere causas, ‘to know the causes of things’. The height and breadth of the Ficus, along with its dry season-deciduous nature, gives it its innate popularity in South Asia – as provider of shade from the scorching sun in the summers, and warm, filtered sunshine in its winters. Its density and strength make it a nesting paradise for several kinds of birds, and its leaves provide fodder for two of South Asia’s most important pack animals, the camel and the elephant. The bark, leaves and figs of the Ficus have several medicinal attributes, and are used in Ayurvedic, Yunani and other alternative medical knowledge-systems, helping to treat open wounds, inflammations, ulcers, asthma, and digestive and heart ailments. Its popular names include arani, ashvattha, bo, bodhi, bodhidruma, beepul, esathu, pimpal, pipal, ragi, and shuchidruma, amongst many others. The logo has been designed by Oroon Das. 1 INTRODUCTION Dr Mukulika Banerjee, Director The establishment of the South Asia Centre at LSE on 1st June 2015 marked a milestone in the 100+ year-old relationship that LSE has with the region. In its very first year, the SAC has forged to maintain strong links with the greater and more substantial links School. Honorary fellows from South between South Asia and all aspects Asia include former Indian Prime of LSE, and has marked a step- Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, and change in the School’s engagement Nobel Laureates Professor Amartya Sen with the region, taking further its (India) and Professor Muhammad Yunus internationalisation strategy and (Bangladesh), among others. outreach. The setting up of the SAC (with other regional centres), marked Over the last two decades, South a strategic decision by the School to Asia – comprising Afghanistan, consolidate and highlight the research Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, undertaken by LSE academics, to put Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka South Asia at the centre of global – has emerged from its ‘third world’ debates and also to act as a ‘lightening status to becoming an economic rod’ for renewed fundraising efforts powerhouse, playing a fundamental for the School. The SAC is part of role in the strategic balance of power the Institute of Global Affairs and in the world. The several daring policy works with the IGA, other centres and changes effected by its governments disciplinary departments to develop have been matched by the excellence a programme of research, public and contributions of its citizens in engagement and impact. different spheres, making South Asia the focus of interest in the rest of LSE’s long-standing association the world. An important outcome with South Asia continues to be of this has been the development of close, vibrant, and productive. The academic engagement on new terms of relationship dates back to the historical interrogation, examination and parity. links formed in 1912 when two of the School’s main founders, Sidney and Currently, the teaching and research Beatrice Webb, visited various cities of over 75 academics at LSE relates in the Indian subcontinent. A number to South Asia, meeting the highest of prominent South Asians, including standards and rankings of social science Abul Fateh (Bangladesh), B R Ambedkar research in their respective disciplines (India), K R Narayanan (India), Sher across the world. Taken together, LSE’s Bahadur Deuba (Nepal), and Maleeha combination of strengths on South Lodhi (Pakistan) were educated at LSE Asia is unique and the SAC is very and many recent graduates continue well placed to advance an agenda 2 for engagement that is contemporary The SAC’s engagement with South Asia and inter-disciplinary, and which also reflects LSE’s deep commitment integrates knowledge of the region to creating evidence-based research with scholarship in different subjects for wide public engagement and to and on varied issues. Engagement with offer findings that can have practical South Asia also offers profound new outcomes and inform public and social opportunities for thinking about global policy. Research into issues that affect issues such as environment and climate the largest and most vulnerable sections change, financial regulation, democracy of society have played a central role in and cultural ‘modernisation’. There are the School’s research agendas across several research scholars and faculty disciplines. Specialist faculty of LSE, at LSE who apply the best of social alongside Research Fellows and PhD science thinking to the most urgent students spread over 25 departments, and important issues in the region institutes and centres continue to such as gender equity, urbanisation, generate new and cutting edge governance, poverty reduction inter- and multi-disciplinary research and infrastructure. Individuals and projects that create insights into South programmes also maintain long- Asian society, its prospects for change term institutional and intellectual and its relationships with the world. partnerships with the region and There exists still a worrying lack of conduct collaborative research projects, understanding outside the region of conferences and visitorships. an area rich in history and achievement and whose future will shape the world. The SAC will complement existing LSE’s unrivalled expertise, consolidated research and training programmes to through the SAC’s various activities, will build on and enhance LSE’s historic ensure that it contributes to providing relationship with South Asia by new understandings and research expanding LSE’s world-class research. based policy analysis. The impulse of Its principal aim is to enhance exchange the research initiatives of the Centre and mutual understanding between will be driven by and anchored in the academics at LSE and government challenges confronting the world today, and policy makers in South Asia, thus which cannot be sensibly understood helping in pulling together the various without understanding the South strands of research to direct attention Asian region and its place in the world. towards the biggest challenges facing In addition, the SAC will also look to South Asia today, and its impact and developing new agendas of research relations with the world as a whole. and multi-disciplinary collaborations to Its distinctiveness will be particularly address important thematic issues like associated with the application of the governance and democratic standards; great disciplinary strengths in the social the role of civic virtue in public life; sciences at LSE. the importance of partnership and public institutions and South Asia as an emerging global force. 3 The SAC also makes a concerted effort to explore the region as a whole, defined not only by contemporary political borders and its constituent countries but also by historical frontiers of culture, language, trade and topography. These factors determine the contours of contemporary developments, be they strategic issues played out on the Indian Ocean, trade “ All activities of the across the Central Asian plateau or the sharing of food, music and ideologies Centre focus on public of religion and politics across national boundaries in the region. The SAC engagement and will pursue new and innovative ways in studying the region and flows of impact, capacity and people, ideas, goods, natural resources skills development, like rivers and mountains that connect it and link it with the wider context of and the creation of Asia. It aims to build on and enhance this historic relationship by leveraging a global platform and linking more of LSE’s world-class academic strengths in its disciplines to engage with into examining issues of urgency and South Asia – whose relevance in the region. particularities FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE SAC constantly challenge conventional social The School has made an initial investment in the establishment of the science thinking about SAC for a period of 36 months. The SAC will need to become financially the region.” sustainable by July 2018, and is developing a multi-pronged, and focused plan for ethical fundraising along with the School’s Fundraising office. The SAC will need to cultivate a critical, dynamic, varied and distinct profile – all at once – to make itself sincerely attractive to donors, who will support the Centre. 4 SOUTH ASIA From the start, our engagement has been two-way, taking the Centre to the people, and inviting people from across the board to events at the Centre focusing on issues of contemporary interest in the region. As such, the Centre has followed the twin approach of visiting different countries in the region to reach out to members of the academic community and beyond, alumni, and simultaneously organising events in London. In the first year, the SAC has been associated with two key initiatives that aim to create conversations across national borders in the region: THE PARTITION MUSEUM The Centre is Academic Advisor to the first museum of memories of the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The Partition Museum (under the auspices of The Art and Cultural Heritage Trust), housed in the historic Town Hall in Amritsar in Punjab, is the first time that any museum in the subcontinent will collect and archive people’s memories of displacement and settlement following the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 by REFUGEE REGISTRATION CARD OF CHUNI LAL BHATIA, KANPUR (INDIA), 1949 © THE PARTITION MUSEUM the British. The museum will exhibit personal, everyday items of refugees on both sides of the ‘Radcliffe Line’, alongside papers and photographs of the time, and – most importantly – the first-of-its- kind archive of audio recordings of memories.