SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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Newsletter 108:

9 April 2010

SASNET News

• SASNET co-organises
Lund Seminar on Arsenic
Poisoning of Drinking Water
A seminar on Arsenic in Drinking Water will be held at Lund University on Wednesday 5 May 2010. The seminar is organized by SASNET in collaboration with Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS); the Division of Water Resources Engineering, Lund University; KTH-International Groundwater Arsenic Research Group at the Dept. of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm; and The Swallows India-Bangladesh section. Funding has been provided by Swedish Water House (SWH) in Stockholm, and Sydvatten AB in Malmö.

Ronny Berndtsson	Prosun Bhattacharya
Marie Vahter	Abul Mandal
Mattias von Brömssen	Lennart Olsson

Arsenic in groundwater constitutes a major human health issue in many countries globally. It is particularly acute in the Bengal Delta Plains in Bangladesh and India (see map of most affected areas in South-East Asia) but has also been reported in many parts of the world, including Argentina, Chile, China, the United States. The problem of arsenic poisoning in Bengal has received considerable media attention. Although the source of arsenic is natural, people’s exposure to arsenic in drinking water is the result of extensive groundwater development that began in the 1970s with the support of international development agencies.
Arsenic poisoning caused by the widespread boring of wells for drinking water has raised concern about ground water exploitation in other parts of the world. The seminar probes the issue of arsenic poisoning in a broad social context and an interdisciplinary perspective, with a focus on how to provide safe drinking water in the future, and what is presently being done by researchers, donors and practitioners working with these issues.
The program includes lectures by Prof. Ronny Berndtsson, Lund University, who will talk about ”Groundwater – the hidden resource. A world survey”; Prof. Prosun Bhattacharya, KTH, who will talk about ”Strategies for Sustainable Arsenic Mitigation in Bangladesh”; Prof. Marie Vahter, Division of Metals & Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm who will talk about ”Health effects of arsenic with special focus on early-life exposure”, Dr. Abul Mandal, School of Life Sciences, Skövde University, who will talk about ”Studies of genes involved in uptake and/or metabolism of arsenics in plants: A practical approach for protection of human from arsenic contamination”; and Dr. Mattias von Brömssen, Ramböll AB, who will talk about ”Challenges for providing safe drinking water in regions with high As-groundwater in Bangladesh”. Prof. Lennart Olsson from LUCSUS will be the moderator for the day.
The seminar is open to all, and free of charge. Pre-registration is however necessary. Please register your participation to Lars.Eklund@sasnet.lu.se before April 30th. Venue for the seminar: Världen, Geocentrum 1, 1st floor, Sölvegatan 10, Lund.
More information about the Arsenic seminar in Lund.

• SASNET Seminar on India’s Changing Role in the Global Political Economy
Anthony P. D'Costa, Professor of Indian Studies at the Asia Research Centre (ARC), Copenhagen Business School, will hold an open SASNET lecture at Lund University on Monday 19 April 2010, 11.15–13.00. He will talk about ”India's Changing Role in the Global Political Economy”.
The seminar will be inaugurated by the Indian Ambassador to Sweden, H.E. Mr. Balkrishna Shetty, who will also give some some opening remarks.
Prior he came to ARC in 2008, Prof. Anthony D’Costa was with the University of Washington for eighteen years.  He has written extensively on the global steel, Indian automobile and IT industries, globalization, development, innovations, and industrial restructuring. He is currently working on globalization and the international mobility of IT workers examining migration pattern, immigration policies, national innovation systems, and tertiary education in India, China, Japan, and the US, co-authoring a photographic essay on Indian modernity and industrialization, and editing volumes on economic nationalism and the development experiences of India and China. More information about Anthony D’Costa.
The seminar will be co-organised by the Sweden India Business Council (SIBC), and held with kind support from the Embassy of India in Sweden. All are welcome, but please register your participation to Lars Eklund at SASNET before April 15, 2010.
Venue for the seminar: Museum of Cultural History/Auditorium (Kulturens hörsal), Tegnérplatsen, Lund.
More information about the seminar.

• SASNET Seminar on
The Maldives – Paradise Lost?
Nils Finn Munch-Petersen, Senior expert at the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) in Copenhagen, Denmark, holds an open SASNET lecture at Lund University on Tuesday 27 April 2010, 13.15 – 15.00.
Nils Finn will talk about ”The Maldives – Paradise Lost?”, focusing on the current developments in the Indian Ocean republic, claimed to be threatened by a rise in sea level due to expected global warming. However, more immediate threats are issues such as a break-down of society caused by a growing economic and demographic imbalance precipitated by uncontrolled tourism growth and the influx of lowly-paid foreign workers. This leads to social inequality, a growing number of unemployed youth, narcotics related criminality and a growing Islamic fundamentalism.
Nils Finn Munch-Petersen is a social anthropologist who first visited the Maldives in the 1970s, and has since travelled extensively in the Northern and Southern Atolls for research and work for international organizations such as UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, and the World Bank. He is considered to be one of the leading, non-Maldivian, world specialists on the Maldives.
Venue for the seminar: Conference room, Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies (ACE), Lund University (Ideon Alfa 1 Building, Scheelevägen 15 D, first floor), Lund.
More information about the seminar.

Mats Lannerstad, Elisabeth Kvarnström, and Göran Nilsson Axberg, Research Fellows that partly works with South Asia related projects at SEI.

• SASNET visit to Stockholm
Environment Institute
On Wednesday 31 March 2010, SASNET’s deputy director Lars Eklund visited the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) at Kräftriket in Stockholm. The aim of the visit was, like so many previous visits to other Swedish universities, to meet some of the researchers involved in South Asia related activities. SEI is an eminent independent, international research institute specializing in sustainable development and environment issues. It works at local, national, regional and global policy levels from seven research centres all over the world. The SEI research programmes aim to clarify the requirements, strategies and policies for a transition to sustainability. SEI is also a leading partner in The Stockholm Resilience Centre, a Swedish Centre of Excellence established in 2007 (more information).
A fruitful meeting was held where Lars met with Mats Lannerstad, Elisabeth Kvarnström, and Göran Nilsson Axberg, Research Fellows at SEI that partly works with South Asia related projects. They presented the projects of interest that are carried out by them and their SEI colleagues in Stockholm, York, Bangkok and other places, e g programmes on sustainable sanitation in India and Nepal, Agroecosystems in India, Pollution monitoring programmes in South Asia, etc.
More information about South Asia related research at SEI.


• Anna Lindberg part of Lund University delegation to Delhi
SASNET’s director, Dr. Anna Lindberg, will participate in an official Lund University (LU) delegation travelling to India in the last week of April. The group is led by Eva Åkesson, Lund University Pro Vice-Chancellor, who will participate in the Universitas 21 Symposium held at Delhi University. Universitas 21 is an international network of 21 leading research-intensive universities in thirteen countries, among them Lund and Delhi (more information). LU representatives will also visit a number of other universities in Delhi, Mumbai and Kanpur to explore further collaboration with Lund University in different research fields.

• High time to register for the 2010 Falsterbo conference
The second SASNET conference on South Asian Studies for young Nordic scholars will be held in Höllviken, south of Malmö, on 18–20 August 2010. This will be a follow-up to the successful conference on the same topic that SASNET arranged last year (more information about the 2009 conference). It proved to make a difference from the standard academic conferences and paid attention explicitly to the students. Something that was evaluated very positively from all participants . The 2010 conference will again be held at Falsterbo conference retreat (Falsterbo kursgård) in Höllviken. The aim is to gather master students, doctoral students, and young post-docs in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) who focus on South Asia in their studies or research. The conference will provide an opportunity for young scholars from all disciplines to present their future and ongoing research projects, establish contacts with colleagues in the Nordic countries, and discuss the challenges and opportunities of career planning and conducting research in South Asian Studies.
This year’s topics in focus are Interdisciplinary research, Field Work and Ethics, as well as Academic Career (Publishing, Teaching, Networking). The keynote speaker will be Prof. Emeritus Graham Chapman from the Dept. of Geography, Lancaster University, UK. Other main speakers will be Dr. Sirpa Tenhunen, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Helsinki, Finland; Mr. Teddy Primack, Director of Academic Documents Associates, USA; Associate Professor Jan Vang, Department of Production, Aalborg University, Denmark; and Dr. Anna Godhe, Department of Marine Ecology, University of Gothenburg.
The deadline to register for the conference is 30 April 2010.
More information on the conference web page.

• More information about SASNET and its activities
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/sasnet.html

Research Community News

• Doctoral dissertation on Rural Women in Bangladesh
Abdel Baten Miaji, Section of Islamology, Department of History of Religions; Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, will defend his doctoral dissertation entitled ”Rural Women in Bangladesh: The Legal Status of Women and the Relationship between NGOs and Religious Groups” on Friday 21 May 2010, at 15.15. The faculty opponent will be Dr. Monica Erwér, School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg (but currently working as Team Leader for the Swedish non-governmental organisation The Swallows India Bangladesh section in Lund). The thesis focuses on how religious and traditional customs affect the socio-economic condition of women in Bangladesh. Venue for the dissertation: Room 215, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (CTR), Allhelgona Kyrkogata 8, Lund.

• Dissertation on Globalization and Occupational Wages in Bangladesh
Dr. Farzana Munshi, Dept. of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, defended her doctoral dissertation entitled ”Essays on Globalization and Occupational Wages” on 12 March 2008. The discussant was Associate Professor Karolina Ekholm, Department of Economics, Stockholm University. The thesis evaluates empirically how globalization has affected occupational wages in both developing and developed countries. Three aspects of globalization – openness to trade, openness to capital and offshore-outsourcing – are examined in four self-contained essays. The first two essays evaluate the effects of increased trade liberalization on the wage gaps between skilled and unskilled workers in the Bangladesh manufacturing sector. The third and the fourth essays analyze the effects of globalization on occupational wages in both developing and developed countries.
More information, with link to full-text thesis.

• NIAS offers web based social network for Nordic researchers in Asian studies
The Nordic Institute for Asia Studies (NIAS) in Copenhagen has created a new web based social network for Nordic researchers in Asian studies, entitled Barha. They are offered a free on-line community where they can discuss issues of common interest. Links are given to blog forums and discussion groups hosted by e g Copenhagen South Asia Network (CSAN), Gendering Asia, and Supra Students Network.
Go for the Barha Asiaportal.

• P N Malik’s contract with Nordic centre in India terminates
After working as Consultant for the Nordic Centre in India (NCI) university consortium for more than nine years, and chairing the NCI’s Delhi office at Nizamuddin East, Mr. P. N. Malik will quit this position on April 30, 2010 when the current contract ends. However, Mr. Malik will also in the future offer his services to the visiting academics to India, providing consultations and assistance in establishing contacts with Indian academics and Indian universities/institutions of higher learning and research. His services could also include making practical arrangements, such as hotel reservations, flight bookings, etc.
More information about NCI.

• Felicitation seminar in honour of Staffan Lindberg
A one-day felicitation seminar was held in honour of Professor Emeritus Staffan Lindberg, Dept. of Sociology, Lund University (and SASNET’s first Director), on Thursday 8 April 2010. Several of Staffan’s Scandinavian and international friends and colleagues participated in the seminar, presenting short papers. Among others, they included Prof. Partha Nath Mukherji from the Institute of Social Sciences in New Delhi, India; Prof. Emeritus Björn Hettne, PADRIGU, School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg; Prof. Göran Djurfeldt, Dept. of Sociology, Lund University; Dr. Preben Kaarsholm, Roskilde University; and Dr. Stig Toft Madsen, University of Copenhagen. Some of Staffan’s many PhD students over the years turned up to felicitate their former supervisor. The writer Lasse Berg and the radio journalist Christian Andersson also particuoated in the seminar, along with SASNET’s current Director, Dr. Anna Lindberg, who presented a paper on ”The New Kerala Model: ‘Prosperity of the Family’ through self-help groups”. More information.
See also Lars Eklund’s photos from the felicitation party.

• South Asia related study circle at Nordic Summer University in Majvik
The Nordic Summer University will hold its 2010 Summer Session in Majvik, close to Helsinki, Finland, 24 – 31 July 2010. It includes a South Asia related study circle, No. 3: South Asia in the 21st Century: Explorations in Multidisciplinary Methodology. This workshop will have two separate themes: 1. South Asian Migration and Diaspora (coordinated by Peter B. Andersen and Igor Kotin); and 2. Religion and Conflict in South Asia (coordinated by Stig Toft Madsen and David Hansen – to be confirmed). The first theme is a continuation of the workshop held at the NSU in the summer of 2009. The second theme is the theme originally slated for the summer of 2010. The two themes will be scheduled separately, but the intention is to let the themes enrich each other in the final discussions.
The workshop will be conducted in English to encourage non-Nordic participation. NSU will not subsidize the travel costs of non-Nordic participants, but the coordinators will try to subsidize a few non-Nordic participants. Registration should be done before 15 April 2010. More information.
For more than 50 years the Nordic Summer University has been known to develop academic and intellectual debates that has involved several leading intellectuals, politicians, and scholars of the Nordic countries. The organization is sponsored by the Nordic Council of Ministers. A cluster of Nordic researchers in South Asian studies prepared a proposal for these multidisciplinary NSU seminars that was accepted in 2007. The aim was to connect presently dispersed scholars on South Asian studies and upgrade the existing mass of Nordic PhD students and younger researchers in the Nordic Summer University activities. Read the full proposal for the South Asia in the 21st Century NSU programme.
The first workshop was held in Copenhagen 13–15 March 2009. The theme was ”Democratic Values and Political Practices in South Asia”, and it was coordinated by Stig Toft Madsen, SASNET; Kenneth B Nielsen, University of Oslo; and Arild Engelsen Ruud, also University of Oslo. Full information about the March 2009 workshop, including a list of papers presented.
The second workshop was held in Tyrifjord, Norway, 19–26 July 2009. The theme for this workshop was ”South Asian Migration and Diaspora”, and it was coordinated by Peter B. Andersen, University of Copenhagen; Knut A. Jacobsen, University of Bergen; Igor Kotin, Kunstkamera, St. Petersburg, Russia; and Marianne Qvortrup Fibiger, University of Aarhus.
The third workshop in the Nordic Summer University (NSU) project on ”South Asia in the 21st Century: Explorations in Multidisciplinary Methodology” was held at Falsterbo, south of Malmö, Sweden, 2–3 February 2010. The topic was ”Environmental Challenges, Politics and Food Production in South Asia”. The Falsterbo workshop formed part of the ongoing effort to establish a Nordic Network on the Study of Environmental Challenges in South Asia. The network is coordinated by Guro Aandahl, Research fellow at the Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM), University of Oslo, Norway. More information about the network (as a pdf-file).

• Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Classical Tamil Award to Asko Parpola
Asko Parpola, leading authority on the Indus script and Professor Emeritus of Indology at the Institute for Asian and African Studies, Department of World Cultures, University of Helsinki, Finland, has been chosen for the Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Classical Tamil Award for 2009. He was selected for his work on the Dravidian hypothesis in interpreting the Indus script because the Dravidian, as described by him, was very close to Old Tamil, an official release said. Professor Parpola will receive a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh, a citation and a memento during the World Classical Tamil Conference to be held in Coimbatore in June. More information in an artcle from The Hindu, April 3, 2010.

• More information about South Asia related research at Swedish and Nordic universities
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/research.html

Educational News

• Time to apply for Karlstad University’s India Program to be held in Varanasi
Every year, Karlstad University in collaboration with the Banaras Hindu University(BHU) in Varanasi, India, offers students at the C/D-level courses in History of Religions and History at Karlstad University, the opportunity to spend one full semester in Varanasi.
The India Program, equal to 30 or 45 ECTS credits, begins with a 7.5 points preparatory course (conducted in Karlstad during the summer), a course that includes research methodology. After arrival in Varanasi, a 7.5 points seminar series on the ”Multi-Cultural Aspects of Banaras” follows, and finally 15 poinys consisting of an Individual Study Project. Qualified academic advisors, often affiliated with BHU, serves as local experts for the students, and the final result of the “Individual Study Project” is a C/D level essay.
In a formal agreement with the Dept. of Linguistics and Philology at Uppsala University, it is also possible to conduct Hindi studies equal to 15 ECTS, simultaneously with studies in History of Religion or History. Voluntary studies can also be organized for language studies in Sanskrit or Urdu, and cultural activities such as Indian music and instruments, Yoga, Dance, Painting, etc.
The Ganga Mahal office is manned by Shri Om Prakash Sharma, the Ganga Mahal local coordinator, who has year's of experience in assisting western students and researchers.
The students are accommodated at Ganga Mahal, the Swedish Study Centre leased by Karlstad University in a ”palace” on the bank of the Ganges River since 1995. Applicants must be qualified for admission to the C/D levels of History of Religion or Cultural Geography at Karlstad University.
On Monday 12 April 2010, an information meeting will be held in Karlstad. Deadline for applications is Monday 26 April .
Contact persons: Per Olof Fjällsby, Dept. of History, and Marc Katz, Associate Professor of History of Religions.
Full information about the India Program 2010.

• Eighth Annual Course on Forced Migration to be held in Kolkata
The Annual Winter Courses on Forced Migration are held each year in Kolkata, India from 1 December to 15 December. The short-term winter courses, organised by the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group, are preceded by a two and a half month long programme of distance education. The course is intended for younger academics, refugee activists and others working in the field of human rights and humanitarian assistance for victims of forced displacement. The curriculum deals with themes of nationalism, ethnicity, partition, and partition-refugees, national regimes and the international regime of protection, political issues relating to regional trends in migration in South Asia, internal displacement, the gendered nature of forced migration and protection framework, resource politics, environmental degradation, and several other issues related to the forced displacement of people. Applicants must have 3 years experience in the work of protection of the victims of forced displacement, OR hold a post-graduate degree in Social Sciences. Deadline for applications for the coming course, the eighth Annual Course on Forced Migration, is 31 May 2010. More information.

• Tamil Summer School again organised in Puducherry
The Puducherry (Pondicherry) Institute of Linguistics and Culture (PILC) again organises an intensive six-weeks Tamil Summer School 2010. It is organised from 12 July – 21 August 2010. The Tamil Summer School was initiated in 1998 by the Department of Social Sciences, French Institute, Puducherry to offer training to language researchers in Humanities and Social sciences. PILC has been organising this course since 2004. Read an article from The Hindu about the Tamil Summer School 2008.
The medium of teaching is English as well as Tamil. The TSS focuses on Spoken Tamil rather than on the classical and written forms being taught in European Universities. The level of spoken Tamil course is INTERMEDIATE. More information (as a pdf-file).

• Indological programme at Leiden Summer School in Languages and Linguistics
For the fifth year, the Leiden Summer School in Languages and Linguistics at the Faculty of Arts, Leiden University, the Netherlands offers an Indological Programme during the period 19 – 31 July 2010. The Indological programme consists of three courses: – Features of Vedic poetry , and – The syntax of Vedic prose, both courses taught by Dr. Werner Knobl, University of Kyoto, Japan; and a course on Kalidasa. ”Malavikagnitram”, taught by Dr. Velizar Sadovski, Institute of Iranian Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.

• More information about South Asia related education at Swedish and Nordic universities
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/education.html

Conferences and workshops

• Nordic Association for South Asian Studies in Helsinki
After a gap of five years, the Nordic Association for South Asian Studies, NASA, arranges a conference and a PhD workshop 26–29 May 2010 in Helsinki, Finland. The theme for the conference will be ”Globalizing South Asia”, and it is organised by the University of Helsinki. The conference aims to bring scholars from different fields within humanities and social sciences (history, anthropology, sociology, economics, geography, environmental science, development studies and political science) together to analyze cultural, economic, political and environmental connections in South Asia. Both Nordic and non-Nordic scholars are invited to participate in the conference that is meant to stimulate networking and exchange, and to create a forum for discussions for scholars and doctoral students within and outside the Nordic countries. The conference is convened by Dr. Sirpa Tenhunen, and Dr. Klaus Karttunen, University of Helsinki.
The keynote speakers will be Professor Steve Derne, State University of New York at Geneseo, USA; Prof. Bishnupriya Ghosh, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA; Prof. William Mazzarella, University of Chicago, USA; and Prof. Himanshu Rai, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), India. A peer-reviewed volume of selected papers will be published after the conference.
Full information about the 2010 NASA conference.

• Cambridge conference on Enmity, Amity and Alterity
The Centre of South Asian Studies at University of Cambridge, UK, invites for a conference on ”Enmity, amity and alterity: exploring practices and politics of relational life in South Asia” to be held 23 – 24 June 2010. Academic engagement has long treated enmity and amity as disparate and differentiated, offering critical inquiries into either the event of violence or the everyday politics of peace. Following the assertion made by Veena Das (2007) that violence and peace not only critically inform one another, but are rarely ever distinct onto themselves, this conference will seek to bridge the space between these traditionally segregated spheres of study in order to explore transitions from civil strife to civic life and back. Abstracts should be submitted by April, 19, 2010. More information.

• Greenwich conference on Britain and the Indian Ocean World
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, UK, organises a conference entitled ”'That mighty and vast sea': Britain and the Indian Ocean World” on 8–9 July 2010. The conference will explore the factors that shaped Britain’s involvement with the Indian Ocean. The East India Company played a major role in initiating and defining this relationship. It evolved and diversified, however, reflecting political, economic, social and technological changes in both Europe and Asia. This conference will bring together scholars working on different aspects and areas of the Indian Ocean world to contextualize the dynamics and consequences of Britain’s involvement with this key maritime space. More information.

• Tehran conference on Multiculturalism and Global Community
An International Conference on Multiculturalism and Global Community will be held in Tehran, Iran, 24 – 27 July 2010. It is organised by the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies in Tehran. The conference will address a range of critically important issues considered as the challenges of our contemporary world. The main goal of the conference is to bring together professors, researchers and scholar students to exchange and share their experiences and research results about conference’s themes and to discuss the cultural challenges and their practical solutions. The conference will be a unique forum for participants with cross-disciplinary interests related to culture and society to meet and interact with members inside and outside their own particular disciplines. More information.

• Second Heidelberg Summer School of the ”Asia and Europe in a Global Context”
The second Summer School of the ”Asia and Europe in a Global Context” Cluster of Excellence, will be held at the Karl Jaspers Centre for Advanced Transcultural Studies, Heidelberg University, Germany, 25 – 29 July, 2010. The theme for 2010 summer school, aimed at graduate students from a broad range of disciplines, including the history of science, thought, technology and art, sociology, philosophy and anthropology as well as East, South and Southeast Asian Studies, is ”Knowledge on the Move: Circulation, Domestication and Transcultural Reconfigurations”. Under this heading, the multifaceted encounters between Asian and European knowledge since the early modern period will be examined. The course programme combines lectures with seminars and workshops. The list of speakers includes Dhruv Raina from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi. The deadline for submitting applications is 31 May 2010. More information.

• Malda conference on Exploring Hindustan, Brittish ‘India’, and ‘India’
An international conference on ”Interrogating and Exploring Hindustan, Brittish ‘India’, and ‘India’ (1556-2000)” will be held in Malda, West Bengal, India, 9 – 10 September 2010. It is organised by the Post-Graduate Dept. of History at Malda College, in collaboration with Dept. of History at Jadavpur University in Kolkata. The conference focuses on the fact that the sub-continent which is today known as “India”, historically was never identified as “India” by its inhabitants. The simple explanation is “India” is an identity created in Europe, by Europe to locate and identify a land and people alien to them. British colonial rule gave birth to a state which has been named as “India”. British “India” introduced new resource use strategy which in its turn shaped up ideas of modernity, science, development etc. After the end of the colonial rule what continued to persist after 1947 is the state of “India” with
ideas of modernity, science, development etc inherited from the
colonial British “India”. The Basic problems of British “India”, like
poverty, unemployment, displacement, marginalisation, specially of
weaker sections of the society are equally present in post 1947 India. Deadline for submission of abstracts is 30 April 2010. More information.

• London conference on Global Media and the ‘War on Terror’
An international conference on ”Global Media and the ‘War on Terror’” will be held in London, 13–14 September 2010. It is jointly organised by Prof. Daya Thussu, Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) of the University of Westminster, London, and Dr. Des Freedman, Department of Media and Communications, Goldsmiths, University of London. Prof. Professor Stig Arne Nohrstedt, School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, Örebro University is one of the plenary speakers. Deadline for abstracts is 28 May 2010. A selection of the best papers will be published in a book and in a special themed issue of the journal Global Media and Communication, which is supporting the conference. Venue for the conference: University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London. More information.

• Hyderabad conference on Pharmaceuticals in Developing and Emerging Economies
An international conference on ”Pharmaceuticals in Developing and Emerging Economies: Production, Innovation, and Access to Medicines in the wake of TRIPS” will be held in Hyderabad, India, 17 – 19 September 2010. The conference is hosted by the University of Hyderabad, in collaboration with Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. Hyderabad is a major centre for India’s drug industry. This conference will examine the state of drug production and innovation in India and the global South in the wake of the implementation of TRIPS-mandated intellectual property rights. The interface between industrial capabilities, and access to essential medicines, is a second major theme. The aim is to provide a landmark assessment of these critical areas in global health and development.
This event provides a unique opportunity for researchers, policy makers, public health advocates, and industry representatives to deliberate on the economics and politics of the pharmaceutical industry and access to medicines, across the developing and emerging economies. Abstracts may be accepted also after the official deadline date 15 April 2010. More information.

• 5th Global South Workshop dedicated to PhD students from global south
The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, invites to its 5th Global South Workshop to be held 4–8 October 2010. The workshop is dedicated to outstanding doctoral students from the global south pursuing advanced graduate research in areas bridging the fields of international studies and development studies, broadly defined, and working in disciplines such as anthropology, history, law, politics and political science, and economics. Scholars specializing in conflict, post-conflict societies, migration, and governance are particularly encouraged to apply.
The Global South Workshop is a programme designed to enable outstanding PhD students (nearing completion of their PhD) from universities in the South, selected on the basis of a sound and high-quality application, to participate, all expenses paid, in a week-long workshop during which they get the opportunity to present and discuss their research in the presence of professors and PhD candidates from the Institute. Participants from outside Geneva will be provided accommodation and receive a contribution towards living expenses. The Institute will also cover return excursion fares for participants enrolled at southern universities. Deadline for applications is 15 May 2010. More information.

• Fifth IAAPS Conference to be held at Sikkim University
The Fifth Biennial International Conference of the Indian Association for Asian & Pacific Studies (IAAPS) will be held at Sikkim University in Gangtok, India, 10–12 December 2010. It will be organized by the university’s School of Peace, Conflict and Human Security Studies. Sikkim University is a new National University, established by the Government of India in 2007. It is being designed for academic excellence and innovative interdisciplinary research and a strong instrument of regional development and cross-border integration.
The fifth IAAPS conference will be a meeting point of scholars working on Asian & Pacific studies. Participation is expected of scholars from all regions of Asia to enrich the already established network between Indian scholars & scholars across Asia-Pacific regions. The keynote speaker will be Ambassador K Kesavapany, Director for the Institute of South East Asian Studies in Singapore. Deadline for submission of abstracts is 30 April 2010. More information.

• 32nd All-India Conference of Linguists in Lucknow
The 32nd All-India Conference of Linguists will be held in Lucknow, India, 21–23 December 2010. It is organised by the Linguistic Society of India (LSI), with the University of Lucknow, the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), and the Urdu Teaching & Research Centre (UTRC of CIIL), Lucknow as the co-sponsors. Papers (written in English or Hindi) are invited on substantial, original and unpublished research on all aspects of theoretical and applied Linguistics, with particular focus on languages and linguistic applications relevant to South Asia. Full papers are due by 31st August 2010. More information.

• Jaipur conference on South Asian Society of Criminology and Victimology
The First International Conference of South Asian Society of Criminology and Victimology (SASCV) will be held 15 – 17, January 2011 at Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. The main theme of the conference will be ”Crime and Victimization in the Globalised Era”. Major sub-themes are: 1. Terrorism and Extremism , 2. Cyber Crimes, Laws and Security, 3. Crimes of Culture and Culture of Crimes, 4. Marginality, Social Exclusion and Victimization, and 5. Criminal Victimization in South Asia and Victimization of South Asians in other countries. The keynote speakers are Prof. David. S. Wall, Centre for Criminal Justice Studies, School of Law, University of Leeds, UK; and Prof. Emilio C. Viano, Dept. of Justice Law and Society, School of Public Affairs, American University, Washington D.C., USA. Abstracts should be submitted by October 10, 2010. More information.

• Thimphu conference on Mountains in the Religions of South and Southeast Asia
The 4th SSEASR (South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion) Conference, with the theme ”Mountains in the Religions of South and Southeast Asia: Place, Culture, and Power” will be held in Thimphu, Kingdom of Bhutan, on 30 June – 3 July 2011. The conference will be hosted and co-organised by the Institute of Language and Culture Studies, Royal University of Bhutan (RUB), Thimphu. It will also be held as a Regional Conference of the The International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR), an organisation that seeks to promote the activities of all scholars and affiliates that contribute to the historical, social, and comparative study of religion. The purpose is to nurture the highest forms of scholarly dialogue among scholars from all parts of South and Southeast Asia, but scholars from all over the world are equally welcome. Deadline for registration is 15 February 2011. More information.

• Other conferences connected to South Asian studies arranged all over the World
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/conferences.html#conf

Important lectures and seminars in Scandinavia

• Information about South Asia related lectures and seminars
See SASNET's page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/conferences.html

Business and Politics

• Information about South Asia related business and politics in Sweden
See SASNET's page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/polbuss.html

South Asia related culture in Scandinavia

• Photo exhibition on Ecological Farming in India
The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Östasiatiska Museet) in Stockholm has given space to a photo exhibition on ”Food and Climate. Ecological Farming in India”. The exhibition has been prepared by Sandra Thunander, working for the non-governmental organisation The Swallows India Bangladesh section, based in Lund, and will be on display till 9 May 2010.
More information.

• Fifth anniversary of Saraswathy Kalakendra Institution of Fine Arts
Saraswathy Kalakendra Institution of Fine Arts in Huddinge invites for its fifth Annual Day celebration on Saturday 24 April 2010, at 16.00. The Bharata Natyam dance school was started in 2004 by Usha Balasundaram, originally from Kerala and trained at the famous dance institution Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts in Chennai, India. During the annual day celebration, traditional folk dances of India and Bollywood dance were performed. Venue: Vårbyhuset
Vårby Allé 26-30, Vårbygård (outside Stockholm).
More information.

• More information about South Asia related culture in Sweden and Scandinavia
See SASNET’s page, http://www.sasnet.lu.se/culture.html

New and updated items on SASNET web site

• Swedish departments where research on South Asia is going on:
Constantly added to the list of research environments at Swedish universities, presented by SASNET. The full list now includes 270 departments, with detailed descriptions of the South Asia related research and education taking place! Go to http://www.sasnet.lu.se/environment.html

‡ Department of Health Science, Luleå University of Technology

‡ Department of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, Lund University

‡ Röda Korsets högskola, Stockholm

‡ Department of Immunology, Wenner-Gren Institute (WGI), Stockholm University

‡ Solar System Physics and Space Technology (SSPT) Research Program, Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Kiruna

‡ Microbiology, Department of Cell & Molecular Biology, Biomedical Center (BMC), Uppsala University

‡ World Christianity and Interreligious Studies (Missionsvetenskap), Uppsala University

• Useful travelling information
Look at http://www.sasnet.lu.se/travelling.html. Updated travel advises from the The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office about safety aspects on travelling to the countries of South Asia.

Best regards,

Lars Eklund

deputy director/webmaster

SASNET/Swedish South Asian Studies Network

SASNET is a national network for research, education, and information about South Asia based at Lund University. Its aim is to promote a dynamic networking process in which Swedish researchers co-operate with researchers in South Asia and globally.
The SASNET network is open to all the sciences. Priority is given to interdisciplinary cooperation across faculties, and more particularly to institutions in the Nordic countries and South Asia. SASNET believes that South Asian studies will be most fruitfully pursued as a cooperative endeavour between researchers in different institutions who have a solid base in their mother disciplines.
The network is financed by Lund University.

Postal address: SASNET – Swedish South Asian Studies Network, Scheelevägen 15 D, SE-223 70 Lund, Sweden
Visiting address: Ideon Research Park, House Alpha 1 (first floor, room no. 2040), in the premises of the Centre for East and South East Asian Studies at Lund University (ACE).
Phone: + 46 46 222 73 40
Fax: + 46 46 222 30 41
E-mail: sasnet@sasnet.lu.se
Web site: http://www.sasnet.lu.se