SASNET: Newsletter 55

• Planning grants distributed
Nine projects were selected by the reference group in the latest round of SASNET Planning grants. A total number of 29 applications had been delivered for consideration in the first round of 2005. On Tuesday 30 August 2005 the SASNET Reference group (consisting of three eminent Nordic South Asia scholars) decided to give grants to one continued research programme, five new research projects/programmes and three new educational projects. The total amount distributed was 500 000 SEK. More information on the eight projects.

• Applications for the next round of SASNET planning grants
are now invited. Closing date for applications is 15 November, 2005. More information.

• SASNET board meeting
The SASNET board met on Tuesday 30 August 2005, discussed the external evaluation report recently presented (read the report, as a pdf-file), and approved nine new planning grants (see above). The board also approved a contact journey to South Asia, that Staffan Lindberg and Lars Eklund will make during the period 18 November–17 December 2005 (see below). Read the minutes from the board meeting, as a pdf-file.

• Third contact journey to South Asia
In November-December 2005 SASNET’s director, Professor Staffan Lindberg, and the deputy director/webmaster Lars Eklund will make another contact tour to South Asia. It will be the third and final in a row to cover differents parts of the region, and with the aim to spread information about SASNET and higher institutions of learning in Sweden. The ambition is to promote researcher cooperation and student exchange, and a great number of universities and institutes will be visited. The planning is made in close contact with researchers already interacting with SASNET, in Sweden as well as in South Asia. The 2005 tour will go to East and North-East India (Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Siliguri, Guwahati and Shillong); Bangladesh (Dhaka, Savar, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Sylhet); Bhutan (Phuntsholing, Thimphu and Paro); and Nepal (Kathmandu). The first SASNET contact tour was made in the Spring 2002, to the Maldives, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. Read the reports from the first journey. The second SASNET contact tour was made in November-December 2003, to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Read the reports from the second journey.

• Dr. Rukhsana Chowdhury visited Lund
Dr. Rukhsana Chowdhury, Assistant Director of the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in Kolkata, India, visited the SASNET root node office in Lund on Tuesday 13 September 2005. Dr. Chowdhury is specialised on vibriocholera bacteria and their adaptation to environmental stress. She is member of a new collaborative research project with the Division of Bacteriology at Lund University, a project that was given a SASNET planning grant in February 2005. More information.

• Human Development Report 2005 launched
The Human Development Report 2005 was launched on 7 September 2005. The yearly report commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers a unique analysis, full of statistical data, on the world’s progress in meeting the ambitious Millennium Development Goals (ranging from reversing and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases to achieving universal primary education, with an aim to lift hundreds of millions of people out of extreme poverty by 2015), arising from the Millennium Declaration which was endorsed by world leaders at the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000. The theme for the 2005 HDR Report is ”International cooperation at a crossroads: Aid, trade and security in an unequal world”. More information.
As usual a comparative Human Development Index is included in the report. Among the South Asian nations Sri Lanka still ranks highest (as nr 93 among a total number of 177 countries), followed by Maldives (96, down from 84). India ranks nr 127 (+-0), Bhutan 134 (+-0), Pakistan 135 (up from 142), Nepal 136 (up from 140) and Bangladesh 139 (-1). Afghanistan is not included in the ranking. Two Nordic countries top the list: Norway and Iceland. Sweden is ranked as nr 6 (down from 2). The complete report is available on the Internet. Go for the HDR Report 2005.

• Doctoral dissertation at PADRIGU on nonviolent action
Stellan Vinthagen (photo to the left) from the Dept. of Peace and Development Research (PADRIGU), Göteborg University, will defend his doctoral dissertation on ”Nonviolent Action – A Social Practice of Resistance and Construction”, on Saturday 8 October 2005, 10.15. The thesis explores how peace with peaceful means is possible to conceptualize. Earlier theories about nonviolence (mainly Mahatma Gandhi and Sharp) are discussed in the perspective of late modern sociology in an attempt to develop a social and practical description system. Faculty opponent is Associate Professor Jan Öberg, Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, Lund. Venue: Room 514, Annedalsseminariet, Övre Husargatan 34/Seminariegatan 1, Göteborg. Read the abstract.

• Nordic researchers in the field of Indian religions meet in Copenhagen
A Nordic conference on ”Indian Religions in the Nordic Countries” is held in Copenhagen on Thursday 22 September 2005, 09.55–17.00. The conference is jointly organised by the Indic Religions division, Lund University and the Dept. of History of Religion, Institute for Intercultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen. The workshop is arranged as part of an ongoing Nordic project called ”Nordisk orientalism – indiska religioner i Norden”, including researchers from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Venue: Institut for Tværkulturelle og Regionale Studier, Afdeling for Religionshistorie, Köbenhavns universitet, Artillerivej 86, Copenhagen S. More information with full programme.

• GADNET network for Swedish researchers on gender and development
GADNET (Gender and Development Network) is a multidisciplinary national network of Swedish researchers and doctorate students with specific research interests in gender and development. The network, formed in April 2004 and funded by Sida/SAREC, is institutionally based at the Centre for Global Gender Studies (CGGS) at Göteborg University. GADNET does however organise activities such as seminars and conferences all over Sweden, via key contact persons (called nodes) at different universities and university colleges. They are supposed to form sub-divisions of the national network. GADNET regularly arranges so-called DreamCatcher workshops. The workshop arranged in August 2004 focused on ”Citizenship, rights and gender justice”, and was a follow-up to the one arranged in August 2002 on ”Gender and power”. In February 2005 GADNET also organised a major conference in Göteborg on ”Negotiating Gender Justice Conference”, to which 12 invited researchers from the South contributed. The conference aimed at initiating sustainable contacts between researchers in Sweden and their colleagues in the South. More information on GADNET.

• Urban Hammar defended doctoral thesis on Kalacakra Tantra
Urban Hammar (photo to the right) from the Division of Comparative Religion; Dept. of Ethnology, Comparative Religion and Gender Studies, Stockholm University, defended his doctoral dissertation ”Studies in the Kalacakra Tantra: A History of the Kalacakra in Tibet and a Study of the Concept of Adibuddha, the Fourth Body of the Buddha and the Supreme Unchanging”, on Friday 27 May 2005. Faculty opponent was John Newman, New College of Florida, USA. The thesis treats the tantric Buddhist system of teachings of Kalacakra, today a well-known teaching and initiation given since 1970 by the present Dalai Lama at mass ceremonies around the world. More information, including abstract.

• Doctoral dissertation on Legal Regime of International Watercourses

Katak Malla from the Department of Law at Stockholm University defended his doctoral dissertation on ”The Legal Regime of International Watercourses: Progress and Paradigms Regarding Uses and Environmental Protection”, on Friday 25 February 2005. Faculty opponent was Phoebe Okowa, Senior Lecturer at Dr. Queen Mary University, London, UK. The thesis deals with the Himalayan Drainage Basin (which includes Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, India and Bangladesh) and focuses on environmental conflicts, social movements and water issues. More information.

• Panels for 19th ECMSAS conference soon to be announced
The 19th European Conference of Modern South Asian Studies (ECMSAS) will be held 27–30 June 2006 in Leiden, the Netherlands. The Kern Institute at Leiden University will host the conference with organisational assistance from the International Institute of Asian Studies, IIAS, also based in Leiden. Professor D.H.A. Kolff will act as convenor. All panel proposals received for the 19th ECMSAS have now been reviewed by the Academic Committee of the ECMSAS 2006 Conference and the panel organizers will be informed on the status of their panel before 1 October 2005.

• Unit of Palegeophysics and Geodynamics at Stockholm University closed down
The Unit of Palegeophysics and Geodynamics at Stockholm University was closed down in April 2005. It was basically a research unit with a few subjects of special attention, namely sea level changes, the uplift of Fennoscandia, climate issues, paleoseismiy & neotectonics, paleomagnetism, and geophilosophy. The closure of the unit, that was housed at Kräftriket, follows the retirement of its last professor, Nils-Axel Mörner (photo to the left). Prof. Mörner however plans to open up an independent research institution on Palegeophysics and Geodynamics, in Torekov in South Sweden. More information on the former university department.

• Olle Qvarnström will be installed as professor on 21 October
The Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (CTR) at Lund University has decided to establish a professorship in History of Religion with special emphasis on Indic Religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism). In May 2005 Olle Qvarnström was appointed Professor and Head of the emerging Indic Religions Division within CTR. This divison, the first of its kind at a Swedish university, plans for courses up to D-level, Masters level courses and PhD training. Qvarnström will be installed as professor at Lund University on Friday 21 October 2005. More information.

• SAGE publishes book with the papers from the 2003 Roskilde conference
A fruitful two days seminar on ”Religious Mobilisation and Organised Violence in Contemporary South Asia” was organised by the Graduate School of International Development Studies, Roskilde University Centre in April 2003. Among the lecturers and discussants were the renowned professors Paul R Brass, University of Washington, USA; Jan Breman, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Dipankar Gupta, JNU, New Delhi, India; Ian Talbott, Coventry, UK; and Thomas Blom Hansen, Edinburgh, UK. Read the extensive SASNET review of the Roskilde seminar and the papers presented. In September 2005 SAGE Publications released a book containing the material from the Roskilde conference. The book, edited by Ravinder Kaur, is called ”Religion, Violence and Political Mobilisation in South Asia”. Information about the book.

• ODG organises organizes short courses for development professionals
The Overseas Development Group (ODG), a charitable company wholly owned by the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, regularly organizes short courses for development professionals, some of them during the Summer 2006, on subjects like ”Practical Facilitation Skills for Development Professionals and Practitioners” (3–14 July, course tutor: Sarah Gelpke); ”Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Activities” (17 July–11 August); and ”Management Information Systems for Monitoring and Evaluating” (3–14 July).

• Professorship position in Sanskrit at University of Oslo
A Professorship position in Sanskrit has been announced by the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo. The person appointed must have a completed doctoral degree in Sanskrit Studies or equivalent, and relevant academic publications (relevant disciplinary areas include Sanskrit philology, historical Indo-Aryan and/or Dravidian linguistics, history of religions and Sanskrit literature). Furthermore applicants must within two years acquire a sufficient mastery of the Norwegian language to be able to perform all the duties appropriate to the post of professor at the University of Oslo. Deadline for applications: 1 November 2005.

• Professorship in Indology focused on Tamil Studies at Universität Köln
The Institute of Indology and Tamil Studies (IITS) at Universität Köln, Germany, announces a professorship in ”Indologie mit Schwerpunkt Tamilistik” from 1 April 2006, when Professor Dr. Dieter B. Kapp retires. Applications should be sent before 10 October 2005 to Der Dekan der Philosophischen Fakultät der Universität zu Köln, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923 Köln, Germany. More information from Prof. Kapp.

• PhD scholarships for three years announced at Roskilde University
The Graduate School of International Development Studies at Roskilde University, Denmark, announces two PhD scholarships to be applied for by university graduates or students whose graduation is imminent, and whose research field falls within one of the Department’s research areas: • Globalisation and Institutional Frameworks for Industrial Development; • Natural resource Management; Political Processes and Institutional Dynamics; or • Political Culture, Conflict and Development. The scholarship covers a period of three years and will be available from January 1st 2006 or soon after. Deadline for applications: 31 October 2005.

• Short-term PhD scholarships announced at Roskilde University
The Graduate School of International Development Studies at Roskilde University, Denmark, also announces three short-term scholarships intended for Ph.D. students already engaged in a formal PhD study programme, but who would be interested in pursuing part of their programme with IDS, Roskilde. A certain preference will be given to students from the developing world. Applications should be received no later than 31 October 2005, with a research proposal/project, a CV and recommendations enclosed.

• Bangalore institute recruits faculty on water resources, energy and pollution
The Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Environment and Development (CISED) in Bangalore, India, seeks to recruit Core Faculty in the thrust areas of (a) water resources and (b) energy & pollution. Candidates must be dynamic and highly motivated scholars, typically with a Ph.D., with a strong track record of academically rigorous but socially relevant research in the areas indicated above. They must have a strong interest in interdisciplinary research and teaching on environmental issues. Deadline for applications: 15 November 2005. More information.

• University of Washington searches for expert on South Asian politics
The University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies and Department of Political Science, USA, invite applications for a tenure track assistant professor position in Comparative Politics with a specialty in South Asian politics, beginning Fall 2006. The topical and theoretical specializations are open, but candidates should have an excellent research agenda, knowledge of a South Asian language, and teaching interests in South Asian politics, comparative politics, or international studies. Deadline for applications: 14 October 2005.

• Scholarships for studies by Swedish students at Indian universities
Scholarships for studies at Indian universities are offered on a reciprocal basis for two Swedish students every year by the Indian government through the Council of Cultural Relations in New Delhi. Applications for scholarships are managed through the Swedish Institute in Stockholm, that passes them on to the Indian Embassy in Stockholm. Last date for applications for the year 2005/06: 1 November, 2004. More information on the scholarships, and application forms (only in Swedish).

• Göteborg University introduces course on contemporary South Asia
Centre for Asian Studies (CEAS) at the School for Global Studies

• Course on Images of India in Literary Fiction at Högskolan Dalarna
A 5 credits (7,5 ECTS-credits) graduate course on ”Images of India in Literary Fiction” is now launched by the Dept. of Comparative Literature at Högskolan Dalarna, Campus Lugnet in Falun. The aim behind the course is to let the students acquire knowledge about how India has been perceived in literary texts throughout history. In 2005 the course runs full-time for five weeks from 3 October. There are still vacant seats. The same course will also be held in the Fall 2006, but then as a half-time distance course.

• Course on World Religions at Karlstad University
The Dept of Religions at Karlstad University arranges a 15-credits course on World Religions every Spring (next time in 2006). The course is led by Professor Marc Katz. Applications before 15 October 2005.

• Kabul symposium on global drug policy
The Senlis Council organizes a Kabul International Symposium on Global Drug Policy 26–28 September 2005. Drug policy experts from all over the world will meet with Afghan government officials at both the national and provincial level along with other key stakeholders and international organisations present in Afghanistan. The conference will touch upon the issues of drug addiction and treatment, cultivation, eradication and alternative livelihoods and organized crime and legal responses. The Senlis Council was established in 2002 as an international drug policy think tank which gathers expertise and facilitates new initiatives on global drug policy. The Council convenes politicians, high profile academics, independent experts and Non Governmental Organisations. More information.

• Two-week workshop on Tamil Epigraphy at Sorbonne
A two-week workshop on Tamil Epigraphy is arranged by the French École Pratique des Hautes Etudes at Sorbonne, 3–14 October 2005. The workshop is intended for students and researchers with little or no previous experience with the discipline, and aims at studying a selection of Tamil epigraphic texts from the Chola, Pallava, Pandya and Vijayanagara dynasties (7th to 16th centuries). Venue: Salle d’histoire, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Section des Sciences historiques et philologiques, 17 rue de la Sorbonne, Paris. Deadline for registration is 15 September 2005. More information (as a pdf-file)

• Richard Eaton keynote speaker at Wisconsin-Madison’s 34th Annual Conference
that will be held 6–9 October 2005. It is the most attended conference in South Asian studies in North Americ, and it is sponsored by the university’s Center for South Asia. Usually it attracts over 500 scholars and other interested parties. The 2005 conference features over 70 academic panels and roundtables as well as association meetings and special events ranging from performances to film screenings. A wide range of topics are covered, from pre-historic trade routes to Islamism in contemporary Bangladesh. The noted scholar of South Asian Islamic history, Richard Eaton, University of Arizona at Tucson, will give the 2005 conference keynote address, titled ”Recovering Biography, Writing South Asia's History”. More information.

• Meerut seminar on strategies for human welfare
An International Seminar on South Asian Cooperation Strategies for Human Welfare in the 21st Century is held in Meerut, India, 8–10 October 2005. The conference is organised by the Dept. of Political Science, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. Researchers from all the South Asian nations are invited to work for resolutions to critical challenges they all share in forms of almost unmanageable demographic swell, wide ranging poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, non-access to basic health services and energy, and low GNP in comparison to other nations of the world. The conference convenor is Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, faculty member presently editing the prestigious quarterly Indian Journal of Political Science. More information.

• Bornholm Researcher training course on Security and development
A Researcher training course on ”Security and development: Recent trends in social science” is held in Nexö at Bornholm, Denmark, 26–28 October 2005. It is organized by the Danish Research School of Anthropology and Ethnography at Aarhus University, the Graduate School of International Development Studies at Roskilde University), the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims, and the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen. The aim of the seminar is to discuss ways to study and analyze the development security nexus. Among the invited speakers are

• GADNET workshop on Gender Justice fundamentalisms, markets and rights
The Swedish Gender and Development Network, GADNET, organises a workshop on ”New Challenges for Gender Justice fundamentalisms, markets and rights” in Uppsala 10–11 November 2005. The workshop, hosted by the Collegium for Development Studies at Uppsala University and the Nordic Africa Institute, will discuss gender politics and efforts towards ‘gender justice’ at different sites and scales in different countries. Among the lecturers are Shahra Razavi (photo to the right), Research Coordinator at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) in Geneva; and Prof. Saraswati Raju, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Members of GADNET and others who are interested are invited to participate in the workshop. Participation is limited to 50 people and the emphasis is on discussions rather than paper presentations. Venue: Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala. More information.

• International conference in Stockholm on the development in Afghanistan
The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, SCA, organises a two-day Internationel Conference on ”Afghanistan – A Developing Democracy or an Occupied Nation”, 18–19 November 2005. Several prominent researchers, journalists and politicians will discuss the political situation in Afghanistan, four years after the Bonn agreement. Among the participants are the Minister of Women’s Affairs Massouda Jalal; the Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid; Andrew Wilder from the Afghanistan Research & Evaluation Unit; the writer Nancy Dupree; Prof. Barnett Rubin and the researcher Humyoum Hamedzada from New York University; and Aziz Rafiee, Director for the Afghan Cicil Society Forum. More information (only in Swedish).

• Dhaka conference on Mainstreaming Ageing in Health Systems and Rural Development
An International Conference on ”Mainstreaming Ageing in Health Systems and Rural Development” is held in Dhaka, Bangladesh 28–30 November 2005. The conference is organised by the European Commission-funded PHILL (Primary Health-Care in Later Life: improving services in Bangladesh and Vietnam) group including the Division of Geriatric Epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet Medical University. The other partners in the research consortium are BRAC Research & Evaluation Division, Health Strategy and Policy Institute (HSPI), Bangladesh; the Health Strategy and Policy Institute, Vietnam; and the Overseas Development Group (ODG), University of East Anglia, UK. Venue: Dhaka Hotel Sheraton. More information on the conference.

• 11th Himalayan Languages Symposium to be held in Bangkok
The 11th Himalayan Languages Symposium will be hosted by the Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, on 6–9 December 2005. The Himalayan Languages Symposia (HLS) brings together scholars working on languages and language communities of the greater Himalayan region, including north-western and north-eastern India, Nepal, Bhutan, northern Burma, the Tibetan Plateau, southern China, and Nuristan, Baltistan and the Burushaski-speaking area in the west. The previous HLS was held in Thimphu, Bhutan, in December 2004.

• Second Anand Conference on Fermented Foods
The Second International Conference on ”Fermented Foods, Health Status and Social Well-being” is held in Anand, Gujarat, India, on 17–18 December 2005. The conference is organized by the Swedish South Asian Network on Fermented Foods, in association with Anand Agricultural University, Institute of Rural Management, Anand, and the Dept. of Applied Nutrition, Lund University, Sweden. A previous conference, partly funded by a SASNET planning grant, was held in Anand 13–14 November 2003. It was attended by about 165 participants, most of them from India, but also from Sweden, Denmark, Australia, USA, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. More information on the new conference (as a pdf-file).

• Kathmandu conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management
An International conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries, called ”For a Better Tomorrow” is held in Kathmandu, Nepal, 8–12 January 2006 (Note: changed date). The conference – the first one to focus on local waste management issues in Nepal – is organized by DNet, an organization involved in the issue in Kathmandu, on behalf of Kathmandu University and the Swedish LAQUA group (involving the three universities of Kalmar, Lund and Kristianstad). Some regional institutes from other South Asian countries, as well as from Thailand and Europe will also take part. More information.

• Lund University workshop on Trade and Environmental Justice
The Human Ecology Division at Lund University arranges an International two-day workshop on the topic of ”Trade and Environmental Justice”, 8–9 February 2006. The objective is to discuss and compare different non-monetary measures of commodity flows, such as ecological footprints, eMergy, material flow analysis, and exchange of embodied labor, in relation to overarching issues of political ecology, ecologically ”unequal” exchange, ecological distribution conflicts, and environmental load displacement. Scandinavian as well as international researchers will discuss different aspects of Trade and Environmental justice. Among invited participants are Dr. Simron Jit Singh, University of Vienna, Austria. Singh defended his dissertation on ”In the Sea of Influence: A World System Perspective of the Nicobar Islands” at Lund University in December 2003. More information.

• From Orientalism to Postcoloniality theme for Huddinge conference
A conference on ”From Orientalism to Postcoloniality” is held at Södertörn University College in Huddinge, south of Stockholm, 27–30 April 2006. It is organised by the the university college’s School of Languages and Culture, and includes a workshop on ”The Religious Other: Postcolonialism and Religious Studies”, and probably also one on ”Contemporary Indian Fiction in English”. More information (go to ”Aktuellt”, and then ”Conferences”).

• Vancouver conference on Commonwealth literature
The 14th Triennial Conference of the Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (ACLALS) will be held in August 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The conference will have the theme ”Literature for Our Times”. Papers relating to this theme are now invited , and they may deal with issues as diverse as ”Commonwealth versus Postcolonial versus World literature”, ”Literature of human survival (including issues of poverty and prosperity)” and ”Literature of Human Rights (including the right to access knowledge and resources)”. More information.

• Lectures on Indian religions in Sweden at Lund University seminar day
The Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (CTR) at Lund University arranges a seminar on ”The Multireligious Sweden” on Friday 23 September 2005, 10.15–15.00. The sections for Indic religions and Islamology contribute with a number of lectures. Katarina Plank lectures on ”Buddhism in Sweden”, Kristina Myrvold on ”Sikhism in Sweden”, Martin Gansten on ”Hinduism in Sweden”, and Leif Stenberg on ”Islam in Sweden”. Venue: CTR, Room 119, Allhelgona Kyrkogata 8, Lund.

• Professor Sivaramakrishnan lectures at Uppsala University
Prof. K. Sivaramakrishnan, Dept. of Anthropology and International Studies, University of Washington, USA, holds a series of open lectures in Uppsala in September 2005. The lectures are part of the Master’s course “Postcolonial Nature(s)”, and one theme is developed over two lectures. On Tuesday–Wednesday 27 & 28 September, 10.15–12.00 both days, Sivaramakrishnan lectures on ”Ideas of Nature: Contemporary Commodification of Nature”. Venue: Seminar room, Dept. of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology (Engelska parken, house 3, floor 2), Uppsala. More information from Beppe Karlsson.

• Oslo lecture on Sexuality and Social Change in Bengali middle-class familes
Dr. Henrike Donner from the Dept. of Anthropology, London School of Economics, lectures at Oslo University on Wednesday 28 September, 14.15–16.00. She will lecture on ”New Vegetarianism: Gender, Sexuality and Social Change in Bengali middle-class families”. Dr Donner is an urban anthropologist, doing research focusing on the legacy of the militant Naxal movement in urban West Bengal, concerned with the contemporary history of Left-wing political movements, memory and understandings of democracy and the state among the Bengali middle-classes and the way in which the experience of radical politics in the 1970’s shaped perceptions and political processes in the present. Venue: Dept. of Anthropoplgy, University of Oslo, Seminar room 648, Eliert Sundts Hus, Blindern. More information.

• Maldivian dissident journalist speaks at the Göteborg International Book Fair
The Maldivian dissident journalist Ibrahim Lutfy will talk about ”Cyberdissident on the run” at the 21st Göteborg International Book Fair, on Friday 30 September 2005, 12.00–12.20. Lutfy criticized the Maldives government in the e-mailed newsletter Sandhaanu, and was sentenced to life imprisonment on 7 July 2002. Lutfy howevere managed to escape from prison in May 2003 and now lives in Switzerland. He has been invited to Sweden by the organisation Reportrar utan gränser. Moderator: Eva Elmsäter. Venue: Stora Scenen, Internationella Torget, Bok- och biblioteksmässan, Göteborg.

• Uppsala lecture on Common Property Resources in Postcolonial India
Prof. Arun Bandopadhyay, Dept. of History, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India, lectures at Uppsala University on Wednesday 5 October 2005, 10.15–12. He will lecture on ”Common Property Resources in Postcolonial India: Lessons from the management of forests”. Venue: Seminar room, Dept. of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology (Engelska parken, house 3, floor 2). More information from Gunnel Cederlöf.

• Katak Malla and Urban Hammar present their doctoral dissertations
Stockholm University arranges the yearly Researchers Days (Forskardagarna) 6–8 October 2005 in Aula Magna at Frescati. Presentations are given by 60 researchers that recently have defended their doctoral dissertations. Among them are two South Asia related theses, by Katak Malla, Dept. of Law, and Urban Hammar from the Division of Comparative Religion; Department of Ethnology, Comparative Religion and Gender Studies. Malla will lecture on ”Så regleras internationella vattenresurser” on Thursday 6 October, 12.45–13.20 (venue: right auditorium). Hammar will lecture on ”Dalai Lamas budskap med Kalachakra tantra”, on Friday Fredag 7 October, 10.05–10.40 (venue: right auditorium); and on Saturday 8 October, 15.10–15:45 (venue: Polstjärnan). More information.

• Malmö seminar on Environment and Human Rights
A seminar on Environment and Human Rights is held in Malmö on Thursday 6 October 2005, 13–17. It is organised by the Green Library (Miljöbiblioteket) in Lund in collaboration with IWGIA Lund (International Workgroup for Indigenous Affairs), and focuses on the relations between environment, sustainable development and human rights and possibilities to solve the problems. Examples will be given from different countries in Asia. The journalist Tomas Eriksson will talk about the catastrophic environmental situation in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, in a lecture called ”Dhaka – Staden som tar livet av sig själv”. Venue: Zenit, Kommendanthuset, Malmöhusvägen, Malmö. More information.

• Uppsala lecture on Indigenous Livelihood and Conflicts over Forest in India
Prof. Arun Bandopadhyay, Dept. of History, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India, lectures at Uppsala University on Tuesday 11 October 2005, 17.15-19. He will lecture on ”Indigenous Livelihood and Conflicts over Forest in India”. Venue: Centre for Environment and Development Studies (Cemus), Svartbäcksgatan 9, Uppsala.

• Indian doctoral student lectures on forest resources in colonial India
PhD Candidate Sanjukta Das Gupta, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India, wil also lecture at Uppsala University on Tuesday 11 October 2005, time yet to be announced. Das Gupta is specialized in social conflicts over forest resources in colonial India, and the lecture will be held at Uppsala University’s Centre for Gender Research, in Engelska parken. More information from Gunnel Cederlöf.

• Time for Lund University’s Day of Development Research 2005
Lund University’s Day of Development Research 2005 (Utvecklingsforskningens Dag) will be held on Friday 14 October 2005, 08.30–16.30. The hosts for the event is the Dept. of Sociology in collaboration with the Lund Association of International Affairs (UPF), and the programme includes short lectures by researchers and students presenting Minor Field Studies, many of them related to South Asia. The 2005 Hydén Award will also be given to the best undergraduate paper in development studies during the last year. Venue: Dept. of Social and Economic Geography, Sölvegatan 12, Lund. More information.

• Stockholm seminar on the relation between equality and poverty
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida, in collaboration with UNDP and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranges an ”Idéseminarium 2005” in Stockholm on Monday 17 October 2005, 12.00–18.00. The seminar is titled ”Jämställdhet är både rätt och klokt. Ur Sveriges politik för global utveckling”, and deals with the issue whether equality leads to a more stable world, and whether it matters how Swedes act?” Among the lecturers are Dr. Naila Kabeer, Professor at the Institute of Development Studies in Sussex, UK. She will focus on the relation between equality and poverty. Venue: Hagamagasinet, Frösundavik in Stockholm. Deadline for registrtaion: 23 September 2005.

• Naila Kabeer lectures on Nordic approaches to gender equality
The Seminar for Development Studies and the Centre for Gender Research, Uppsala University, invites to an open seminar with Professor Naila Kabeer, Institute of Development studies, University of Sussex, UK, on Tuesday 18 October 2005, 10.00-12.30. Prof. Kabir will lecture on ”Reversing the gaze: 'Southern' perspectives on Nordic approaches to gender equality”. Venue: Lunch room, Centre for Gender Studies, Thunbergsvägen 3 H (Engelska Parken), Uppsala. More information.

• Lund workshops on Trade and Environmental Justice
The Human Ecology Division at Lund University arranges two workshops on the topic of ”Trade and Environmental Justice”, on Thursday 27 October 2005, and 8–9 February 2006 (more information on the latter). The October workshop focuses on ”Fair Trade? Non-monetary measures of global resource flows”, and is organized as an extended ‘LUCSUS Lunch Seminar’ (13.00–17.00) by LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies) and AGESI (Arena for Global Equity and Sustainability Issues). Venue: Geocentrum 1, Sölvegatan 10, Lund. More information.

• Religious Revivalism and Political Extremism theme for BASAS workshop 2005
BASAS Annual workshop 2005 is entitled ”Religious Revivalism and Political Extremism in Pakistan and Bangladesh”, and will be arranged in London, UK, on Friday 16 December 2004. It is organised by the British Association for South Asian Studies (BASAS), in conjunction with the Politics of South Asia Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association (PSA) and the South Asia Programme of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The workshows draws on the success from the previous BASAS workshop (dedicated to the issue of ”Chauvinism in South Asia” held in Bristol in November 2004. Deadline for papers is 7 October. Venue: IIAS, Arundel House, 13–15 Arundel Street, Temple Place, London. More information.

• Indian Dance and Music festival in Uppsala
An Indian Dance and Music festival called Laya 2005 will be arranged in Uppsala on 30 September – 1 October 2005. The festival takes place at the Regina Theatre, and is arranged by the dance group Abhinaya, consisting of Ulrika Larsen and Anna Bolmström (photo to the right). A third dancer, Anette Claesson, also participates. The musicians are Suranjana Ghosh (vocals and tabla), Kishore Ghosh (pakhawaj) and Anurag Chaudhary (Indian flute). Besides performances in the evenings of both days (19.00 on Friday 30 September, 18.00 on Saturday 1 October), workshops will also be held: on Odissi dance (with Anette Claesson as instructor), and tabla playing (Kishore Ghosh), and a photo exhibition by Anette Claesson, on the Theyyam ritual will firthermore be exhibited. More information.

• Oslo workshop on Indian singing and voice
A two-days workshop on Indian singing and voice is arranged in Oslo, Norway, 21–22 October 2005. The workshop, led by the experienced teacher, performer and composer Madhumita Ray, includes an introduction to Hindustani classical voice culture; ragas and compositions; and semi-classical music such as thumri and dadra. Madhumita Ray has performed in USA, Canada, UK. Germany, Switzerland and Norway. She has a great knowledge of Indian stories and has been working with Norwegian Jazz musicians and Storytelling. The cost for the workshop is NKK 750. Venue: Fortellerhuset, Collettsgate 55 D, Oslo. Registration in beforehand to post@fortellerhuset.no.

• Helena Norberg-Hodge lectures at third Himalayan Film Festival in Amsterdam
The third Himalayan Film Festival organised by the Himalayan Archive Foundation The Netherlands, will be held 4–6 November 2005 in Amsterdam. A large number of movies & documentaries from all over the world featuring the Himalayan region will be screened. The festival jury includes Ditte Marie Seeberg, anthropologist from the University of Århus, Denmark. In connection with the 2005 film festival a Himalayan lecture will be given by the Swedish Ladakh specialist Helena Norberg-Hodge from the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC). Venue: De Griffioen, Cultural Centre of the Free University of Amsterdam, Uilenstede 106, Amstelveen. More information on the film festival.

• More Swedish departments where research on South Asia is going on:
Added to the list of research environments at Swedish universities, presented by SASNET. The full list now includes 152 departments! Go to the presentation page

• Several new articles recommended for reading
Look at http://www.sasnet.lu.se/recreading.html for suggestions on interesting new articles on South Asia in International media. Many new items added.

• Publishers and distributors of South Asian literature
SASNET presents a large number of Internet based publishers and distributors of South Asian literature. Recent entries include Eastern Book Corporation and Navayana Publishing. Go to the page.

Staffan Lindberg Lars Eklund

SASNET/ Swedish South Asian Studies Network

SASNET is a national network for research, education, and information about South Asia, based at Lund University. The aim is to encourage and promote an open and dynamic networking process, in which Swedish researchers co-operate with researchers in South Asia and globally.
The network is open to all sciences. Priority is given to co-operation between disciplines and across faculties, as well as institutions in the Nordic countries and in South Asia. The basic idea is that South Asian studies will be most fruitfully pursued in co-operation between researchers, working in different institutions with a solid base in their mother disciplines.
The network is financed by Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) and by Lund University.

Postal address: SASNET – Swedish South Asian Studies Network, Scheelevägen 15 D, S-223 63 Lund, Sweden
Visiting address: Ideon Research Park, House Alfa 1 (first floor, room no. 2042), 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
Staff: Staffan Lindberg, director/co-ordinator & Lars Eklund, webmaster/deputy director

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SASNET - Swedish South Asian Studies Network/Lund University
Address: Scheelevägen 15 D, SE-223 70 Lund, Sweden
Phone: +46 46 222 73 40
Webmaster: Lars Eklund
Last updated 2010-11-30

SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

Newsletter 55:

22 September 2005

Best regards,

Staffan Lindberg Lars Eklund

SASNET/ Swedish South Asian Studies Network