SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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Newsletter 74:

29 May 2007

SASNET News

• Time to apply for SASNET grants
Applications for the next round of SASNET planning, workshop and guest lecture programme grants are now invited. Three kinds of grants are available:
• Networking grants for planning and continued activities in research and education programmes/projects, in collaboration between Swedish and South Asian partners;
• Guest Lecture grants, making it possible to invite a guest lecturer from South Asia to lecture at two or more different Swedish universities; and
• Interdisciplinary Workshop Grants, making it possible to organise a South Asia related interdisciplinary research workshop in Sweden or in South Asia.
For all grants, please note that the Swedish partner must always be the main applicant. Closing date for applications to the 2007 round of SASNET grants is 15 June 2007. The applications will then be screened by a reference group consisting of three eminent Nordic South Asia scholars, and final decisions be taken by the SASNET board at its next meeting on Tuesday 28 August 2007. More information about SASNET grants.

Prof. Staffan Lindberg leaves way for Dr. Anna Lindberg as new Director for SASNET from 1 July 2007.

• Anna Lindberg takes over as SASNET Director from 1 July 2007
On 1 July 2007, SASNET will have a new Director. Professor Staffan Lindberg, who was the driving force behind the creation of the Swedish South Asian Studies Network in the year 2000 and has been its Director since the formal launch of SASNET in 2001, now retires from this position. He will, however, keep on with some teaching and supervision assignments at Lund University’s Dept of Sociology. His successor, the historian Anna Lindberg, currently Assistant Professor at Penn State University in USA, has been appointed as Director/Coordinator for SASNET on a 50 % basis from 1 July 2007 to 31 December 2009. She has previously been affiliated with the Dept. of History, Lund University, where she defended her doctoral dissertation about ”Experience and Identity: A Historical Account of Class, Caste, and Gender among the Cashew Workers of Kerala, 1930-2000” in 2001. She will be affiliated with Lund University’s Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies.

• Successful Indian business seminar organised in Lund
On Wednesday 23 May 2007, the Sweden-India Business Council (SIBC) organised a successful afternoon seminar in Lund titled ”The New India” (Det nya Indien) in collaboration with SASNET and Ideon Science Park. It attracted around 50 people from companies in South Sweden and from Lund University. SASNET’s Director, Prof. Staffan Lindberg, was the moderator for the day, and he also lectured about ”Vad är nytt med Indien – förändringar de senaste 25 åren”. Other participants included Susanna Bill, Innovations Manager at Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB in Lund. She talked about ”How to Unleash the Power of Emerging Markets”, based on Sony Ericsson’s experiences. Anne-Charlotte Sukhia from ACS Interkulturell Utbildning discussed cultural differences in business life, and Ingemar Ljungdahl from CTO Telelogic AB presented the development of Telelogic AB in the Indian market. Read a report from the business seminar in Lund.

Mr. Vaishnaw in the laboratories within the Dept. of Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, accompanied by Prof. Christian Trägårdh and Prof. Baboo Nair.

• Hectic programme for Rajesh
Vaishnaw at Lund University
Mr. Rajesh Vaishnaw, First Secretary (Press, Information, Culture) at the Embassy of India in Stockholm visited Lund University 9–11 May 2007. The programme was prepared by SASNET and included visits to meet researchers and lecturers at the Division of Indic Religions, the Dept. of Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, the Dept. of Medical Microbiology, Dermatology and Infection, and the Dept. of Biotechnology, besides meeting individual researchers from the Dept. of Political Science and the Human Ecology Division.
Mr. Vaishnaw also had a fruitful meeting with students from the Masters Programme in Asian Studies at Lund University, organised by the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies (ACE), and had a meeting with Klas Malmqvist, Pro Rector for Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering (Lunds Tekniska Högskola, LTH). More information from the visit to Lund.

Lars Eklund, SASNET along with Annika Sundbäck-Lindroos, CIMO, chairing the session on Nordic university collaboration with India at the Seinäjoki conference.

• SASNET presentation at Finnish universities conference
Every year, the Finnish Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) organises workshops for the International coordinators at the universities in Finland. The 2007 workshop was held 14–16 May in Seinäjoki in central Finland with more than 400 participants from all the Finnish universities. The conference included a session about academic collaboration with India in a Nordic perspective. SASNET’s Deputy Director Lars Eklund was invited as a key speaker to present the activities of SASNET, and experiences from Indo-Swedish academic collaboration. His presentation was commented upon by Hannele Ahti from CIMO. Hannele Teir and Juha Tähkämaa, representatives for the two Finnish University Networks for East and Southeast Asian Studies, also participated in the seminar, presenting their activities.
CIMO operates under the Finnish Ministry of Education, and offers services and expertise to encourage cross-cultural communication. On 1 January 2007, CIMO opened up a new scholarship programme, which focuses on supporting the expert exchanges between Finland and India. The Fellowships programme is funded by Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund (more information). The aim of the programme is to encourage academic mobility between Finland and India, and to support the internationalisation of research and education by strengthening the cooperation between Finnish and Indian universities and research institutes. See the complete programme for the Seinöjoki workshop (in Finnish only).

• Staffan Lindberg and Sten Widmalm commented documentary on Indian history
On Sunday 7 May 2007, 21.00–23.00, Swedish Television/Kunskapskanalen showed two interesting BBC documentaries on Modern Indian History, one film titled ”Indira’s India” and another about India in 1947 and the birth of a nation. The films were commented and discussed afterwards by two invited scholarly guests in the studio, namely SASNET’s Director Professor Staffan Lindberg, and Associate Professor Sten Widmalm, Dept. of Government, Uppsala University. Full information about the programmes (in Swedish only)

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

Research Community News

• European Commission closes down its Asia-Link Programme
The Asia-Link Programme, introduced by the European Commission in 2002 in order to promote regional and multilateral networking between higher education institutions in Europe and developing countries in Asia, will be closed down. Since 2002, the Programme has funded 155 partnerships that together involve over 700 higher education institutions from Asia and Europe (see the list of all 155 projects). The Commission is currently in the final stages of selecting a further 20 projects that are to be funded under the 2006 Call for Proposals (deadline October 2006, results still not published), but after this there will be no more Calls for Proposals for partnership projects under the Asia-Link Programme. During 2007, a new programme for EU-Asia higher education cooperation will be developed instead: this is likely to focus on student and academic mobility between Asia and Europe. More information about the Asia-Link Programme.

• Doctoral dissertation about ways to mitigate the Arsenic problem in Bangladesh
Md. Jakariya from the Dept. of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, defended his doctoral dissertation titled ”Arsenic in Tubewell Water of Bangladesh, and Approaches for Sustainable Mitigation” on Thursday 24 May 2007. The thesis is based on empirical studies in some districts of Bangladesh, where arsenic is very common in tubewell water, a serious health problem in the country. Md. Jakariya, who is connected to the BRAC Arsenic Mitigation Project organised by Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), has tested a field test kit, which is cheap and easy to use in the villages. It has been found to give adequate information about arsenic content in the water.
Several mitigation methods have been tried out, including sand filters and chemical filters against arsenic. Another way is the collection of rainwater or using filtrated floodwater. However, the most feasible method is actually to bore deeper wells, that is, deeper than the prevalent 20-30 meter level. Local masons who are engaged in well boring are skilled in predicting arsenic by seeing the colour of sediments. So they can be enthrusted with this task. Jakariya has also imvolved local people including women in the planning of new and deeper wells, which can serve the local communties. He uses what he calls a Participatory Geographical Information System, in which the villagers can see the prevalence of arsenic wells and where the situation for drawing water is safe. They are also asked to contribute 20 % of the cost for digging new and deeper wells. The faculty opponent at the dissertation was Prof. Jan Hoinkis, University of Applied Sciences in Karlsruhe, Germany. Read the full dissertation (as a pdf-file)

• Uppsala dissertation comparing anti-privatisation mobilisation in India and Peru
Katrin Uba from the Dept. of Government, Uppsala University, will defend her thesis titled ”Do Protests Make a Difference? The Impact of Anti-Privatisation Mobilisation in India and Peru” on Friday 1 June 2007, at 10.15. It focuses on the impact of various forms of political protests in different contexts. The empirical material is related to campaigns against privatization in Latin America (Peru) and South Asia (India). The aim is to test and develope further the theory on social movement impact on policy change. Faculty Opponent is Professor Anirudh Krishna, Duke University, USA. Venue: Brusewitzsalen, Gamla Torget 6 (Badhuset), Uppsala. More information.

• University of Chicago offers lecturer positions in Telugu and Bangla
The Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago, USA, invites applications for a 3-year, renewable, position as Lecturer in Telugu language. The person appointed will be expected to teach six courses of language instruction per year, probably at the First and Second year levels. Language lecturers are also expected to work one-on-one with advanced students, as need arises. The appointment is expected to start on July 1 or September 1 2007. Applications (cover letter, c.v., and two letters of support) will be reviewed beginning April 11, 2007. More information.
The Dept. of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago, also invites applications for a 3-year, renewable, position as Lecturer in Bangla language. In 2007-08 it is expected that the person appointed will teach Advanced Bangla and either First or Second Year. The appointment is expected to start on July 1 or September 1 2007. Applications (cover letter, c.v., and two letters of support) will be reviewed beginning April 11, 2007. More information.

• Princeton University offers assistant professorship in Asian religions
The Department of Religion at Princeton University, USA, invites applications and nominations for a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor in the religions of South Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Himalayas, to begin September 2008. The candidate should be an expert in one or more of the religious traditions of one of these three areas, with interests that complement those of continuing faculty in the subfield of Asian Religions. Princeton University’s Dept. of Religion, established in 1946, pioneered in developing the study of religion outside the context of theological seminaries and without formal ties to particular religious traditionsThe search committee will begin reviewing applications on October 1, 2007, and will continue doing so until the search is complete. More information.

• 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

• Central Hindi Directorate invites applications to Hindi correspondence courses
The Central Hindi Directorate in New Delhi invites applications from non-Hindi speaking Indians, foreigners, and Indian nationals/settlers residing abroad, for admission to Hindi correspondence courses (Certificate courses; Diploma courses; and Advanced Diploma courses). The Central Hindi Directorate, established in 1960, functions as a subordinate office of the Ministry of Education, Government of India. The courses are conducted through the medium of English, Tamil, Malayalam and Bangla (for Advanced Diploma, however, only through Hindi medium). Last date for submissions to the courses starting in July 2007: Saturday 30 June 2007. Applications should be sent by post to: The Deputy Director, Dept. of Correspondence Courses, Central Hindi Directorate, West Block-7, R.K.Puram, New Delhi – 110 066, India. Download the application form (as a pdf-file).

• Museion organises courses on Globalization; Power and Marginalization in the Spring 2008
Museion, a Göteborg University program co-operating with several University departments and the new Museum of World Culture (Världskulturmuseet), offers a Masters programme in International Museum Studies, and several South Asia related undergraduate courses focusing on Globalization; Power and Marginalization; and Knowledge and Communication. In the Fall 2007, Museion arranges a 15 credits course titled ”Tales of Objects: between traditions and modernities in India and China”. The course aims at providing tools for understanding visual culture and its role. The work material consists of objects from the collections of the Museum of World Culture, combined with modern ethnographic material, through which aspects of ancient and contemporary Indian and Chinese culture and society will be studied.
Under the theme ”Power and Marginalisation” (Makt och marginalisering), Museion will run a number of courses during the Spring 2008. Last date for applications is 15 October 2007. Contact Person: Dr. Stellan Vinthagen, from the School of Global Studies, Göteborg University. ‡ A 15 credits course on Social and Legal Movements (Sociala och rättsliga rörelser). ‡ A 15 credits course on Power, Resistance and Change 1 (Makt, motstånd och förändring I). More information about the course. ‡ A 15 credits course on Power, Resistance and Change 2 (Makt, motstånd och förändring II). More information about the course.

• 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 courses

• Copenhagen conference on Religion in the 21st Century
An International Conference on ”Secularism and Beyond – Comparative Perspectives” will be held in Copenhagen 29 May – 1 June 2007. It is organised by the research priority area, 'Religion in the 21st Century' at the University of Copenhagen. One of the keynote speakers is Mark Juergensmeyer, Professor in Sociology and Global and Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, who will talk about ”Global Rebellion – Religious Challenges to the Secular State”. Other participants include Rajeev Bhargava, Senior Fellow and Director Programme of Social and Political Theory, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi, who will talk about “The Ethical Desirability of Political Secularism”; and Thomas Blom Hansen, Professor in Anthropology, University of Amsterdam, who will talk about “Secular Speech and Popular Passion: On the Public Life of Indian Secularism”. The conference includes a one-day workshop about ”Secularism in postcolonial setting” on Friday 1 June. It will be chaired by Dr. Erik Sand Reenberg, Copenhagen University. The aim of this workshop will be to explore the implications of secular doctrines in the social and political contexts of postcolonial states in Africa, the Middle East, and South and South East Asia. Venue: University of Copenhagen, Dept. of Political Science, CSS, Øster Farimagsgade 5. More information.

• Naila Kabeer keynote speaker at the Nordic Gendering Asia Network conference in Iceland
The Nordic Gendering Asia Network organises its next yearly conference in Akureyri, Iceland, 1–3 June 2007. The conference is titled ”Gendered Modernity and Vulnerabilities in Asia”, and the central theme will be how men and women – either as individuals or groups – are positioned and also position themselves in contexts of global change. One of the keynote speakers is Dr. Naila Kabeer from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, UK. She will talk about "Reconfigurations of Marriage and Markets in the Context of Globalisation: Reflections on the Asian Context". The conference is jointly organised by researchers from the Centre for Asian Studies, Göteborg University; the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) in Copenhagen; Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University; and the Icelandic Centre of Asian Studies. More information.

• Demand Side Management of Groundwater theme for Hyderabad conference
An International Learning Workshop on “Demand Side Management of Groundwater” is held in Hyderabad, India, 23 July – 3 August 2007. It is organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with Bharathi Integrated Rural Development Society (BIRDS) and the World Water Institute (WWI). The Learning Workshop will comprise of thematic discussions, group work, presentations, project work and field work. During the field work sessions, participants will be able to interact with farmers, farmers' groups and civil society institutions and experience different processes being used to facilitate demand side management of groundwater. The total number of participants will be 20 and from various countries. More information (as a pdf-file).

• Edinburgh conference about new perspectives on the Indian uprising of 1857
A conference titled ”‘Mutiny at the Margins’. New Perspectives on the Indian uprising of 1857” will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, 23–26 July 2007. The conference, marking the 150th anniversary of the Indian Uprising will be organised by the Centre for South Asian Studies at University of Edinburgh. The ambition is to bring together British and Indian scholars with an interest in developing new approaches and exploring new perspectives on this seminal event. More information.

• Poverty and Human Rights in focus for CROP training course in Bergen
The Comparative Research Programme on Poverty (CROP) organises a 2007 Training Course on ”Poverty and Human Rights” in Bergen, Norway, 6–17 August 2007. It offers an opportunity to NGO workers, policy makers, researchers, and graduate students from around the world to gain in-depth knowledge about the relationships between poverty and human rights. The course is designed to provide a critical, interdisciplinary, and intercultural exploration of global poverty and inequality from a human rights perspective, and to analyze historically the content and direction of the aspects of human rights that the world has seen since the 2nd World War to the present day. The course provides participants 5 ETCS credits + 2.5 credits for approval of a submitted paper. More information.

• Peshawar conference aims at creating awareness about Pakistani languages
A Conference on Language and Technology (CLT07) will be held at Bara Gali Summer Camp in Pakistan 7–11 August 2007. It is organised by the Dept. of Computer Science at University of Peshawar, in collaboration with the Center for Research in Urdu Language Processing (CRULP) and the Foundation for Advancement of Science and Technology (FAST) in Lahore, the Centre of Excellence in Urdu Informatics at the National Language Authority, the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the GIK Institute. The conference focuses on the fields of Linguistics and Computational Linguistics, and the aim is to create awareness about Pakistani languages and how modern technology can be used for their promotion. If you want to attend the event and present a paper, abstracts should be delivered before 9 April 2007.

• High Level Panel on Climate Change, Water and Vulnerability part of the World Water Week 2007
The 2007 World Water Week will take place in in Stockholm 12–18 August. The theme for the 2007 World Water Week will be "Progress and Prospects on Water: Striving for Sustainability in a Changing World." The World Water Week is the leading annual global meeting place for capacity-building, partnership-building and follow-up on the implementation of international processes and programmes in water and development, with large relevance to South Asia. It is filled with plenary sessions, seminars, workshops, side events and special activities. One of the key speakers is Ms. Sunita Narain, Director for the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India. Since the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was recently presented, the 2007 World Water Week willl include a High Level Panel on Climate Change, Water and Vulnerability. Full information about the World Water Week 2007.

• Melbourne conference on Democracy, Development and Civil Society in India
The University of Melbourne arranges a conference titled 'Democracy, Development and Civil Society in India', 20–21 September 2007. The conference, that will will address some of the challenges facing India as the country celebrates its 60th year of independence, is organised by Dr Salim Lakha, School of Anthropology, Geography & Environmental Science (SAGES); and Dr Pradeep Taneja, Department of Political Science. Keynote speakers include Prof. Zoya Hasan from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, and Prof. Ashutosh Varshney from University of Michigan, USA. Venue: The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Deadline for registration: 1 June 2007. More information.

• Etienne Balibar keynote speaker at Second Critical Studies Conference in Kolkata
The Second Critical Studies Conference on ”Spheres of Justice” is held in Kolkata, India, 20–22 September 2007. It is organised by the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group, that plans to hold each alternate year a conference on critical thinking. The First Critical Studies Conference was held on July 2005 in Kolkata on the theme, “What is Autonomy?”, drawing participants from different parts of India as well as five scholars from abroad (Nepal, Hong Kong, United States, Italy and France). The conference produced some exciting papers, and there is a proposal to bring out a publication on the basis of the demand that this be turned into a series on critical thinking. At the second conference, the philosopher Etienne Balibar will deliver a public lecture as a keynote address at the Rotary Sadan Auditorium in Kolkata. More information.

• 2007 International Conference on Traditional Dairy Foods to be held in Karnal
The 2007 International Conference on Traditional Dairy Foods (ICTDF 2007) will be organized in Karnal, Haryana, India, 14–17 November 2007. It is jointly organised by the Dairy Technology Society of India and the National Dairy Research Institute. The event will provide a forum for deliberating theoretical and practical issues that are critical for the manufacture, quality assurance and marketing of traditional dairy foods. The Conference will deal with novel technological aspects such as mechanized manufacture, marketing needs, emerging concepts and enhancement of functional attributes of traditional dairy foods without losing focus on their enormous cultural importance. More information.

• Singapore conference on Early Indian Influences in Southeast Asia
An International conference on ”Early Indian Influences in Southeast Asia: Reflections on Cross-Cultural Movements” will be held in Singapore 21–23 November 2007. It will be jointly hosted by the Asia Research Institute (ARI), the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, and organised in conjunction with an exhibition on Early Indian Influences in Southeast Asia (EIISEA) by the National Library Board, Singapore. Researchers have been invited to submit papers on the following sub-themes: 1) Naval expeditions and background history of Rajendra Chola in Southeast Asia. 2) Ancient and medieval commercial activities and Chola maritime relationship between India and Southeast Asia. 3) Archaeological and inscriptional evidence and the historical background of cross-cultural movements. 4) Regional cultures and localisation of Indian influences in Southeast Asia. 5) Early Indian science, astronomy, mathematics, art and architecture in Southeast Asia. More information.

• Adolescent Poverty theme for CROP workshop in Bergen
The Comparative Research Programme on Poverty, CROP organizes a workshop on ”Adolescent Poverty: Institutional Relations between Education, Poverty and Work” in Bergen, Norway, 5–7 November 2007. The workshop will be held in connection to the Norwegian Association for Development Research (NFU) Conference 2007, and it aims at exploring the linkages between the two most important institutions for human development; the world of work and the world of education. Papers exploring institutional relations between education, work and poverty in order to give young persons a stable and respectable job with room for creativity and social mobility are invited. Deadline for abstracts is 31 May 2007. More information about the workshop.

• Security in focus for Second Annual Nordic NIAS Council (NNC) Conference in Höör
The Second Annual Nordic NIAS Council (NNC) Conference, titled ”Culture and the Configuring of Security: Using Asian Perspectives to Inform Theoretical Direction”, will be held in Höör, north of Lund, 6–9 November 2007. Researchers (including doctoral students) and other specialists with particular interest and insights into Asian security aspects are invited to participate in the conference, that aims to break new theoretical ground by exploring a plurality of discourses and practices of security, and discussing ways of theorizing their embeddedness in social and cultural matrices. It is organised by the Nordic NIAS Council (NNC), a Nordic network comprising of universities and research institutions working on Asia, in partnership with Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen University and Lund University. More information.

• Section about Waste Water Management in Tropical Climate at Sixth Kalmar ECO-TECH Conference
The Sixth Kalmar ECO-TECH Conference (International Conference on the Establishment of Cooperation Between Companies and Institutions in the Nordic Countries, the Baltic Sea Region, and the World) will be held in Kalmar 26–28 November 2007. As part of the ECO-TECH 07 conference, a special section will be devoted to the issue of ”Waste and Waste Water Management in Tropical Climate”. This section will be jointly organised by the Dept. of Technology, University of Kalmar, and the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok. Other highlighted scientific topics during Kalmar ECO-TECH 07 will be • Waste to Energy; • Remediation of Contaminated Sites and Landfill Mining; • Leachate, Stormwater and Industrial Wastewater Treatment; • Landfill Fires and Fires in Storages of Waste for Energy Recovery; • Air Pollution and Emissions from Treatment Facilities; • Waste and Wastewater Treatment Economics; • Environmental Economics, Awareness and Education; • Climate Effects; and • Phytotechnologies applied to pollution control. Another special section will be arranged about ”Wetlands and Wetland components: The use of prevegetated floating elements for water purification with focus on practical applicability”, a section being organised by the University of Kalmar and the European Soil and Water Engineering Group (EEIG). More information about ECO-TECH 07.

• NSU in Singapore invites to 3rd International Conference on South Asia
The Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), established in 2004 as an autonomous research institute within the National University of Singapore, invites to its 3rd International Conference on South Asia in November 2007 (probable dates 28–29 November). The theme for the conference will be ”Political Economy of Growth, Inequality and Conflict”, focusing on the rapid socio-economic and political transitions underway throughout South Asia. The conference will provide a forum for presenting and discussing results of fresh research on this vital subject, for comparing and learning from national experiences within the region and for promoting future collaboration among scholars of the region.

• 11th Asian Congress of Agricultural Medicine and Rural Health to be held in Aurangabad
The 11th Asian Congress of Agricultural Medicine and Rural Health will be held in Aurangabad, India, 22–24 February 2008. The theme for the 2008 conference will be ”Integrated Approach For Achieving Millennium Development Goals in Asia”, and it is being organised by the Association of Agricultural Medicine and Rural Health in India, the Pravara Medical Trust, and Pravara Rural University, all based in Loni, Ahmednagar District in the State of Maharashtra (in collaboration with the International Association of Agricultural Medicine and Rural Health, IAAMRH). Besides addressing key issues related to the theme of the conference, the aim is to promote dialogue amongst rural health workers, government, NGOs, UN agencies, national international funding agencies and other stakeholders for finding solutions on health issues. The conference will also highlight and foster opportunities for innovative, comprehensive, participatory rural health models that can be replicated. Venue: Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad. More information.

• 20th ECMSAS conference to be held in Manchester
The 20th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies (ECMSAS) will be held in Manchester, UK, 8–11 July 2008. The ECMSAS is the largest gathering of South Asia oriented researchers in Europe, covering all fields from the humanities and social sciences to technology, natural sciences and medicine. The conference is held biannually under the aegis of the European Association of South Asian Studies (EASAS), a professional, non-profit organisation of scholars engaged in research and teaching concerning South Asia with regard to all periods and fields of study. SASNET organised the 18th ECMSAS conference in Lund in 2004 (more information about the Lund conference), and in June 2006, the 19th ECMSAS conference was arranged in Leiden, the Netherlands (read SASNET’s report from the Leiden conference). Suggestions for panels at the 2008 conference are now actively considered. The conference will be hosted by the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the University of Manchester, and draws on the vibrant South Asian Studies programmes in Humanities and Social Sciences at the University. Go to the conference web site.

• 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 workshops

• Barbara Harriss-White lectures in Roskilde
Barbara Harriss-White, Professor of Development Studies at Queen Elizabeth House and Director of the Dept. of International Development, Oxford University, holds a guest lecture titled ”Poverty and Capitalism” at Roskilde University in Denmark, on Wednesday 6 June 2007, 13.15. It is part of the International Development Studies Guest Lectures held regularly at Roskilde University (RUC), organised by the Graduate School of International Development Studies. Venue: Small Auditorium, Building 01, RUC. More information.

• Stockholm seminar with Chandra Talpade Mohanty
A seminar with Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Professor of Women's Studies at Syracuse University, USA, will be held in Stockholm on Wednesday 13 June 2007, 18.30–21.00. Prof. Mohanty will discuss the issue of ”What is needed today to create a decolonized theory and a practical solidarity”, with Viktorija Kalonaityte and Pia Laskar. The moderator will be Victoria Kawesa. In 2003, Chandra Mohanty released her book, "Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity". In this work, she argues for a bridging of theory and praxis, and the personal and the political. Major themes addressed include the politics of difference, transnational solidarity building, and anticapitalist struggle against globalization. The seminar is organised by the small Swedish publishing house Tankekraft förlag. Venue: Södra Teatern For more information, contact info@tankekraft.co

South Asia related culture in Scandinavia

• Linnea Sellersjö’s photo exhibition of Islamic architecture on show in Copenhagen
A photo exhibition of Islamic architecture created by Linnea Sellersjö is shown in Copenhagen 20 April – 31 May 2007. The exhibition is based on a number of works shown last summer in Frederiks Bastion in Copenhagen. Venue this time: The gallery in the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Secretariat in Store Strandstræde, Copenhagen. Sellersjö’s photographs express her poetic eye for beauty in Islamic art in a peculiar way. The Swedish-Pakistani artist Linnea Sellersjö, residing in Stockholm, has the ambition to show the inherent beauty in Islamic culture, not the least in South Asia.

• Performances with Indo-Brittish Kathak dancer Sujata Bannerjee in Stockholm
The Indo-Brittish Kathak dancer Sujata Bannerjee visits Stockholm in early June 2007. Together with the Tabla player Debasish Munkherjee from Kolkata, India, she will give a performance at Etnografiska Museet, Djurgårdsbrunnsvägen 34, on Sunday 3 June, 14.00. The Sarangi player Surjeet Singh will also participate. More information.
The day before, on Saturday 2 June 2007, 15.00–16.30, the same group performs together with school students from Husby and Tensta, outside Stockholm.The performance, named ”Chhand Yatra” is arranged by Kulturskolan Stockholm. Venue: Blå Huset in Tensta. More information.

• BOLLYWOOD – Living gods of India exhibition in Stockholm in the Fall 2007
In the autumn of 2007, the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Östasiatiska Museet) in Stockholm presents the exhibition "BOLLYWOOD – Living gods of India". The exhibition takes off in Indian films, and shows how contemporary India is connected to its past through stories and myths about love, gods and heroes. The gods belong to the everyday, but they are also worshiped in great style at various festivities all year round. But India is not only Hinduism. India is also the worlds third largest Muslim country (after Indonesia and Pakistan). And many Christians, Jains, Buddhists and Zoroastrians live here too. In the exhibition, the museum’s own collections of sculptures and paintings meet newer, borrowed and purchased material, for example from Helsinki City Art Museum, including popular prints, painted altar figures made of straw and clay, picture scrolls from Midnapur, printed and hand-painted Bollywood posters, contemporary photographs and a great many Bollywood films.
The exhibition will be inaugurated on Sunday 30 September 2007, and last for six months. A catalogue, titled Masala Magazine, is now being produced by the journalist Per J. Andersson, and this will be sold in connection with the exhibition. Venue: Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Skeppsholmen, Stockholm. More information

• Swedish cricket teams members of either Swedish or Danish federations
The Swedish Cricket Federation organises a number of teams competing in Sweden. Many of the players are South Asian researchers and students staying in the country. On 26 April 2007, the Swedish web magazine The Local – News from Sweden in English published an article about cricket in Sweden, titled ”Immigrants dream of playing cricket – for Sweden”. Read the article.
Some cricket teams in South Sweden, e g Lund Cricket Club, Malmö Cricket Club and Landskrona Cricket Club, are members of the Danish Cricket Federation. Go to the Danish Federation’s website.
Lund Cricket Club, with Mr. Balasubramanian Thiagarajan (working as a Research Engineer at Lund University’s Max Laboratory) as Captain, and Mr. Rohit Sachdeva as President, regularly organises cultural programmes. See an invitation to such an event in November 2006.

• Link to Hindustan Times Photo Gallery
South Asian photos of superb quality are now presented by the Indian newspaper Hindustan Times. The Gallery consists of around 50 new press images from different agencies. Go to Hindustan Times Photo Gallery.

• Link to All Pakistan Music Conference
All Pakistan Music Conference is an organisation founded by Hayat Ahmad Khan in 1959 for the promotion of classical music in Pakistan. Ever since its inception, it has been a constant source of inspiration for thousands of music lovers nationwide. It organises the APMC Lahore Annual Festival and many other concerts throughout the year. (Photo of Roshana Ara Begum performing at the 2007 APMC Festival). Go to the All Pakistan Music Conference

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 208 departments, with detailed descriptions of the South Asia related research and education taking place! Go to http://www.sasnet.lu.se/environment.html

ƒ Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, IT University Göteborg (joint venture between Chalmers University of Technology and Göteborg University)

ƒ Political Science, School of Social Sciences, Växjö University

• UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in South Asia
SASNET presents all the sites that have been put on the list – now also including the Nilgiri Railway in Tamil Nadu, added to the list in 2005 (see photo). Go to SASNET’s page.
Since 2001, the non-profit organization WHTour.org has documented in panographies – 360-degree imaging – sites registered on the World Heritage list by UNESCO. The six South Asian countries that have sites on the list have already been covered in part or in full. Go to WHTour.org web site.

• South Asian Culture performed in Sweden
SASNET presents a number of Swedish artists performing South Asian music and dance, the list has recently been updated with information about the Tabla player Suranjana Ghosh, Sangam Danstrio and Poorvam Express. Go to the presentation page.

 Best regards,

       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, SE-223 70 Lund, Sweden
Visiting address: Ideon Research Park, House Alfa 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
Staff: Staffan Lindberg, director/coordinator & Lars Eklund, webmaster/deputy director