SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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Swedish Research Links 2008

The seventh round of the so-called Swedish Research Links (Asian–Swedish research partnership programme) – grants by Sida and the Swedish Research Council – were decided upon on Tuesday 25 November 2008. The following South Asia related project applications for Swedish Research Links (Asian–Swedish research partnership programme) were given grants for the three-years period 2009–11 (or part thereof).
See the full list of projects granted Swedish Links (Asia) grants 2008 (as a pdf-file)

Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg

• Sten Eriksson, Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Project country: Bangladesh
Collaboration partner: Farid Uddin Ahmed, Atomic Energy Commission
Project name: Developing new ceramics for applications in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and search for new magnetoelectric systems guided by neutron powder diffraction
Project grant: SEK 600 000

• Bengt-Erik Mellander, Dept. of Applied Physics
Project country: Sri Lanka
Collaboration partner: Malavi Dissanayake, University of Peradeniya
Project name: Development of novel polymeric materials for renewable energy sources: Rechargeable lithium batteries and photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar cells
Project grant: SEK 540 000

• Genkai Zhang, Dept. of Mathematical Sciences
Project country: India/China
Collaboration partner: Gadadhar Misra, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore
Project name: Hilbert modules, operator theory and complex analysis
Project grant: SEK 185 000

Göteborg University

• Jens Allwood, Department of Linguistics
Project country: Nepal
Collaboration partner: Yogendra Yadava, Tribhuvan University
Project name: Contributions to the "Linguistic Survey of Nepal" – work on Lohorung and Nepali spoken language
Project grant: SEK 600 000

Abstract: This project concerns Lohorung which is a minority Sino-Tibetan language on the verge of extinction. It is spoken in eastern Nepal by the Lohorung Rai people. Being a severely endangered language, Lohorung needs to be documented. The documentation to be done now is not meant only for preservation (in archives) but also for revitalization and development. However, a precondition of such a development, is that there needs to be a documentation project as soon as possible
The project therefore has the following specific objectives:

• To develop a corpus for the Lohorung language based on some main social activities
• To carry out linguistic and cultural studies on the basis of the corpus and to develop linguistic and cultural resources such as a lexicon, a sketch grammar, a cultural and ethnographic profile etc.
• To develop an orthography and educational materials using spoken language and graphics

The project is envisaged to have a duration of three years tentatively – one year for data collection, one year for analysis and for producing linguistic materials and one year for preparing spoken, graphical and written educational materials.
We are currently applying for a planning grant in order to prepare a more detailed application and plan of work, as well as for writing an overview, providing a feasibility study of the tasks proposed in the project.

• Edward Moore, Department of Clinical Bacteriology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Yogesh Shouche, Pune University Campus at Ganeshkhind
Project name: Microbial Diversity and Development of Antibiotic Resistance Associated with Industrial Wastewater Treatment
Project grant: SEK 750 000

The applicants behind the project also includes Dr. Joakim Larsson from the Endocrinology Division, Dept. of Physiology at Sahlgrenska Academy, Göteborg University. Dr. Larsson and his research team has already worked on problems raised in the application for several years in Hyderabad, India.
Abstract: The impacts of drugs, as environmental pollutants, the creation of new pools of resistance, together with incidences of genetic transfer across species, have not been adequately assessed. Moreover, antibiotics have the potential to exert perturbations on natural microbial communities and impact the natural microbial diversity and community function, thus, significantly influencing the functional health and stability of ecosystems. We have analysed the effluent from a common waste treatment plant (PETL) in Patancheru near Hyderabad, India, receiving and treating waste water from 90 different bulk drug producers. The levels of antibiotics found were as high as 1,000,000 times higher than those normally found in treated sewage effluents. The levels of ciprofloxacin were higher than those found in the blood of patients taking this drug. The amount released per day from this one site (45 kgs) corresponded to the entire use of ciprofloxacin in Sweden over an average 5 day period. Such levels will insure a significant impact on the natural microbial diversity, in turn, impacting geo-chemical processes and the influence of human pathogens. This is a multi-disciplinary project, employing methods of microbiology, molecular biology, chemistry toxicology and bioinformatics.

• Lauren Lissner, Dept. of Public Health and Community Medicine
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Prakash Gupta, Healis – Sekhsaria Institute of Public Health, Navi Mumbai
Project name: Determinants and health consequences of overweight in Children from India – Extension of a European multicenter study, IDEFICS
Project grant: SEK 600 000

Karolinska Institutet Medical University

• Martin Rottenberg, Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC)
Project country: Pakistan
Collaboration partner: Zahra Hasan, Aga Khan University, Karachi
Project name: Regulation and role of "Suppressor of Cytokine Signalling" proteins in the outcome of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Project grant: SEK 720 000

• Anna Norrby-Teglund, Center for Infectious Medicine (CIM), Department of Medicine
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Gayatri Arakere, Sir Dorabji Tata Centre for Research in Tropical Diseases, Bangalore
Project name: Pathogenic mechanisms of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Project grant for 2009: SEK 75 000

• Kutty Selva Nandakumar, Division of Medical Inflammation Research (MIR)
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Ashok Kumar, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur
Project name: Analysis of Host Response to Modified Biocompatible Stimuli-responsive Polymers and Autoantigens Using Murine Experimental arthritis
Project grant: SEK 600 000

Kristianstad University

• Ann-Sofi Rehnstam-Holm, Department of Mathmatics and Natural Sciences
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Indrani Karunasagar, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Mangalore
Project name: Characterization and survival of Pathogenic and non-pathogenic vibrios in the indian marine environment
Project grant: SEK 600 000

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

• Anna Delin, Applied Material Physics, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Shobhana Narasimhan, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Pune
Project name: Computational studies of the electronic, magnetic and transport properties of interfaces for nanospintronics applications
Project grant: SEK 550 000

Lund University

• Ingar Brinck, Department of Philosophy
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Chhanda Chakraborti, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur
Project name: Thinking in Context
Project grant: SEK 75 000

• Bo Mattiasson, Dept. of Biotechnology
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Prashant Dhakephalkar, Agharkar Research Insitute, Pune
Project name: Exploration of pristine and extreme habitats for themophilic anaerobes and their enzymes for industrial applications
Project grant: SEK 600 000

• Björn Lindman, Division of Physical Chemistry 1
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Souvik Maiti, Delhi University
Project name: Cationic Surfactant-DNA Complex: An insight into DNA Compaction in Gene Delivery Correlation
Project grant: SEK 550 000

• Villy Sundström, Division of Chemical Physics
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Swati De, Kalyani University
Project name: Control of TiO2 Nanoparticle Morphology for Optimization of Electron Injection, Recombination and Charge Transport in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Project grant: SEK 600 000

• Marie Dacke, Dept. of Cell and Organism Biology
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Sanjay Sane, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Insitute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore
Project name: Multi-Sensory Control of Insect Flight
Project grant: SEK 600 000

Luleå University of Technology, Campus Skellefteå

• Aji P. Mathew, Division of Manufacturing and Design of Wood and Bionanocomposites
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Sabu Thomas, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam
Project name: Novel bionanocomposite membranes with improved barrier properties using wood based nanocrystals/fibrils in natural rubber
Project grant: SEK 600 000

Stockholm University

• Gunnar Svensson, Dept. of Physical, Inorganic and Structural Chemistry
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Vidya Batra, Energy-Environment Technology Division at The Energy and Resources Institute/TERI, School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi
Project name: Carbon membranes from unburned carbon in fly ash for environmental applications
Project grant: SEK 570 00

Uppsala University

• Biplab Sanyal, Division of Materials Theory, Dept. of Physics
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Dilip Kanhere, University of Pune
Project name: Theoretical studies on Quantum Dots
Project grant: SEK 600 000

• Niklas Dahl, Dept. of Genetics and Pathology
Project country: Pakistan
Collaboration partner: Shahid Baig, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering
Project name: Inherited and disabling diseases in Pakistan: Molecular understanding and counselling
Project grant: SEK 600 000

Abstract: The project is an effort to establish at a long term scientific cooperation between NIBGE, Pakistan and Uppsala University. The high degree of consanguineous marriages in the Pakistani population is an important responsible factor for their high frequency of congenital malformations and/or chronic disease. More information.

• Gunnel Cederlöf, Dept. of History
Project country: India
Collaboration partner: Mahesh Rangarajan, Delhi University
Project name: The Uppsala–Delhi network on environmental studies
Project grant for 2009: SEK 75 000

Abstract: The Uppsala–Delhi network was initiated in early 2007 as an answer to the needs for better information and collaboration between researchers who work in the broad field of environmental studies in the different universities and research institutes in Uppsala and Delhi. Once fully established, it will function through workshops, lectures, publications, and a website. It will further provide PhD students with external supervision and may also channel other information which is useful for pursuing research studies. Researchers involved in the setting up of the network are employed at Uppsala University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi School of Economics, Delhi Institute of Economic Growth, and Jamia Millia Islamia University. More information.

Swedish Research Council Project grants for Research within Humanities and Social Sciences 2008

Decisions by the Swedish Research Council on 23 October 2008

• Kristina Myrvold,Division of Indic Religions, Department of History and Anthropology of Religions, Lund University
Project name: Translating the Guru’s Words to Local and Translocal Contexts: Oral and Written Exegesis among Contemporary Sikhs
Grant: SEK 1.8 m (for the three years period 2009–11)

Project description: The canonized Sikh scripture, Guru Granth, is by many Sikhs believed to manifest divine words and embody the teaching and revelatory experiences of their historical human gurus. The Sikhs have also taken the concept of a sacred scripture much further than any other religious tradition by treating the Guru Granth as a personified guru. Although an extensive migration from the “homeland” Punjab has increased the cultural and linguistic diversity in the Diaspora, the Sikhs continue to ritually use their scripture in the original script and language. The means to overcome the limitations posed by a closed canon is to create oral and written katha - religious “story-telling” or expositions on the Sikh scripture and history. The exegetical tradition is a significant aspect of the Sikh religious life which has been neglected in the international study of Sikhism. During the last decades the Sikhs have also taken active use of modern media to transmit new forms of expositions through translocal networks. Based on textual analyses and field work in the Punjab and in Sweden the project aims at investigating contemporary manifestation of Sikh katha and which functions traditional and new forms of expositions have for understanding of the teaching and identity of Guru Granth, especially among the second generation Swedish Sikhs. The study will illustrate how Sikhs are interconnected through exegetical practices and culturally translate interpretations of the Sikh teaching to a changing world.