From the Director

I am delighted to have accepted the position as Director of SASNET and am looking forward to a year full of events focused on South Asia in a global world. I would like to thank my predecessor, Ted Svensson, for the past few years as Director of SASNET and wish him all the best with his new position as Deputy Head of the Department of Political Science in Lund. SASNET is very fortunate to have efficient and reliable staff and I am looking forward to be working with Matilda Skoglöw and Marie Stissing Stissing Jensen for the years to come.

The Spring semester started with a seminar by Alexander Lee from Rochester University on Statebuilding in Modern South Asia and we are looking forward to welcoming Assistant Professor Amrita Ghosh (University of Central Florida) who will give a book talk on Kashmir, followed by Professor Knut A. Jakobsen (University of Bergen) who will give a seminar on Hindu diaspora and sacralization of space in March. In April we will receive a visit from post-doc Rajat Roy (University of Zurich) who will talk on anti-caste thought.

We are also keen to advertise this year’s SASNET Annual Lecture, which will be delivered by Professor Shirin Rai (SOAS, London) on May 23. The title of Professor Rai’s talk is: “State, Architecture and Aesthetics - reconfiguring ‘the people’ through India’s new parliament”. We are delighted to have Shirin here and hope her talk will generate great interest across the University and among the public.

We plan for more activities during the months to come and SASNET is very fortunate to be able to, on a regular basis, welcome guests to Lund for workshops, seminars and talks on a number of fascinating issues connected to South Asia. It is with great pleasure I welcome you all to these events in the year to come.

Catarina Kinnvall,

Director of SASNET