Autumn Term 2025

FACT & FICTION

LIQUID GROWTH & ARID ECONOMICS

Wednesday, 10 December | 3pm UK 

ONLINE | Registration (Free) details below 

Storing water in the wet season to use it in the dry season has been an ancient practice in arid tropical civilisations. From the early 20th century, water extraction on a scale large enough to transform whole regions and create new cities improved dramatically. This panel, focused on the recently published Water and Development: The Troubled Economic History of the Arid Tropics (2025), will discuss water, development and the economic emergence of the arid tropics through the 20th century.

SPEAKERS: Dr Leela Fernandes is a political scientist and author of Governing Water in India: Inequality, Water, and the State (2022); David Gilmartin is Professor of History at North Carolina State University, and author of Blood and Water: The Indus River Basin in Modern History (2015); Corey Ross is Professor & Director of the Institute of European Global Studies, University of Basel, and author of Liquid Empire: Water and Power in the Colonial World (2024); Tirthankar Roy (@RoyHistory1) is Professor of Economic History at LSE, and author of Water and Development: The Troubled Economic History of the Arid Tropics (2025). 

DISCUSSANT: David Lewis (@lewisd100) is Professor of Anthropology & Development at LSE, and author of How Policy Forgets: Time and Memory in International Development (forthcoming) which analyses the history of flood control in Bangladesh.

CHAIR: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre (@SAsiaLSE).

This event is part of our 'Fact & Fiction' series.

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Please click here to watch a recording of the event.

TOUGH TALK #7

HOW FREE IS SPEECH IN UNIVERSITIES TODAY?

Friday, 5 December | 3.30pm UK 

ONLINE | Registration (Free) details below

This panel will discuss how free speech really is in universities today? What are the considerations and challenges for administrators, teachers and academics as the question gains increasing importance and relevance across the world.

SPEAKERS: Adam Habib (@AdHabb) is Professor & Vice-Chancellor of SOAS University of London; Niraja Gopal Jayal is Professor & Avantha Chair, King's India Institute, King's College London, and author of 'The Question of Academic Freedom' (2023); Larry Kramer is Professor, President & Vice-Chancellor of LSE.

DISCUSSANT: Tarun Khaitan (@tarunkhaitan) is Professor (Chair) of Public Law at LSE, co-editor of The Entrenchment of Democracy: The Comparative Constitutional Design of Elections, Parties and Voting (2024), and co-author of Hum Bharat ke Log: Bhartiya Samvidhan Pe Nau Nibandh (2025; in Hindi). 

CO-CHAIRS: Naufel Vilcassim is Professor of Management & Director, LSE South Asia Centre; Dr Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre.

This event is part of our 'Tough Talk' series.

Image © 'Fists in the Air', PikPng. 

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Please click here to watch a recording of the event.

FACT & FICTION

TONGUES SET FREE: Migration & Language in South Asia

Monday, 1 December | 3pm UK

 ONLINE | Registration (Free) details below

How do languages mix? How do hybrid and new languages emerge? Focused on the recently published Father Tongue, Motherland: The Birth of Languages in South Asia (2025), this panel will discuss these questions in South Asia in a conversation between the author and an eminent group of experts from across the world.

SPEAKERS: Ganesh N Devy is Chief Editor of The People's Linguistic Survey of India, a unique multi-volume, multi-lingual survey of 780 living languages of India, and founder of Bhasha Research Centre in Baroda, India; Christi Merrill is Professor of South Asian Literature & Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan, and author of Genres of Real Life: Mediating Stories of Injustice across Languages (forthcoming); Dr Peggy Mohan is Visiting Professor at Ashoka University, Sonepat, and author of Father Tongue, Motherland: The Birth of Languages in South Asia (2025); Dr Nicholas Ostler is an independent researcher, Chairman of The Foundation for Endangered Languages (UK), and author most recently of Passwords to Paradise: How Languages Have Re-Invented World Religions (2016).

DISCUSSANT: Tej K Bhatia is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics & Director of South Asian Languages at Syracuse University, and Editor-in-Chief of Brill Research Perspectives in Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition.  

CHAIR: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre.

This event is part of our 'Fact & Fiction' series.

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Please click here to watch a recording of the event.

INTERNET PIETY: Blasphemy in Pakistan Today

Wednesday, 26 November | 3pm UK | 8pm Pakistan

ONLINE | Registration (Free) details below

There has been an increase in the number of accusations of blasphemy in Pakistan. One arena of surveillance is posts on social media, and the perceived transgression of legality. This panel of activists and lawyers will discuss how the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (2016) intersects with other laws to accuse Muslim & non-Muslim citizens alike of 'blasphemy'.

SPEAKERS: Farieha Aziz (@FariehaAziz) is Co-Founder & Director of Bolo Bhi, a digital rights & civil liberties group in Karachi; Hadi Ali Chattha (@AdvHadiali) is an Advocate & human rights lawyer, and has represented several citizens of Pakistan accused of blasphemy; Dr Afiya Shehrbano Zia (@afiyaszia) is an independent researcher, and author of Faith and Feminism in Pakistan: Religious Agency or Secular Autonomy? (2017).

DISCUSSANT: Hassan A Niazi (@Hassan_A_Niazi) is Advocate in the High Court of Lahore, focusing on internet & technology law amongst others.

CHAIR: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre.

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Image © Eirik Solheim, 2019, Unsplash.

Please click here to watch a recording of the event. 

FRAMING MUSIC

Lyrics & Rights in India

Friday, 21 November | 5pm

Vera Anstey Suite, LSE 

India's rich canvas of performance traditions embodies realities of everyday life in various forms. At this event with renowned artiste and modern-day shahir Sambhaji Bhagat, we discuss how lyrics, rights, and duties combine with provisions in the Constitution of India, as we mark its 75th anniversary.

SPEAKERS: Sambhaji Bhagat is a renowned singer, poet & playwright, widely regarded as a shahir (folk bard) in India. He is credited with reviving & popularising the jalsa tradition & has performed across rural & urban platforms in India & abroad with performances rooted in social consciousness & protest. Known for his contribution to the Ambedkarite cultural movement through his songs & theatre, his art challenges mainstream narratives & creates space for expression for oppressed peoples;    
Meena Dhanda (@DhandaMeena) is Professor of Philosophy & Cultural Politics at the University of Wolverhampton & Visiting Professor in the Department of Media & Communications at LSE. She is a leading scholar on caste & identity & casteism as a form of racism. Her research interests & publications focus on caste, class, gender & race, on social injustices on oppressed groups & their collective resistance to domination; Dr Subir Sinha (@PoMoGandhi) is Reader in Development Studies at SOAS University of London & Director of the SOAS South Asia Institute, and has published extensively on anti-colonialism, and social movements, in India.   

CHAIR: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre.

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This event is part of our 'Constitution of India @ 75' series, and is part of the UK-South Asia Network events in collaboration with the SOAS South Asia Institute.

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Image © The ‘Constitution of India, 1950–2025’ logo is copyrighted by the LSE South Asia Centre, and may not be used by anyone for any purpose. The lettering and design are adapted from the Preamble of the Constitution of India, 1950; it has been designed by Oroon Das. 

This event was not recorded.

DIVIDED EDUCATION: Technology & Inequality in South Asia

Wednesday, 19 November | 3pm UK | 8pm Pakistan | 8.45pm Nepal | 9pm Bangladesh

ONLINE | Registration (Free) details below

Several countries in South Asia have adopted digitalisation initiatives in the Higher Education sector. But access to internet connectivity, devices, digital literacy, inadequate teacher training, digital parenting capabilities, coupled with the absence of appropriate policies for low-resource environments are constant challenges stemming from wider inequalities. This panel will discuss these issues, and what actions are required to overcome the varied challenges. 

SPEAKERS: Dr Amjad Islam Amjad is an independent researcher specialising in digital equity/accessibility in higher education in Pakistan, and co-author of 'Digital Equity and Accessibility in Higher Education: Reaching the Unreached' (2024); Som Nath Ghimire is Assistant Professor of English at Mahendra Multiple Campus, Dharan, Tribhuvan University, and author most recently of 'Implications of ChatGPT for Higher Education Institutions: Exploring Nepali University Students' Perspectives' (2024); M Morshedul Islam is Professor of Communication & Journalism at the University of Chittagong, was recently Charles Wallace Visiting Fellow at LSE South Asia Centre, and author of 'A Nuanced Understanding of ICT Access Divide among the Graduate Students in Bangladesh' (2022); Dr Godfrey Chitsauko Muyambi is Post-doctoral Research Fellow at UNISA, and specialises in educational sustainability, inequality, inclusion, and technology integration, informed by extensive multicultural experience.

CHAIR: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre.

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Image © Bram Naus, 2017, Unsplash.

Please click here to watch a recording of the event.

GEOPOLITICS BEYOND BORDERS #9

BANGLADESH & PAKISTAN: Changing Geopolitics

Monday, 10 November | 3pm UK | 8pm Pakistan | 9pm Bangladesh

ONLINE | Registration (Free) details below

Over the last 12 months, leaders of Bangladesh and Pakistan have met cordially at two international events.There have been high-level meetings between military personnel, foreign ministers, the signing of trade agreements, visa-free travel, and signs are that this bonhomie is set to continue. This panel will discuss the meaning and impact of the renewed Bangladesh-Pakistan alliance on the geopolitics of the region, and more widely.

SPEAKERS: Lisa Curtis (@LisaCurtisDC) is Senior Fellow & Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Centre for a New American Security (CNAS) in Washington DC, and Board Chair of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Dr Ayesha Siddiqa (@iamthedrifter) is Senior Fellow in War Studies at King's College London, and author of Military Inc: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy (2007); Zafar Sobhan (@ZafarSobhan) is a lawyer & journalist, Founding Editor of the weekly Counterpoint, and a political analyst & commentator on Bangladesh.

DISCUSSANT: Alexander Evans (@aiaevans) is Professor in Practice & Associate Dean for Strategic Development at LSE School of Public Policy, and former British Acting High Commissioner to Pakistan.  

CHAIR: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre.

This event is part of our 'Geopolitics beyond Borders' series.

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Image © Maria Stewart, 2020, Unsplash.

Please click here to watch a recording of this event.

FACT & FICTION

DIASPORAS OF DALITALITY: Fighting the World

Wednesday, 29 October | 6pm | LSE Main Building

Vera Anstey Suite | OLD Building

For centuries, Indians have travelled overseas, by force or by free will. Today, they form one of the largest diaspora community across the world. This event will focus on the recently published Caste: A Global Story (2025), a unique exploration of caste oppression and resistance around the world, with the author, panelists and the audience. 

SPEAKERS: Ritu Kochar is Doctorand in Social Policy at LSE, and is working on aspirations and experiences of international education among Dalit youth; Sat Pal Muman is Secretary, Ambedkar International Mission in London, and Co-Founder and Chairman of Caste Watch UK; Dr Suraj Milind Yengde is Assistant Professor in History and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of Caste: A Global Story (2025).  

CHAIR: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre. 

This event is part of our 'Fact & Fiction' series.

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This event was not recorded.

RECYCLED FUTURES: E-Waste in South Asia

Wednesday, 22 October | 3pm UK | 7pm Pakistan 7.30pm India

ONLINE | Registration (Free) details below

E-waste is a growing environmental issue across the globe. In South Asia, a lot of it goes through unofficial recycling, being re-sold to a domestic consumer market. This panel will discuss e-waste, recycling and the associated labour and consumer economy in South Asia.

SPEAKERS: Dr Waqas Butt is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and author of Life Beyond Waste: Work and Infrastructure in Urban Pakistan (2023); Dr Julia Corwin (@JulesCorwin) is Assistant Professor of Environmental Geography at LSE, and author of Analog Labor in a Digital World: E-Waste in India and the Politics of Repair (forthcoming); Dr Somjita Laha is Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi, and author of 'Governing the Network: trust in E-Waste Informality in India' (2022) with research interests include political economy of waste, informal labour, global value chains, environmental governance and gender in development; Josh Lepawsky is Professor of Geography at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and author of Reassembling Rubbish: Worlding Electronic Waste (2018).   

CHAIR: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre.

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Image © Hugo Clément, 2023, Unsplash. 

Please click here to watch a recording of the event. 

FACT & FICTION

CALIBRATED ENGAGEMENT: Local Politics in Myanmar

Wednesday, 8 October | 12 noon | Marshall Building, LSE | Room 2.06 

HYBRID | Registration details below

A conversation with the author on the transformation of rural politics in the drylands of central Myanmar prior to the military takeover in 2021, and how the calibrated engagement amongst citizens helps us to understand the widespread anti-military resistance that has emerged in the drylands since the coup in February 2021. 

SPEAKER: Dr Stéphen Huard is an anthropologist with research interests in violence, land conflicts and the the transformation of rural areas in Myanmar. He is currently based at the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement in Paris, and is author of Calibrated Engagement: Chronicles of Local Politics in the Heartland of Myanmar (2024).

CHAIR: John Sidel is Director, LSE Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, and Sir Patrick Gillam Professor of International And Comparative Politics at LSE.

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This event was in collaboration with LSE Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre.

This event was not recorded.