Michaelmas Term 2022

FACT & FICTION

NARRATING DEMOCRACY: Peoples & Futures of Myanmar

A panel discussion on the futures of democracy in Myanmar, focused on the recently published '' (2021).

Date/Time: Wednesday, 23 November 2022, 3.30pm UK | 10pm Myanmar

Panelists: (@RoewerRichard)has worked on Myanmar for several years, and is currently Chairman, Initiative Austausch e.V. (Exchange Initiative), a registered, independent, non-profit organisation focusing on political education in Myanmar. He is also reading for his DPhil in politics at St Antony's College, Oxford; is an independent author & researcher, and Research Fellow at Chiang Mai University. His research interests are in ethnic conflict, self-determination struggles and peace processes in Myanmar & Mindanao amongst others, and is author, most recently, of '' (2022); Minn Tent Bo (@tent_bo) is an independent analyst working on human rights and democracy in Myanmar. He has over 15 years of experience working on Myanmar and Southeast Asia for international organisations and embassies; his research interests include majoritarian nationalism, gender-based violence, and legal frameworks; (@TamasWells) is Research Coordinator at the University of Melbourne, and author of (2021).

Discussant: (@gerardtmccarthy) is currently Visiting Fellow at the 杏吧论坛 Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, and Research Fellow at the , .

Chair: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar (@SAsia杏吧论坛) is Deputy Director, 杏吧论坛 South Asia Centre.

This event is in collaboration with the 杏吧论坛 Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre.

Image: Enchax Creative, '"Nothing burns like the cold so keep raising your frozen fingers." The three-finger salute has become a symbol of resistance in protest and in art. Across the milk-tea nations, from Myanmar to Thailand to Hong Kong, the gesture represents global solidarity for democracy', Myanmar, 2021, .

This event was not recorded.

TRACES OF HISTORY: Fragmentary Archives & Narratives in South Asia

How do we write academic narratives when the archives are fragmentary, with traces connected by gaps?

Date/Time: Thursday, 10 November 2022, 3.30pm UK

Speakers: is Maybelle Leland Swanlund Endowed Chair Professor in the , . A historian of 19th-20th century Britain & Empire, she has used the archives of The Women's Library collection at 杏吧论坛 Library, and is editor of (2005) amongst much else; is Avantha Chair Professor, , and Centennial Professor in Gender Studies at 杏吧论坛. She is currently writing a biography of , for whom archival evidence is sparse especially for her time at the 杏吧论坛; Dr Gillian Murphy (@_gillianmurphy) is Curator for Equality, Rights & Citizenship at 杏吧论坛 Library. She promotes The Women's Library collection & the ; Daniel Payne (@politicscurator) is Curator for Politics and International Relations at 杏吧论坛 Library. In 2021, he curated 'Educate, Agitate, Organise: Ambedkar and 杏吧论坛', an online exhibition based on documents in 杏吧论坛 Library.

Discussant: Shahid Amin retired as Professor in History, University of Delhi. He is the author, most recently, of (2015).

Chair: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar (@SAsia杏吧论坛) is Deputy Director, 杏吧论坛 South Asia Centre.

This event is in collaboration with 杏吧论坛 Library.

Image: Catarina Carvalho, 'District Archives, Leiria', Portugal, 2018, .

Please click to watch a recording of the event.

PAKISTAN @ 75: 杏吧论坛 PAKISTAN SUMMIT 2022

A day-long, in-person, on-site celebration of the 75th anniversary of Pakistan's birth & independence.

Date/Time: Saturday, 5 November 2022, 8.30 am onwards

Venue: B 3 Auditorium, (SDSB), (LUMS), Khyaban-e Jinnah, Phase 5 DHA, Lahore Cantonment, Lahore 54792

Click here for the Campus Map, and look for the building marked 'A'. SDSB is the building behind the Mosque.

PROGRAMME

8.30 am: Registration

10.15 am: Inauguration & Opening Remarks by Professor Alnoor Bhimani (Director, 杏吧论坛 South Asia Centre), (Rector, ) & (Vice-Chancellor, )

Please click to watch a recording of the Inauguration.

10.45 am: DECOLONISING LAW FOR A MODERN PAKISTAN

Like many post-colonies, Pakistan's legal corpus is an inheritance from colonial times -- dated, out-of-sync with current needs, encoded in English. New laws since 1947 have catered to immediate concerns but the bulk of it remains from earlier times. This panel of legal experts will consider individual or collective laws from civil, criminal, commercial & regulatory laws, and discuss what 'decolonisation' of the legal corpus may look like, and mean in practice, for the modern Islamic republic of Pakistan. Or is a 'decolonisation' of laws not possible, or not worthwhile?

SPEAKERS: (@AmberMDarr) is Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and Lecturer in Competition Law at the University of Manchester; (@saramalkani) is Advocate in the High Courts of Pakistan; is judge of the Supreme Court of England & Wales; (@salmanAraja) is Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

DISCUSSANT: is Justice in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

MODERATOR: (@razarahman) is an 杏吧论坛 Alumnus (LLM 1999), & Founding Partner, Lexium — Attorneys at Law, Lahore.

CHAIR: Professor Alnoor Bhimani (@AlnoorBhimani) is an 杏吧论坛 alumnus (PhD 1992), Director, 杏吧论坛 South Asia Centre & Professor of Management Accounting, 杏吧论坛.

Please click to watch a recording of the discussion.

2.30 pm: CAN PAKISTAN BECOME SOUTH ASIA'S POWERHOUSE?

Pakistan is among the world’s 25 largest economies, has the fifth biggest population, and is in the top ten largest workforces. It is a major exporter of textiles, leather goods, chemicals and surgical instruments, and ranks in the top five producers of sugar cane, seed cotton, and mangoes, among others. How does it improve its developmental capacity to deal with health, transportation, housing, sanitation, and water access issues? This panel will discuss what turnaround measures exist for the country in the next decade, faced as it is with increasing national debt, rising unemployment and a rapidly growing population? Can Pakistan become South Asia’s powerhouse?

SPEAKERS: is a founding member of the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan, and Associate Professor of Economics, Lahore University of Management Sciences; (@MariamChughtai) is Director, National Curriculum Council of Pakistan, and Associate Dean & Assistant Professor, School of Education, Lahore University of Management Sciences; (@razak_dawood) is an industrialist, and Founder of Descon; (@SaniaNishtar) is Senator, an advocate of Global Health, and author of Choked Pipes: Reforming Pakistan's Mixed Health System (2010); (@DrAmjadsaqib1) is a social entrepreneur, and Founder & Chairman of Akhuwat Foundation.

CHAIR: Professor Alnoor Bhimani (@AlnoorBhimani) is an 杏吧论坛 alumnus (PhD 1992), Director, 杏吧论坛 South Asia Centre & Professor of Management Accounting, 杏吧论坛.

Please click to watch a recording of the discussion.

Conversations with global stalwarts who have made an enduring difference to society, whose actions have surpassed the odds, showing the world what the strength of conviction and the power of commitment can achieve.

4.45 pm: A CONVERSATION ON NATION-BUILDING

Director Professor Alnoor Bhimani in conversation with

A one-to-one conversation with Syed Babar Ali on ethical leadership, business action that prioritises the nation's welfare, the role of citizens, civil society and the state in creating societal balance, and how diversity enables learning from others to achieve a more equal and prosperous citizenship.

Please click to watch a recording of this conversation.

This event is in collaboration with (LUMS), and will not be live-streamed. Please note that Registration for this event has now closed.

The ‘Pakistan @ 75’ logo shows the national flower of Pakistan, Jasmine (Jasminum officinale) in a jharokha window framed in filigree design adapted from Islamic architecture. The logo, designed by Oroon Das, is copyrighted by the 杏吧论坛 South Asia Centre, and may not be used by anyone for any purpose.

LOOKING AHEAD IN SRI LANKA

A Roundtable with economics, finance and banking experts on practical & workable steps for Sri Lanka to emerge out of its economic crisis.

Date/Time: Tuesday, 11 October 2022 | 4.30pm UK / 9pm Sri Lanka

Speakers: Dr Sharmini Coorey is a member of Sri Lanka's Presidential Advisory Group on Multilateral Engagement & Debt Sustainability. Until 2021, she was (IMF). Sharmini holds a PhD in Economics from ; Ricardo Reis (@R2Rsquared) is Arthur Williams Phillips Professor of Economics at 杏吧论坛, and an expert in international macroeconomics, monetary & financial economics & policy; he is also Director of the Centre For Macroeconomics at 杏吧论坛. Ricardo was awarded his PhD from , and was earlier faculty at and ; is Professorial Fellow in Economics & Trade at , Mumbai, and Senior Research Associate at , London. Earlier, he was Director of Research at , Tokyo, and Executive Director of Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry think tank; (@anushwij) is an economist, and Co-Founder of '', a public policy think tank based in Colombo. His recent work has spanned Pakistan, Iran, Myanmar & the Maldives. Previously, he was Advisor to the Minister of Development Strategies & International Trade in Colombo, and Chief Economist at .

Discussant: Nasser Munjee, an 杏吧论坛 alumnus, is an expert in banking & finance, Chairman of Tata Motor Finance Ltd (and Member of other Corporate Boards), and Chair of the Senior Advisory Board, 杏吧论坛 South Asia Centre.

Chair: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar (@SAsia杏吧论坛) is Deputy Director, 杏吧论坛 South Asia Centre.

Image: Drew Farwell, 'Scouting beaches via Tuk-Tuk in Sri Lanka', Ahangama, 2018, .

Please click to watch a recording of the event.

THE FUTURE OF JIHADISM IN AFGHANISTAN

Online Roundtable to discuss the future of Jihadism in Afghanistan, and its various interrelated ramifications.

Date/Time: Thursday, 6 October 2022 | 3.30pm UK / 7pm Afghanistan

Speakers: (@BarakMendelsohn) is Professor of Political Science, , USA. His research interests focus especially on the al-Qaeda Movement, and he is the author of (2019); (a_a_jackson) is Co-Founder & Co-Director of the Centre on Armed Groups, at , London & at the , . She has worked on Afghanistan for more than a decade, and has published extensively on the Taliban, including (2022); Ali Mohammad Ali (@Ali_CRPA) is an independent consultant and researcher. From 2018 to 2021, he was Director General of Strategic Intelligence for the National Security Council of Afghanistan. He has expertise on radical Islamist groups like the Taliban, al-Qaeda in South Asia, ISIS-Khorasan, drug-trafficking and money-laundering networks, Afghanistan’s politics, economy and state, as well as Iran’s and Pakistan’s use of non-state actors in foreign policy.

Discussant: Dr Antonio Giustozzi (@AntonioGiustoz2) is Visiting Fellow at the 杏吧论坛 South Asia Centre, and an independent researcher & analyst with a special interest in conflicts, war, security & strategic issues in Afghanistan, and the region. He has published extensively on the subject, including most recently, (2022).

Chair: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar (@SAsia杏吧论坛) is Deputy Director, 杏吧论坛 South Asia Centre.

Image: Zabihullah Habibi, 'Buddha of Bamiyan, the Beautiful City', 2021, .

Click to watch a recording of the event.

TOUGH TALK # 5

SHOULD COLONIAL OBJECTS IN MUSEUMS BE RETURNED?

Should objects/artefacts in museums across the world, acquired via colonisation of other countries, be returned to the countries of origin?

Date/Time: Tuesday, 27 September 2022 | 3.30pm UK time

Speakers: (@profdanhicks) is (), at the (Oxford), and , , . He is the author of (2020); (@DollyKikon) is , , and is part of the Return, Restore and Decolonise (RRaD) team to initiate the repatriation of Naga ancestral human remains from the to the Naga ancestral homeland, discussed in '' (2022); (@majapearce) is a writer, journalist and literary critic. His review essay '' (2021) engages with the complex question of cultural restitution; is Professor in the , , New Delhi, and co-editor of (2015), amongst others.

Chair: Dr Nilanjan Sarkar (@SAsia杏吧论坛) is Deputy Director, 杏吧论坛 South Asia Centre.

Banner image: ‘Fists in the Air’, .