2017
Kautilya’s Arthashastra: An Intellectual Portrait: The Classical Roots of Modern Politics in India by Subrata K. Mitra and Michael Liebig
The co-authored book of Dr. Liebig titled Kautilya’s Arthashastra: An Intellectual Portrait: The Classical Roots of Modern Politics in India is now available as the Indian Rupa edition.
Additionally, The Times of India has published an article about the Panel on Kautilya's Arthashatra at the Military Literature Festival 2017 which Dr. Liebig attended this month in Chandigarh, India.
Prof. Mukherji’s visit to India
During his recent visit to India, Prof. Mukherji has delivered keynote addresses for the 18th Conference titled ‘Inclusive Development: Perspectives and Policies’. The conference was held during 3rd-5th December and was organised by Indian Association of Social Science Institute (IASSI) at Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur in collaboration with Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad. Prof. Mukherji also delivered a public lecture at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies in Hyderabad on December 8.
Professor Rahul Mukherji and Dr Himanshu Jha’s recent publication
‘Bureaucratic Rationality, Political Will, and State Capacity - MGNREGS in Undivided Andhra Pradesh’ Economic & Political Weekly, vol. 52(49) pp: 53-60.
Congratulations to A.S.M. Mostafizur Rahman
Our PhD candidate A.S.M. Mostafizur Rahman was elected as a member of the Executive Committee, International Representative at Doctoral Students Convention (DSC), Heidelberg University. The elections for the new Executive Committee were held on November 8, 2017, during the DSC's Annual General Assembly. DSC is the official body that supports and voices concerns, issues, and interests of all doctoral students/researchers in front of different departments and committees within and outside Heidelberg University.
The DSC's members of the Executive Committee:
Humanities: Ralph Höger, Jan Wysocki
Life science: Jianghui Zhu
Social Science: A.S.M. Mostafizur Rahman
Natural science: Luca Bayha, Celia Viermann
Employee at university: Michael Kraft
Individual doctorate: Veronica Iubei
Graduate program: Alexander Lehmann
Talk on 'Labour and Capital in India's Informal Economy' by Prof. Jan Breman, University of Amsterdam on 18th December (Monday) at SAI Room 317. See details here.
Talk on “From Bondage to Citizenship: Dalit and African-American Mobilization in Two Southern Deltas” by Prof. Narendra Subramanian, Political Science Department, McGill University on 27th November (Monday) at SAI Room 317. See details here.
New Ph.D. candidate
A warm welcome to a new Ph.D. candidate, Mr. Ranjith Gunaratna, who has recently joined our department. His Ph.D. topic is “Diaspora, an agent of change: the case of Sri Lanka”. His other research interests include counter-terrorism, Sri Lankan workers in the Middle East and Sri Lanka’s relations with China. Mr. Gunaratna is a current Sri Lankan Consul General based in Frankfurt.
Dr. Zarhani, as the guest lecturer at Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran
Dr. Seyed Hossein Zarhani, lecturer and research fellow at the department of political science, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University was the guest lecturer at the faculty of world studies, University of Tehran, Iran in September and October 2017. During his stay at University of Tehran, he offered a post-graduate course on ‘Nation Building and Political Development in India.’ Moreover, he delivered a lecture on ‘Federalism in India: Emerging Trends in the Center States Relations’ to the graduate students.
Outdoor excursion of South Asia Institute
On Wednesday, the 11th October, our Department has explored the historical atmosphere of the small village Leutershausen followed by the hiking through the nearby forest with the Hirschburg and Schanzenköpfle castle ruins. This wonderful outdoor activity has been organized for the South Asia Institute's Trip Day and brought together friends and colleagues from the other Departments of the SAI.
Dr. Liebig at Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, India
Dr. Michael Liebig has delivered a talk on 'The Kautilyan Roots of Intelligence Culture in South Asia – A Historical Perspective' on 5th October during a conference titled 'Exploring the Roots of India's Strategic Culture' organised by Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, India.
New Ph.D. candidates
A warm welcome to our new Ph.D. candidates, Tanvi Deshpande and Jai Shankar Prasad. Tanvi will be working on 'India and the Politics of Climate Change', whereas Jai Shankar will study the topic on 'Revisiting the State: Politics, Development, and Tribal Welfare in Jharkhand, India'. Their Ph.D. training is a part of the Global India Programme which is Horizon 2020 funded European Training Network. They will pursue their research under the supervision of Prof. Rahul Mukherji.
Prof. Jakub Zajączkowski at the Department of Political Science, SAI
We have a pleasure to host Professor Jakub Zajaczkowski (Warsaw University) who is visiting our Department from Wednesday, 27th of September.
During his stay, Prof. Zajaczkowski has presented on the topic "India's Strategy in the Indo-Pacific Region: An Offensive Realist Approach". The talk was held on Thursday, 28th of September.
Dr. Zarhani's visit to Hyderabad
In the context of our Department of Political Science's ongoing research project on bureaucratic culture in India, Dr. Seyed Hossein Zarhani visited Hyderabad. From September 12 to 20, Dr. Zarhani conducted expert interviews with top-ranked ISA officers, party activists, and regional politician and interacted with academic colleagues at University of Hyderabad and Osmania University on the subject area.
On September 14, 2017, Dr. Zarhani, as a guest lecturer, delivered a talk on “Elite Agency, Development and Development in the Indian States” at the Department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad.
Dr. Himanshu Jha at the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University on 6th and 7th September 2017
Dr. Himanshu Jha delivered lectures on ‘Politics of Accountability’ and ‘Politics of Welfare in India’ at the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU) in Lucknow, India on 6th and 7th September 2017.
Dr. Himanshu Jha at the O. P. Jindal Global University, India
On Wednesday, 30th August 2017, Dr. Himanshu Jha delivered an open lecture at the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O. P. Jindal Global University, India on “State Processes, Ideas and Institutional Change: Case of Right to Information Act in India”.
Congratulations to Mr. Krishna Kumar Saha
Mr. Krishna Kumar Saha, a master student of South Asian Studies with focus on Political Science and Anthropology, has secured a Ph.D. position at Ghent University (Belgium) under prof. Bert Suykens’s supervision starting November ’17. He will be working on a doctoral project titled 'Electoral Violence: A Case of Bangladesh Local Government Elections'. Mr. Saha was awarded a doctoral scholarship from Special Research Fund for this project from the same university. We wish you every success in your academic journey!
Dr. Himanshu Jha wins the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) award for the best PhD dissertation
Dr. Himanshu Jha’s PhD thesis on ‘Capturing Institutional Change: Case of Right to Information Act in India’ has been awarded the prestigious Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) award for the best PhD dissertation in 2016 at the National University of Singapore.
Congratulations to Ms. Lara Klossek
Ms. Lara Klossek, studying South Asian Studies with a focus on Political Science and History, has secured a position as a PhD candidate at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (Spain) under prof. Barbé supervision starting this October. During this three-year program, she will spend one semester in India while conducting research on the topic "The making of EU foreign policy towards India". This PhD program is a part of Marie Sklodowska-Curie European Training Network which is an EU funded project aiming at explaining India's increasing importance in world politics. Heidelberg University together with 9 other European and Indian Universities and 5 non-university partners is also a part of this project. Congratulation on your achievement and we wish you every success in your new academic journey.
Congratulation to Ms. Qudsia Naz
Ms. Qudsia Naz, a master student of South Asian Studies with focus on Politics and History, has successfully passed the entry exams and the following interview for the position at Pakistan Administrative Services (PAS). The final decision was announced on the 10th of April this year. She will be travelling to Pakistan this September to take up the position and will continue to work on her research for master thesis from there. We wish you every success in your new position.
Prof. Mukherji has delivered the keynote speech for the First SAI Student Conference on 30th June. The Student Conference was an effort of Master Students of South Asian Studies who presented their research interests in the form of poster conference. The research topics covered wide range of recent issues in South Asia such as women issues, cultural heritage, material culture, shipbreaking, and ethnic conflicts.
Photo credit: Borayin Maitreya Larios
Video credit: The Pashtun Times
Professor Mukherji’s Visits to Switzerland and Italy in June 2017
Professor Rahul Mukherji recently presented at two conferences on the politics of welfare in India.
Conference in Zürich, Switzerland titled 'Welfare Schemes, the State and Corruption in South Asia: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches' was organised by the University of Zürich on the 20th of June.
On the 28th of June, the conference in Prato, Italy on Sustainable Development was organized by the Centre for Development Economics at Monash University. This workshop was a part of UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network' workshops.
Talk on ‘India's Climate Justice Debate’ by Dr. Annika Styczynski, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy on 10th July (Monday) at SAI Room 317. See details here.
Dr. Himanshu Jha delivered a talk on ‘Untangling the Global-Local Linkages: The case of Right to Information’ at the Ireland India Institute, Dublin City University, Ireland. Department of Political Science at SAI, Heidelberg University alongwith the Dublin City University is part of a Horizon 2020 funded European Training Network on Global India.
Global Conference on Transparency Research 19-21 June 2017, Limerick, Ireland
Dr. Himanshu Jha presented a paper on ‘Capturing Institutional Change: Case of Right to Information Act in India’ at the 5th Global Conference on Transparency Research, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland. The conference was co-organised by University of Limerick and University of Baltimore. More than 90 papers were presented during the Conference which brought together academics and the practitioners from around the world working on the issues of transparency and accountability.
Talk on ‘Caught in the Crossfire: The Chinese Indian Community and the Deterioration of India-China Relations, 1947-1962’ by Prof. Tansen Sen, City University of New York on 22nd June (Thursday) at SAI Room 316. See details here.
China-India Workshop on Development and Governance
June 3, 2017 Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Professor Rahul Mukherji and Dr. Himanshu Jha presented papers during China-India Workshop on Development and Governance organised by Fudan University, Shanghai China on 3rd June 2017. Professor Mukherji presented a paper on Is India a Developmental State? and Dr. Jha presented a paper on State Processes, Ideas and Institutional Change. Professor Mukherji also delivered a lecture on Globalization and Indian State at ‘Seaker Chan Centre for Comparative Political Development Studies’, Fudan University.
Talk on 'Two Contrasting Perceptions of India in the minds of Sinhala-Buddhists in Sri Lanka' by Dr. Nirmal Dewasiri, University of Colombo on 12th June (Monday) at SAI Room 317.See details here.
Talk on ‘Constitutionalizing India: an Ideational Project’ by Professor Bidyut Chakrabarty, University of Delhi on 29th May (Monday) at SAI Room 317. See detail here.
International Relations in Asia-Pacific region: multidimensional research perspectives, 11th May 2017, Warsaw
Dr. Seyed Hossein Zarhani presented on 'India’s State Level Politics in Post-Liberalization Era: Regional Leaders and International Economic Actors' during the International Relations in Asia-Pacific region: multidimensional research perspectives on 11th May 2017 in Warsaw. The conference was organised jointly by The Institute of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science and International Studies,
University of Warsaw, South Asian Studies, School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies, University of Oxford, South Asia Institute, Department of Political Science, University of Heidelberg and South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF), Brussels, Belgium.
Workshop on 'Governing India' 7th-8th May 2017. Venue: Internationales Wissenschaftsforum Heidelberg
This workshop invites policy-makers, public intellectuals, technocrats and scholars who have engaged with governance in India to reflect and discuss on how India executes its governance. For attending this workshop see details here.
Call For PhD Applications
Department of Political Science, South Asia Institute at the Heidelberg University, Germany invites applications for outstanding students to apply for two doctoral positions for the duration of three years under the European Union Marie Curie Fellowship programme. See details here.
Centre for Multilevel Federalism, Special Lecture Series, New Delhi, India 21 March 2017
Dr. Himanshu Jha, Lecturer and Research Fellow in the department of Political Science at SAI, delivered a talk on "The Right to Information Act from a Federal Perspective: Accountability at the State and local levels" at the Centre for Multilevel Federalism, Institute of Social Sciences.
Book Launch in Singapore
On March 2, 2017, the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore held a book launch of Kautilya’s Arthashastra: an Intellectual Portrait – Classical Roots of Modern Politics in India (Nomos) by Subrata Mitra and Michael Liebig. Prof. Mitra is Director, ISAS, and Emeritus at the Department of Political Science, South Asia Insitute (SAI), Heidelberg University, Dr. Liebig is lecturer at the department. See detail here.
Rethinking Stakeholder Participation: In Global Governance
Professor Rahul Mukherji, Dr Himanshu Jha and ASM Mostafizur Rahman (PhD Candidate at SAI) presented a co-authored paper on India and Bangladesh in Climate Change Finance: From Structural Conflict to Embedded Liberalism at a workshop on “Rethinking Stakeholder Participation in Global Governance: Challenges and Reforms in Financial and Health Institutions” held from 2-3 March in Burghausen, Bavaria. The workshop was co-organized by the Centre for Trade and Economic Integration (CTEI) at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva and Hochschule für Politik/Bavarian School of Public Policy at the Technischen Universität München (TUM). The paper is part of the ongoing project on ‘Rethinking Stakeholder Participation’ sponsored by the Swiss Network for International Studies. Department of Political Science at SAI is one of the partners in this project.
South Asia in World Politics Working Group
Professor Rahul Mukherji helped launch the South Asia in World Politics Section of the International Studies Association at the Association’s Annual Meeting in Baltimore between February 21 and 25, 2017.
As one of the chairs of the South Asia in World Politics Working Group he attended the working group meetings and chaired the last session that discussed the future of the section. The South Asia section will highlight the importance of the region in international studies.
Talk on ‘Local Elections in Uttar Pradesh: Caste, Money and Violence’ by Dr. Siddhartha Mukerji, Assistant Professor at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow and Baden Württemberg Fellow, SAI. 23rd January (Monday) SAI Room 316. See detail here.
Talk on 'Party Switching in India: Understanding the downside of Indian democracy' by Professor K C Suri University of Hyderabad and Baden Württemberg Fellow at SAI. 16th January (Monday) SAI Room 316. See detail here.
Talk on 'Right to Information a Viable Institution: the case of Bihar, India' by Dr. Himanshu Jha Lecturer and Research Fellow, Department of Political Science, SAI, Universität Heidelberg at SAI. 9th January (Monday) SAI Room 316. See details here.
