Institute for South Asia Studies

04/29/2026

On April 28, ISAS hosted Farhat Hasan, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern South Asian History at the University of Delhi, for a talk on the interplay between state authority and local legal practices in Mughal India.

Professor Hasan explored the many overlapping worlds of law in the Mughal empire, where imperial institutions, community norms, local custom, and everyday negotiation all helped shape juridical life. Law, as the talk made clear, was not simply handed down from above; it was lived, interpreted, contested, and occasionally complicated by the people who encountered it.

Abhishek Kaicker, Associate Professor of History, served as discussant, bringing sharp insight and collegial energy to the conversation.

And because no serious academic gathering is complete without a touch of ceremony, the afternoon concluded with the official bestowal of the ISAS “Tote of Arms” — our most portable and practical form of institutional heraldry — by Munis D. Faruqui, Director of the Institute for South Asia Studies.

Photos below.

04/28/2026

04/28/2026

TODAY: April 28 at 5 pm
A talk by Farhat Hasan, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern South Asian History at the University of Delhi, on how state and local legal systems worked together in Mughal India. Abhishek Kaicker, Associate Professor of History will serve as discussant. More at https://events.berkeley.edu/csas/event/318850-farhat-hasan-legal-pluralism-in-mughal-india-state-so

04/27/2026

On April 14, 2026, ISAS hosted a talk by Jennifer Bussell, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Political Science and Director of the Center on Contemporary India, on her new book, Shocks and Politics: Understanding Disaster Preparedness.

In her talk, Bussell examined why some governments invest in disaster preparedness while others do not, arguing that politically vulnerable leaders—shaped by past hazard exposure and strong opposition—are more likely to act. She also emphasized that such action depends on whether the state has the capacity to implement preparedness efforts, drawing on case studies from Africa and South Asia.

Many thanks to Gilles Daniel M. Verniers, Research Fellow at the Center for International Studies (CERI), Sciences Po, for serving as discussant, and to Munis D. Faruqui for moderating the conversation.

ISAS also published a SARN—a short pamphlet outlining key aspects of the book—which can be found here: https://southasia.berkeley.edu/SARN

Photos from the event below.

04/27/2026

On April 21, 2026, ISAS hosted Jairaj “Jai” Galagali, a California-based technologist and leading archivist of Indian cricket history, Jai shared rare, rediscovered footage that traced the evolution of Indian cricket from its early roots to the landmark year of 1983. His talk brought to life legendary players, unforgettable moments, and the extraordinary cultural significance of preserving this visual heritage. Photos from the event below.

04/27/2026

On April 24, 2026, ISAS hosted a powerful panel on the politics of minoritization in South Asia. Bringing together perspectives from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India, the conversation explored how state power, law, and social hierarchies produce and police the categories of “majority” and “minority.”

Many thanks to our brilliant panelists: Aanmona Priyadarshini, Sadia Saeed, Sharika Thiranagama, and Vinayak Chaturvedi. Special thanks to Ussama Makdisi, who offered framing comments and also served as discussant. We are also grateful to Munis D. Faruqui for his opening remarks.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this urgent and deeply engaging conversation.

Photos from the event below. A link to the FB livestream of the event here: https://fb.watch/GLu9YGQQZs/

04/24/2026

04/24/2026

Today, April 24 at 4 pm: A panel discussion on the politics of minoritization in South Asia. Drawing on perspectives from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India, the panel will examine how state power, law, and social hierarchies facilitate the creation of national majorities and minorities.

The discussion will feature Aanmona Priyadarshini (Lecturer of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University), Sadia Saeed (Associate Professor of Sociology, University of San Francisco), Sharika Thiranagama (Associate Professor of Anthropology, Stanford University), and Vinayak Chaturvedi (Professor of History, University of California, Irvine).

Ussama Makdisi, Professor of History and Chancellor’s Chair and Sai Balakrishnan, Associate Professor of City & Regional Planning will serve as discussants.

Event will be livestreamed on the Institute's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/ISASatUCBerkeley

More about the event at https://events.berkeley.edu/csas/event/313772-the-politics-of-minoritization-in-south-asia

04/23/2026

On Zoom next week: Tue, Apr 28 at 9 am:
The 5th Maya Mitra Das Annual Lecture on Tagore, by Professor Lala Rukh Selim, a sculptor and Professor at the Department of Sculpture, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Sukanya Banerjee (Associate Professor of English, UC Berkeley), Tausif Noor, Curatorial Associate at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive and a PhD candidate in History of Art, and Waziuddin Chowdhury (Facilities Director of the South SF Unified School District, and an Architect) will serve as discussants. Register on Zoom at https://berkeley.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KVS1LjtyRbaibnFj7LOp5w #/

More at https://events.berkeley.edu/csas/event/313372-lala-rukh-selim-rabindranath-tagore-art-and-banglades

04/22/2026