Center for the Advanced Study of India

Center for the Advanced Study of India The Center for the Advanced Study of India is the first research institution in the US dedicated to the study of contemporary India.

Founded in 1992, The Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) is an academic research center on contemporary India at the University of Pennsylvania. A national resource, it fills an urgent need for objective knowledge of India's politics and society, rapidly changing economy, and transformation as both an ancient civilization and major contemporary power. The Center collaborates with other i

nstitutions in the USA, India, and elsewhere to carry out its goals of nurturing a new generation of scholars across disciplines and providing a forum for dialogue among the academic, business, and foreign policy communities. The Center also collaborates with their New Delhi counterpart research organization, University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India (UPIASI), to widen CASI’s reach within India.

"Nehru at Bandung: Notes from a Conference Slip Pad"by Vineet Thakur (Leiden University)https://casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/v...
05/25/2026

"Nehru at Bandung: Notes from a Conference Slip Pad"
by Vineet Thakur (Leiden University)
https://casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/vineet-thakur

In this issue of India in Transition, Vineet Thakur turns to an unusual historical artifact to reveal, among other things, Jawaharlal Nehru's unheralded talent for doodling.

"'AI is Like a Child': The Dangers of an Oversimplified Narrative"Anubha Singh (Vassar College)https://casi.sas.upenn.ed...
05/11/2026

"'AI is Like a Child': The Dangers of an Oversimplified Narrative"
Anubha Singh (Vassar College)
https://casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/anubha-singh

In this issue of India in Transition, Anubha Singh (Vassar College) examines the dangers of popular "AI is like a child" metaphor and how it oversimplifies AI systems by obscuring corporate control, labor exploitation, and political accountability.

CASI Reading List: The Rise of Hindu Nationalism and the BJPhttps://casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/casi-reading-list-rohan-venka...
04/27/2026

CASI Reading List: The Rise of Hindu Nationalism and the BJP
https://casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/casi-reading-list-rohan-venkat-tariq-thachil

Tariq Thachil & Rohan Venkat

May 2026 marks 12 years in office for Indian PM Narendra Modi. Given the country's median age of 29, roughly half of all Indians have never known a different national leader as adults. Modi’s landmark 2014 victory gave India its very first Hindu nationalist majority government.

Today the BJP stands as the pole around which Indian politics is arrayed. Once described as a party that would find it hard to grow beyond its upper-caste base, the BJP now draws votes from every corner of the country and supporters from across castes, communities, and religions.

The underlying ideology that powers the BJP–Hindutva–and the party’s parent organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, is the most influential socio-political force in the country—and by dint of India’s sheer scale, one of the most important phenomena in global politics.

What turned the BJP and the RSS into social and political behemoths? How did a movement known for polarizing rhetoric and the instrumentalization of violence catapult to power? And how should we understand Modi’s individual role within the broader story of Hindu nationalism?

CASI Managing Editor Rohan Venkat spoke to Thachil about the books and papers he recommends and asked him about his own book as well as non-Indian scholarship that might offer a useful perspective on the success of Hindu nationalism.

Please meet CASI Spring 2026 Visiting Fellow, Nityanand Jayaraman and Non-Resident Scholar, Karen Coelho!
04/16/2026

Please meet CASI Spring 2026 Visiting Fellow, Nityanand Jayaraman and Non-Resident Scholar, Karen Coelho!

3 likes. "Meet CASI Spring 2026 Visiting Fellow, Nityanand Jayaraman & Non-Resident Scholar, Karen Coelho"

"Does India Have Too Many Doctors?"https://casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/kiran-kumbharIn this issue of India in Transition, CAS...
04/13/2026

"Does India Have Too Many Doctors?"
https://casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/kiran-kumbhar

In this issue of India in Transition, CASI Postdoctoral Research Fellow Kiran Kumbhar argues that India no longer suffers from a shortage of doctors, and that for future health policy to be meaningful, this new reality must be taken seriously by policymakers and experts.

*This seminar has been POSTPONED*
04/09/2026

*This seminar has been POSTPONED*

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