Centre for India and South Asia Research

What does justice look like for Tamils in a changing Sri Lanka? Join us for a powerful conversation with Dr. Madura Rasaratnam as we unpack the future of Tamil self-determination and Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism under the new left-wing government.

Link to Zoom in bio!

Join us for a a captivating talk by Rhys Machold and explore the colonial and transnational entanglements of homeland security across India and Palestine/Israel!

RSVP link in bio!

Join us for an impactful screening of The Silent Epidemic, a documentary that sheds light on the devastating yet often-overlooked social impact of road crashes in India. Through deeply personal narratives, the film follows the resilience of survivors and their families as they navigate life-altering challenges while advocating for a safer future. Directed by Akshat Gupta and produced by Sarika Panda Bhatt, Jitendra Mishra, and Akash Basu, this documentary is both a wake-up call and a beacon of hope. Don’t miss this eye-opening exploration of survival, awareness, and the urgent need for change in road safety.

RSVP link in our bio!

Join us on March 4, 2025, for an exclusive screening of two powerful short documentaries highlighting Indigenous resistance and resilience in Bangladesh.

📽 “Kalpana: Not an Imagination” (Dir. Santua Tripura) – A young Indigenous student in Dhaka grapples with an identity crisis, ultimately finding strength in the legacy of activist Kalpana Chakma.

📽 “Will Menle Return?” (Dir. Zopari Lushai) – The story of the Mro community’s resistance against eviction from their ancestral lands for a luxury hotel project, leading to a historic movement.

The screenings will be followed by a conversation with the directors and an interactive Q&A session for the audience to discuss the collective possibilities and the future of Indigenous rights in Bangladesh and beyond.

📍 Venue: C. K. Choi Building, Room 120
🕕 Time: 5:00 PM- 6:30 PM

The RSVP link is available in our bio. Light snacks will be served. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Join Dr. Nicole Ranganath, Associate Director, and Assistant Professor in Middle East/South Asia Studies at the University of California, Davis, for an illuminating talk on women’s history in the South Asian diaspora as revealed through their musical performances. Challenging the traditional portrayal of men as mobile and women as stationary in diaspora studies, Dr. Ranganath explores how Sikh women in the Punjab region and beyond were culturally associated with the fluidity of water and air. Her work introduces the Ocean as a framework to examine women’s mobility and resilience. She proposes the metaphor of ‘pearls from the seven seas’ to encapsulate the global dispersal of Sikh communities and women’s transformative experiences through song. Drawing from her upcoming book, Women and the Sikh Diaspora in California: Singing the Seven Seas, and her acclaimed PBS documentary, Jutti Kasoori, Dr. Ranganath offers a unique perspective on gender, music, and diaspora.

📅 11th February, 2025
🕰️ 5:00 PM PST
📍 C.K. Choi, Room 120

RSVP using the link in our bio! 🙌🏽

Throwback to our Book Talk event with award winning Indian Journalist P. Sainath where we unraveled and reflected on Indian media’s shifting loyalty with the change in powerand its political consequences.

Thank you to .vancouver for being an amazing caterer for this event. 🙌🏽

Stay tuned with us for more such insightful events throughout this year too. ❤️

AIIMS New Delhi and the Tumultuous Beginnings of Indian Biomedicine brought to you by CISAR and the Asian Studies Department

Join Dr. Kiran Kumbhar, a historian and health policy expert, for an insightful presentation on the early contested debates surrounding the establishment of AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) in New Delhi. While AIIMS is now regarded as a symbol of India’s medical and scientific achievements, its inception was marked by fierce ideological conflicts in Parliament over the relevance of allopathic medicine versus traditional Indian systems of healing. Dr. Kumbhar will explore these debates, the political tensions at the time, and how AIIMS, despite being initially viewed by some as ‘anti-national,’ became a cornerstone of India’s healthcare landscape. This event offers a unique perspective on the intersection of medicine, politics, and national identity in post-independence India.

📆 Date: February 7th, 2025
🕰️ Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
📍 Location: Room 604, The Asian Studies Centre

RSVP link is available in our bio!

The UBC Centre for India and South Asia Research (CISAR), in collaboration with Sargam UBC & UBC Asian Studies Department is pleased to present “Intiha: An Evening of Conversation with Ali Sethi”, an intimate event featuring celebrated Pakistani-American musician Ali Sethi. In a moderated chat, he will share his personal journey with classical South Asian music and how it continues to influence his approach to popular music across different genres. Together with our discussants—Naveena Naqvi, Arafat Safdar, and Kiran K. Sunar—Ali Sethi will explore the power of music as a bridge across geographical borders, connecting communities, identities, and generations throughout South Asia.

This event will offer unique insights into Ali Sethi’s creative process, his commitment to preserving and evolving classical forms, and the challenges he has encountered along the way. Aspiring musicians and attendees will have the chance to learn from Sethi’s experiences and hear his advice on crafting a path in South Asian music. With the audience including UBC students, faculty, and staff, this event promises an enriching experience for those interested in music’s capacity for cultural exchange and expression.

Supported by the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and presented in conjunction with Ali Sethi & Nicolás Jaar’s performance at the Chan Centre on Friday Nov 22.

RSVP using the link in our bio!

Freedom of the Purse with P. Sainath brought to you by CISAR!

On October 4th, this coming Friday, P. Sainath will join us to reflect on the Indian media’s shifting loyalty to the side of power and its manifold consequences. RSVP now using the link in our bio and join us for this enlightening conversation. Lunch will be provided at the event!

October 4th, 2024
12:30-2:00 PM
📍C K Choi Building, Room 120

Starting in 1962, India imprisoned around 3,000 Chinese-Indians in a camp in Deoli, Rajasthan, some for up to five years. This happened purely because at a time of war with China, these people “looked Chinese”. This is a page of Indian history that comes wrapped in prejudice and fear, and is today totally forgotten. But nearly six decades later, some survivors of that experience are starting to speak.

Join our online book talk on The Deoliwallahs: The True Story of the 1962 Chinese-Indian Internment and learn more about the plight of Chinese-Indians.

📍 WHEN? April 12 2021 @ 6:00 PM PT
📍 WHERE? Zoom Webinar

Register for the event at deoliwallahs.eventbrite.ca!
UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs

The Deoliwallahs and Questions of Citizenship In the 1960s, India imprisoned around 3,000 Chinese-Indians in Deoli, Rajasthan. Nearly 6 decades later, survivors are speaking out.

Tonight celebrates months of hard work of our co-directors, featured artists, Chan Centre's staff, board and committee volunteers, and partner organizations!

Viewing access to Parāśakti: The Flame Within begins at 7.00pm with introductions by Dr. T. Patrick Carrabré (Director of the Chan Centre), followed by the performance stream, concluding with a special artist Q&A moderated by Indian Summer Festival's Co-Founder and Artistic Director Sirish Rao.

If you have any questions or concerns in regards to the streaming platform, please visit: https://chancentre.com/digital-programming-faq/

To help you navigate the journey, here's a handy guide of chapter notes and translations:https://chancentre.com/app/uploads/2021/03/Parasakti-Program-PDF-F.pdf

Looking forward to being with you all soon 🙏🏾

Chan Centre for the Performing Arts Aṣṭa Alliance Indian Summer Festival Centre for India and South Asia Research