Centre for Contemporary South Asian Studies

Centre for Contemporary South Asian Studies
Name	Centre for Contemporary South Asian Studies
Established	1998
Type	Research institute
Location	London, United Kingdom
Director	Dr. Arun Mehta
Affiliations	University of London

Centre for Contemporary South Asian Studies The Centre for Contemporary South Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary research institute based in London that examines political, social, and cultural developments across South Asia. It brings together scholars from fields such as anthropology, sociology, history, and political science to study contemporary issues affecting India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and the Maldives. The Centre engages with policymakers, media, and civil society through public events, policy briefs, and collaborative research.

History

The Centre was founded in 1998 with support from the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy, and the Department for International Development. Early activities included conferences on the aftermath of the Kargil War and the implications of the Lahore Declaration; collaborators included scholars from the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and the London School of Economics. In the 2000s the Centre expanded its remit to include projects on migration linked to the Partition of India centenary, and hosted visiting fellows from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, the University of Colombo, and the University of Dhaka. During the 2010s the Centre organized comparative workshops addressing crises such as the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, the 2014 Sri Lankan presidential election, the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse, and the humanitarian response to the 2015 Nepal earthquake. The Centre’s archives include oral histories with participants from the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and documentation related to the Indus Waters Treaty.

Mission and Research Focus

The Centre focuses on contemporary issues including governance in postcolonial polities, urbanization in megacities such as Mumbai, Karachi, and Dhaka, transnational migration involving the Gulf Cooperation Council states and the United Kingdom, and religious politics connected to movements like Hindutva and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. Research themes also cover conflict resolution involving the Kashmir conflict, climate impacts on the Brahmaputra and Ganges basins, and legal pluralism in contexts shaped by the Indian Penal Code and the Pakistan Penal Code. The Centre prioritizes comparative scholarship drawing on case studies such as the Punjab Province, Sindh, Bengal Presidency, and historical actors including the British Raj and the Mughal Empire to illuminate contemporary trajectories.

Academic Programs and Teaching

The Centre offers postgraduate modules affiliated with the University of London and joint degrees with the School of Oriental and African Studies and the London School of Economics. Courses cover topics like South Asian political economy with case studies involving the Reserve Bank of India, public policy modules referencing the NITI Aayog, and migration seminars addressing diasporic communities in Toronto, Dubai, and London. The Centre runs short executive programs for officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (India), the Foreign Office (United Kingdom), and the Asian Development Bank. Teaching draws on faculty with links to institutions such as the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Columbia University, and the National University of Singapore.

Research Projects and Publications

Major projects have included longitudinal studies of informal economies in Chennai, comparative analyses of electoral politics in Kerala and Punjab Province (India), and a multi-year investigation of media ecosystems following the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The Centre publishes the peer-reviewed journal South Asia Contemporary Review, edited in collaboration with the British Academy and distributed through partners including the Oxford University Press and the Cambridge University Press. Selected monographs have addressed themes such as federalism in India, insurgency in Northeast India, and post-conflict reconstruction in Sri Lanka after the Sri Lankan Civil War. Working papers often inform reports by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the United Nations Development Programme.

Partnerships and Collaborations

The Centre maintains formal partnerships with universities and think tanks across South Asia and beyond, including the Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Centre for Policy Research (India), the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, and the Institute of Policy Studies (Sri Lanka). International collaborators include the Wilson Center, the Royal United Services Institute, and the Chatham House. Funding and project collaboration have linked the Centre to the European Union research frameworks and bilateral initiatives with the High Commission of India, London and the British Council.

Governance and Funding

Governance is provided by a board of trustees with representatives from the University of London, the British Academy, and the Economic and Social Research Council; advisory members have included scholars from Jawaharlal Nehru University, the University of Chicago, and the Australian National University. Core funding comes from competitive grants from the Economic and Social Research Council, programmatic support from the Department for International Development, and project grants from foundations such as the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Centre also secures research contracts with international organizations including the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank and revenue from executive education and publication sales.

Category:Research institutes in the United Kingdom Category:South Asian studies