South Asian Conversations podcast

In the Easter Term of 2020, we released a series of podcasts featuring in-depth conversations with speakers at past seminars. You can subscribe to these from this page or from Apple Podcasts, Windows Podcast app, Soundcloud, Deezer or most major podcast hosting sites.


The second of our conversation with Neeladri Bhattacharya, one of South Asia’s great scholars.

In this episode, Neeladri explains how political pressures are changing the teaching of history in India, and addresses the history of the Koh-i-Noor diamond.

The interviewers are Dr Edward Anderson and Dr Partha Pratim Shil.


In this episode, Professor Bhattacharya explains how the teaching of history in India has evolved over the last 40 years, and his role in those changes. This is the first of two parts of this conversation.

The interviewers are Dr Edward Anderson and Dr Partha Pratim Shil.


In this episode, Professor Tanika Sarkar of Jawaharlal Nehru University looks back on her career chronicling the rise of the Hindu right, and reflects on the ways in which the Hindutva movement has interacted with feminism and caste divisions.

The interviewer is the Centre of South Asian Studies’ Dr Anjali Bhardwaj-Datta.


Film-maker and academic Professor Shohini Ghosh explores queerness, films and film-making in India. She also reflects on her own career as a documentary-maker and academic.

The interviewer is the Centre of South Asian Studies’ Dr Anjali Bhardwaj-Datta.


Professor Justin Jones explores the history of Shia Islam in India, including the role of Shia legal frameworks in modern India.

The interviewer is the Centre of South Asian Studies’ Dr Edward Anderson.


Yasmin Khan of the University of Oxford reflects on India’s contributions to World War II and Britain’s sense of self in relation to India since the end of empire.

The interviewer is the Centre of South Asian Studies’ Dr Edward Anderson.


In this episode, Lisa Mitchell of the University of Pennsylvania discusses the role of language in Indian politics – and southern India in particular. She also explains how even the emergency stop chain on trains can be a tool of political protest.

The interviewer is the Centre of South Asian Studies’ Dr Edward Anderson.


Recordings of recent seminars are available on this website: click on this link for a list of available recordings.

Older seminars are available on iTunes U.