8
NOVEMBER 2018

Dear Friend,
The Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) had an engaging month, as we continued our engagements on study and research on China and East Asia, through various events, activities, publications and contributions in the media. 

Activities

The highlight of the month was our annual flagship event, the All India Conference of China Studies (AICCS), convened every November/December, with the principal objective of spreading interest in and strengthening research on China and East Asian Studies in India. Each conference has special theme. The 11th edition of the AICCS, with the special theme, ‘Science, Technology and Innovation with Chinese Characteristics’ was organized in collaboration with CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru and with the support of  the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, at the Main Campus of CHRIST in Bengaluru on 15-17 November 2018. The keynote address of the conference was delivered by Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Director, NIAS, who spoke on the need for cooperation with China to advance science and technology to meet challenges like climate change, environmental degradation and disaster management. In response to our call for papers, 106 abstracts were received, out of which 23 full-fledged papers were selected for presentation at the conference, which was undertaken in five thematic sessions. In addition to the selected papers for thematic sessions, we organized special panels on the state of the field on China studies in India, archival research, fieldwork in China, capacity building as well as science, technology and innovation in China at the 11th AICCS. Altogether, scholars from as many as 25 institutions presented papers and spoke at this conference. A brief report of the conference can be found here.

Our only Wednesday seminar was on Creating a Perspective for India-Taiwan Relations (SoundCloud) by Dr. Prashant Kumar Singh, Associate Fellow, Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi.

On 22 November, we had a special seminar by Prof. Siddiq Wahid, Adjunct Fellow, ICS, on his experiences from a recent trip to Xinjiang (SoundCloud) (YouTube). The seminar was organized in collaboration with the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) on 22 November

Publications

Research Associate, Dr. P.K.Anand published an ICS Analysis on Non-Standard Employment and Precarity: Student-Workers in China in October.

In the Media

Amb. Shyam Saran, Member, Governing Council, ICS and former Foreign Secretary, Government of India wrote a review of Francois Bougan’s book Inside the Mind of Xi Jinping for the Business Standard.

Research Associate Dr. Gunjan Singh wrote for the Asia Times on the implications for India and China of the Sri Lankan elections and on Bhutan’s reaching out to China. She also reviewed T. Miller’s book China’s Asia Dream: Empire Building Along the New Silk Road for India Quarterly. She also wrote a piece for esGlobal on whether India and China have a clash of influence.

Visiting Associate Fellow Dr. Shamshad A. Khan penned two pieces on the Quad and its perception about curbing Chinese influence in the Pacific and about PM Modi’s diplomacy vis-à-vis China at Japan at the G-20 for the Nikkei Asian Review.

Faculty Updates

Many of our Fellows and Research Faculty made presentations at the 11th AICCS. Prof. Manoranjan Mohanty, Honorary Fellow, ICS, and I spoke at the session on Salient Aspects of China’s ‘New Era’ under Xi Jinping. Prof. Mohanty was also part of a session on Doing Fieldwork in China, along with Adjunct Fellows, Dr, Ritu Agarwal and Dr. Debasish Chaudhuri. Honorary Fellow, Dr. Madhavi Thampi and Research Associate, Dr. Nirmola Sharma spoke at the Special Session on Indian Archival Research on China. Adjunct Fellow, Dr. Raviprasad Narayanan and Research Associate Dr. P.K. Anand made presentations at the special panel on State of the Field of China Studies in India. Our Research Associates, Dr. Bhim Subba and Dr. Veda Vaidyanathan spoke of their experiences as recipients of ICS-HYI Fellowship at an interactive session on Capacity Building in China Studies in India. Col. (Retd.) Virendra S. Verma, Honorary Fellow, and Mr. Saurav Sarkar, Research Assistant presented papers on the India-China border dispute at Aksai Chin and on Chinese submarine capabilities respectively in different thematic sessions.

Prof. Manoranjan Mohanty, Prof. Alka Acharya, Mr. Ravi Bhoothalingam and I were speakers at a seminar hosted by Asia Centre, Bengaluru on 18 November. My other engagements included delivering the key-note address at and chairing the day-long China Seminar hosted by the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington on 12 November.

Our Research Associate Dr. Bhim Subba was one of the special invitees for a conference on "Forty Years of China's Reforms and Opening-up"  (1978-2018) hosted by Chinese Culture University, National Taiwan Library, Institute of Chinese Communist Studies in Taipei, Taiwan from 29-30 November.

Research Associate Dr. Gunjan Singh published a commentary for Vivekananda International Foundation on Public Call for Independence: What it means for Taiwan? and a study on China’s ‘Mass Incidents’ Declining Numbers or Hidden Data?

The ICS Website, Facebook and Twitter accounts are among the several ways you can get the latest on our publications and activities. You can also subscribe our monthly newsletter to follow our events and publications as well as browse our YouTube and SoundCloud channels.

I look forward to seeing you at more of our events

 
 
 
Best Regards,
ASHOK K. KANTHA
Director
Institute of Chinese Studies
 
 


 

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