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South Asia @ LSE was first launched in June 2012 as ‘India @ LSE’ to promote India-related research, and events at the London School of Economics and Political Science. In June 2015 it changed its name as it became part of the newly-established LSE South Asia Centre.

The blog aims to make the academic research of LSE faculty, fellows, students and alumni more accessible to journalists, policymakers and others who share an interest in the region. It also strives to spark dialogue about South Asia-related issues among the academic community. The initiative was supported in its first year by the LSE Annual Fund and is now funded by Higher Education Innovation Funding.

A portal on South Asia is a natural evolution of LSE’s history with the region, which starts with the School’s foundation in 1895. As early as 1912, an Indian student became the first non-European president of the Students’ Union.

Many famous South Asians have passed through LSE over the decades. The most prominent include Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, a founding father of the Indian constitution and a leader of the Dalit community in India; Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba (Nepal); Diplomats Munir Butt (Pakistan), Abul Fateh (Bangladesh); Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan (Pakistan); leaders Tyronne Fernando (Sri Lanka) and Abdul Qayyum Khan (Pakistan); Justices Mustafa Kamal (Bangladesh) and Dorab Patel (Pakistan); economists I G Patel (ex-Director of LSE, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India), A. S. Jayawardene (former Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka), Syed Ali Raza (former President of the National Bank of Pakistan); and trade unionist and women’s activist Vivienne Goonewardena (Sri Lanka).

But LSE’s involvement with South Asia extends beyond the achievements of a few individuals. In the 2014-15 academic year, students from the region comprised the third-largest international contingent on campus. The LSE Student Union Nepal, Pakistan, Tamil and India societies regularly celebrate festivals and organise dinners and lecture series.

Numerous academic initiatives and fellowships also seek to promote the study of South Asia at LSE. Since 2003, LSE has been intensifying its institutional engagement with the subcontinent still further, developing strong links with Indian academic institutions, government and corporate bodies to foster an exchange of ideas and research.

This blog is part of the effort to sustain and strengthen the LSE-South Asia partnership.

To submit a blog or pitch an idea, or just to get in touch, please email the Editor at southasia@lse.ac.uk

Comments policy: This blog welcomes feedback and comments in accordance with certain guidelines

Terms and Conditions

  • Articles published on the ‘South Asia @ LSE’ blog are the views of the author, and do not represent the views or position of the LSE South Asia Centre, or of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Intellectual copyright of content of every publication remains with the author(s) of the posts.
  • Unless otherwise specified, all articles are published under the Creative Commons licence (CC BY-NC-2.0). Other blogs and publications may re-publish/repost them, with clear and complete acknowledgement of details of its original publication on the ‘South Asia @ LSE’ blog. Please write to the Editor at southasia@lse.ac.uk for queries and clarifications.
  • If you do not wish your article to be republished anywhere else, please let the Editor know at the time of submission of your article; otherwise, individual author consent for re-publication under the Creative Commons license will be assumed as given. Please write to southasia@lse.ac.uk for queries or concerns.
  • Publishing on the ‘South Asia @ LSE’ blog does not allow or entitle the author(s) to imply or suggest any affiliation (formal or otherwise) to either LSE South Asia Centre or the London School of Economics and Political Science in future publications on any publishing platform.
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