Roundtable Discussions on “"Concept Note for India Studies " and “The Arab Spring and the ‘Viral’ Revolutions of Our Times

On Thursday September 20th, the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies held two roundtable discussions. The first was presented by Dr. Nivedita Menon, the Professor in the Department of Political Science/ International Studies, Jawahralal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi on “the concept note for Indian Studies”; and the second discussion was given by Dr. Aditya Nigam, a specialist in the field of social and political theory who discussed “The Arab Spring and the 'Viral’ Revolutions of Our Times”.

During the first roundtable, Dr. Menon discussed IALIIS concept note for India Studies reflecting on issues in India since independence, including issues such as the partition, refugees, women and current issues facing the people and the state in India. She also referred to the question of an Indian nation-state, in which after 1947 any talk about identity was seen as anti-nationalists. On the other hand, in the second roundtable, Dr. Nigam shed light on the Arab Spring and the viral revolution reflection on how the events were understood, and the way other events in India and elsewhere are a challenge to mainstream politics and theory. He also mentioned the significance of the Arab Spring and how it is reflected in the need to resemble global politics.