BASAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
BASAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE 1997
(Report and Photographs)
Bath College of Higher Education (BCHE), hosted the 1997 BASAS Annual Conference. which coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of Indo-Pakistani independence The Conference, held on 11-13 April turned out to be an intellectually stimulating, joyful and inspiring event.
Scholars from New Zealand, Australia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Britain included a fair number of postgraduate students and visiting fellows attended. Representatives from the Foreign Office, the High Commissions for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and the British Academy were also present..
The first panel heard five papers on partition itself, and was followed by six presentations on leftist movements in South Asia. The third panel of the day had three papers devoted to historical issues in modern Indian history. Friday evening dinner was held at Green Park Brasserie where, Dr David Timms, the Assistant Director of BCHE, formally welcomed all the participants.
The Saturday sessions were divided into six panels beginning at nine in the morning. Several papers on subjects including domestic politics, foreign policies, inter-state relations, security, arts and the Diaspora were presented. The inaugural lecture was delivered by Dr David Washbrook, Reader in South Asian History at St Antony's College, University of Oxford. A pre-eminent historian, Dr Washbrook, presented a stimulating critique of South Asian historiography. In the evening, the delegates were entertained to a special South Asian dinner at Rajpoot Tandoori Restaurant on the Pultney Bridge followed by informal get-togethers at various pubs.
Sunday's sessions included papers on electoral politics, literature and gender followed by an open-air picnic and photography session by the lake. Earlier, the Executive Committee of BASAS, at its AGM meeting, passed a resolution commending and thanking Iftikhar Malik for his efforts in organising a memorable Conference.
