On 11–12 December, an international conference entitled ‘India and Pakistan After 70 Years of Independence: Reflections on Culture and Politics’, organized by JU Institute of the Middle and Far East, took place in the JU Auditorium Maximum.
The year 2017 marks the 70th anniversary of the independence of India and the formation of Pakistan as a sovereign state. Both countries are relatively young political entities in South Asia, but are strategically important in the global context: they share history and culture, but since 1947 they follow their own distinct paths.
The conference opening, held in Collegium Novum Assembly Hall, was attended by the Ambassador of Pakistan to Poland Shafqat Ali Khan, JU Vice-Rector for University Development Prof. Dorota Malec, Deputy Head of the Institute of the Middle and Far East Prof. Renata Czekalska, and Head of the Department of South Asia Prof. Agnieszka Kuczkiewicz-Fraś.
Two plenary lectures were delivered by distinguished guests: Prof. Ian Talbot from the University of Southampton, a world-renowned specialist in the history of Pakistan and South Asia, and Dr Amina Yaquin from SOAS University of London, an expert in Urdu literature, culture of Pakistan, and women’s issues in South Asia.
The two-day debate that followed featured scholars from 13 countries, representing 24 research centres. The participants discussed contemporary politics and law, international relations, peace negotiations, religion, literature, film, and visual culture.
