COVID-19 and the South Asian State

Description

The project participants will host a Webinar on Covid-19 and the South Asian State on 18 and 19 January 2023. There are three components to this seminar:

1. The presentation of (preliminary) findings of the project by the project participants, based on field research in India and Sri Lanka;
2. Papers on Covid-19, Crisis and the South Asian state in states not covered directly by the conference participants (Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan) or other regions from India (Bihar)
3. A meeting involving practitioners.

Program of events

The seminar will be split into 3 separate parts, each held on Zoom:

• Day 1 (18 January) – 1.30-3.40PM (8-11.10am GMT)
• Day 1 - Roundtable with practitioners (18 January) 4.00-6pm (11.30-13.30am GMT)
• Day 2 (19 January):  1.30pm-5.45 pm (8am-12.15pm)

Please contact Wilfried Swenden to obtain access information.

Program

Day 1 - Wednesday 18 January 2023 

 

Indian time (IST)	UK time GMT	Seminar
1.30-1.40pm	8.00-8.10am	Welcome and Introduction
1.40-2.10pm	8.10-8.40am	Covid-19: Socio-Economic Impact and State Response: a South Asian Perspective Muttukrishna Sarvananthan (Point Pedro Institute, Jaffna, Sri Lanka)
2.10-2.40pm	8.40-9.10am	Political Dominance, performance legitimacy and the Covid-19 response in Bangladesh Naomi Hossein (American University) and Mirza Hassan (BRAC University, Dhaka)
2.40-3.10pm	9.10-10.40am	Between Collaboration and Confrontation: Centre-State Relations and Pandemic Management – insights from Kerala and Delhi Papia Sengupta (JNU, Delhi), Aardra Surendran (IIT, Hyderabad) and Wilfried Swenden (University of Edinburgh)
3.10-3.40pm	9.40-10.10am	Navigating the Pandemic: Citizen Plight and the State’s Responsiveness: insights from Bihar Himanshu Jha (UPES University Dehradun, Himachal Pradesh), India
3.40-4.00pm	10.10-10.30am	Break
4.00-5.30pm	10.30-12.00am	Roundtable with practitioners K.Mahesh, IAS and CEO Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, Delhi  Dr. Rahul N., Assistant Professor, Institute of Management in Government, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India  Rep of Women's Centre, Colombo Sri Lanka (in Sinhala with direct translation - TBC)

 

Day 2 -Thursday 19 January 2023

 

Indian time (IST)	UK time GMT	Seminar
1.30- 2.00pm	8.00-8.30am	Workers, Policy and the Pandemic: some insights from the Kerala experience Aardra Surendran (IIT, Hyderabad)
2.00-2.30pm	8.30-9.00am	Examining the Covid-19 schemes for migrant workers in India: a case study of the National Capital Territory of Delhi Papia Sengupta (JNU, Delhi)
2.30-3.00 pm	9.00-9.30am	On the Frontline of the Pandemic: Medical Preparedness and Experiences of Healthcare Workers in Pakistan Priya Sayad (University of Oxford)
3.00-3.30pm	9.30-10.00am	Break
3.30-4.00 pm	10.00-10.30am	Crisis, precarity and the lack of social protection in Nepal Jeevan Sharma, (University of Edinburgh)
4.00-4.30pm	10.30-11.00am	Mitigating the RMG Sector Covid-19 Crisis in Bangladesh: Protecting Workers Livelihoods or the Interests of the RMG Sector Maheen Sultan, and Iffat Jahan Antara BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
4.30-5.00pm	11.00-11.30am	Liminal Life: Pandemic to Protests – Worker Voice in Sri Lanka Kanchana N Ruwanpura, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
5.00-5.15 pm	11.30 -11.45 am	Conclusion and Next Steps