Sevea wants to promote understanding of South Asia in Singapore and beyond
The Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), a think tank at the National University of Singapore (NUS), will be attuned to researching on areas like tracking the digitisation of economies in South Asia; analysing ongoing technological revolutions including the realm of space technology; reviewing the evolving landscape of multilateral and mini-lateral institutions; studying issues related to sustainability and climate change; and tracing South Asia’s engagement with Southeast Asia within the terrain of wider global shifts.
Outlining this, ISAS’s newly appointed director Associate Professor Iqbal Singh Sevea said, “With regards to research, as South Asia and the world evolve, ISAS will continue to expand, review and refine its areas of research. This will ensure its relevance and cutting-edge thrust.
“One immediate target is to establish ISAS as an important hub for research on South Asia in Southeast Asia.”
Sevea is a Singaporean who has been teaching Indian (South Asian) history and politics for over 14 years in universities in Singapore, the UK, and the US.
The mission of ISAS is to produce research on contemporary South Asia and to promote an understanding of South Asia and to communicate knowledge and insights about it to policy makers, the business community, academia, and civil society, in Singapore and beyond, said the 47-year old academic who was appointed ISAS director on 1 Jan 2022.
Sevea is an internationally recognised scholar of contemporary and modern South Asia whose core research focuses on South Asian politics, social and political thought, and governance. He is the current Vice-President of the American Institute of Pakistan Studies. From 2012 to 2021, he was an Associate Professor with the Department of History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He has also served on the committee of the American Institute of Indian Studies, said ISAS.
Sevea holds a DPhil in History from the University of Oxford. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in History from NUS and a master’s degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Sevea took over from Professor C Raja Mohan, who held ISAS directorship over the past four years. Professor Raja Mohan will continue to contribute to ISAS as a visiting research professor, said ISAS.
“ISAS joins NUS in placing on record its deep appreciation to Professor C Raja Mohan for his directorship of ISAS over the past four years,” said ISAS. fiinews.com
