2025 Buffalo Undergraduate Conference on South Asia
Saturday, April 5th, 2025
9:00 – 9:45 AM Breakfast
9:45 - 10:00 AM Opening Remarks
10:00 - 11:00 AM Panel 1: Religious Identity in Modern India (Virtual)
Panel Chair: Walter Hakala, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½
Arza Zakir MP, Maitreyi College, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of Delhi, “Subjugation of Muslim subjectivity: The etymology of ‘migrant’ in post-partition India and the Muslim identity quandary”
Aishaani Bajaj, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of Petroleum and Energy Studies, “Rebuilding cities, what remains? Development, heritage and changing forms of religious identity in India”
Marharnav Singhal, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, “Between the Courts of law and Public Opinion: Rethinking ‘Media Manipulation’ and ‘Politics of Othering’ through the Tablighi Jama’at Incident in India”
11:15 AM - 12:30 PM Panel 2: South Asia explored through Media and Spirituality (In-person)
Panel Chair: Ayesha Rasul, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½
Angshee Shankhdhar, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½, “Dreaming, Being, and Meditating in South Asia”
Cynthia Francis, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of Cambridge, “English-Language Film Magazines in India c.1973-1990”
Sabaa Ahmed, Columbia ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½, “Rokeya Hossian’s Padmarag as a Third Space of Anti-Colonial Feminist Resistance”
12:45 - 2:00 PM Panel 3: Developments in National Identity and Discourse (In-person)
Panel Chair: Sharmeen Mehri, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½
Ashfah Alam, Columbia ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½, “Public Perception of Nuclear Energy in Bangladesh: Evaluating the Impact of Access to Tangible Economic Benefits on Public Opinion”
Siddhartha Chanda, Queens College, City ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of New York, “The Framing of Kashmir in Secular Indian Nationalism”
Bhavika Ailawadi, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of California, San Diego, “Beyond Productivity: Rethinking Mental Health Metrics in Militarised Healthcare Economies”
2:00 - 3:30 PM Lunch Break
3:30 - 5:00 PM Panel 4: Perspectives on Religion, Past and Present (In-person)
Panel Chair: Christopher Lee, Canisius College
Shaherzad Chawdree, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of Chicago, “Dressing the Nation: The Politics of the Shalwar-Kameez in Early Pakistan”
Aneri Patel, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of Toronto, “Temples in Transition: Balancing Sacred Heritage and Urban Ambitions in India?”
Nicholas Aliani, State ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of New York at Oneonta, “Rejecting Christianity or Colonialism?”
Khadija Rashid, Cornell ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½, “Women’s Education in Lahore and Yogyakarta through the Lens of Islam”
5:15 - 6:30 PM Keynote Talk
Dr. Ashima Krishna
Honoring Heritage, Preserving Community, and Building Resilience: Church Conversions in Buffalo, NY
Introduced by Professor Ernest Sternberg, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½
