On June 4, 2024, the Election Commission of India announced the results of India’s 18th Lok Sabha election, after six weeks and seven phases of the world’s largest democratic exercise. 642 million voters of the 968 million registered voters cast their ballots in the general election that concluded on June 1. The ruling BJP won the most seats at 272, but did not receive the 272 seats needed to form a government. It will now have to rely on coalition partners, but a politically weaker Mr. Narendra Modi appears set for a third term in office. The opposition, led by the Indian National Congress, made a strong comeback with far more seats than in the 2019 elections.
AFI’s Freedom Hour session will look back at India-China relations during the first two terms of Prime Minister Modi, the highs and lows, and how his government’s approach towards China compared with earlier Indian governments. Speakers will share their perspective on the key China-related issues and challenges awaiting the new Indian government. Will the new government’s approach be more of the same, or will New Delhi readjust its China policy?
Date: Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Time: 2:00 pm (New Delhi). 4:30 pm (Taipei). 9:30 am (London)
Event Type: Virtual (YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn)
Speakers::
| Manoj Joshi Distinguished Fellow Observer Research Foundation |
Dr. Swati Chawla Associate Professor Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities |
| Aadil Brar China News Reporter, Newsweek |
Dr. Jabin T. Jacob Associate Professor Shiv Nadar University |
Moderator:
Sakina Batt
Host, Freedom Hour, AFI
Streaming Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AsiaFreedomInstitute/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AsiaFreedomInstitute/streams
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-freedom-institute/
BIOGRAPHIES
Manoj Joshi
Manoj Joshi is a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). He has been a journalist specializing on national and international politics and is a commentator and columnist on these issues. As a reporter, he has written extensively on issues relating to Siachen, Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka and terrorism in Kashmir and Punjab. He has been the political editor of The Times of India, Editor (Views) Hindustan Times, Defence Editor of India Today, National Affairs Editor of Mail Today, the Washington Correspondent of The Financial Express and a Special Correspondent of The Hindu in his three decade long career as a journalist. Before that he was an Academic Fellow of the American Studies Research Centre, Hyderabad. He has been a Visiting Professor at the SIS, JNU, as well as a Visiting Fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University.
Dr. Swati Chawla
Dr. Swati Chawla is a historian of modern South Asia and the Himalaya at the Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities (JSLH) where she teaches courses on Tibetans in India, migration and citizenship, research methods, and digital humanities. She has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia, and B.A., M.A., and M.Phil. degrees in English from the University of Delhi, where she also taught as an assistant professor of English before starting her doctoral work. Swati has held fellowships with the USAID, the American Institute of Indian Studies, the Taraknath Das Foundation at Columbia University, the Sacred Writes program at Northeastern University, the Institute for Humane Studies, the Institute for the Humanities and Global Cultures, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Koch Foundation, and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
Aadil Brar
Aadil Brar is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers international security, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian security. He has written columns for The Print (India), which featured topics including China’s domestic politics, China’s international relations and international security in East Asia. Aadil Brar was a Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Fellow and a visiting scholar at the National Chengchi University in Taipei in 2023. He was previously a China Media Journalist at the BBC World Service. He holds degrees from the University of British Columbia and SOAS, University of London. He tweets @aadilbrar
Dr. Jabin T. Jacob
Dr. Jabin T. Jacob is an Associate Professor at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Shiv Nader University. He was formerly Fellow and Assistant Director at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi, and Associate Editor of the journal China Report. Jacob holds a PhD in Chinese Studies from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and has spent time as a student / researcher / faculty in Taiwan, France, and Singapore. He has traveled to many of India’s border states and visited parts of the country’s disputed borders with China and Pakistan as well as the international borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh. He is a PhD supervisor at the Naval War College, Goa, and a regular speaker at various other Indian defense training institutions. Jacob’s latest publication is a co-edited volume with Hoang The Anh titled, ‘China’s Search for National Rejuvenation: Domestic and Foreign Policies under Xi Jinping’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).
