Tamilischer Kulturnationalismus. Ideologie und Identität im Wandel am Beispiel von Karunanidhis Drama Kalaiñarin Cilappatikāram. Nāṭakak Kāppiyam

Für Mu. Karunanidhi, Politiker, Schriftsteller und Drehbuchautor, ist das berühmte Tamil-Epos Cilappatikāram nicht nur Teil eines literarischen Kanons, der die Antiquität, den Reichtum und die Eigenständigkeit der tamilischen Sprache illustriert, sondern Zeugnis der einzigartigen Geschichte und Kultur der Tamilen und Abbild einer idealen, prä-arischen Zivilisation. Die vorliegende Arbeit beleuchtet Karunanidhis Neu-interpretation des Epos als Bestandteil eines Netzwerks identitätsstiftender Propaganda-mittel im Kontext der sozio-kulturellen und politischen Diskurse zur Zeit der aufstreben-den DMK. Im Rahmen der Analyse werden sowohl die Einflüsse zentraler Akteure der Drawiden-Bewegung aufgezeigt als auch Karunanidhis Geschick, einen massen-wirksamen Kulturstolz zu etablieren und seine eigene politische Macht zu stabilisieren. Sein Drama kann hierbei als exemplarisch für die Verquickung von Kunst, Kultur und Politik erachtet werden. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, die ideologischen Aspekte der diversen Abweichungen vom Original-Epos zu erörtern und die Mehrdimensionalität der Dis-kurse jener Zeit zu diskutieren, die in Karunanidhis Drama reflektiert werden. Die Be-trachtung der Neuinterpretation des Cilappatikāram im Spiegel der dynamischen Text-Kontext-Beziehung verdeutlicht, dass keine kohärente Ideologie der Drawiden-Bewegung abstrahiert werden kann, sondern illustriert vielmehr deren Wandel anhand zahlreicher inhärenter Diskontinuitäten, Ambivalenzen und Aushandlungsprozesse

The Vernacular: Three Essays on an Ambivalent Concept and its Uses in South Asia

In South Asia, and particularly in India, the "vernacular" is a key notion in descriptions of the linguistic set-up of the subcontinent. Much criticised and yet frequently used, in today's parlance "vernacular" usually denotes a collective of South Asian languages as opposed to English. Some ambivalence inheres in the term due to its etymology and legacy; but despite certain negative associations, the term has recently undergone a positive re-evalution in various academic fields related to South Asia and beyond. Various scholars have engaged with the notion of the "vernacular", but so far, no concerted effort has been made to investigate the "vernacular" and its South Asia-related uses critically across various temporal and regional contexts. The essays at hand venture out as a first step in this direction by outlining the etymology, uses and problematics of the concept, its history and politics in colonial and postcolonial South Asia, as well as its role in formulating a particular sort of aesthetics

A window of opportunity in India-Pakistan relations?

Last month, Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote, ending several weeks of political crises. Khan had faced public discontent with his mismanagement of the economy and foreign policy – which were combined with a growingly authoritarian style of governance. The removal from office of the former PM – who used every available means, mostly both unconstitutional and illegal, to stay in power – trough parliamentary proceedings was made possible by Supreme Court action. The phenomenon was widely described as ‘a step forward for Pakistan’s democracy’. Nevertheless, there is a common understanding among experts that the army top brass played a crucial role in toppling Khan’s government. It is argued that Khan - who initially enjoyed much goodwill – ended up losing support by the military leadership. […

Saving the United Nations from the Shadow of The Great Hall of People - Perspectives from an Indo-Italian Dialogue

The future of global security, peace, and power balance is presently being shaped by conflicts and cooperation among major powers. China's rise on the international stage, as well as its growing dominance in the United Nations, poses a threat to US hegemony. The brief explores the evolution of the United Nations through the Cold War era so as to show how two superpowers acted beyond the UN's mandate and misused their Veto Power. After recounting history, we aim to explain how China's ascent poses a challenge to the United Nations as an ‘international organization,’ a dynamic which demands immediate reforms. We examine three related areas: the United Nations itself, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and the Veto Power mechanism. Finally, we make recommendations regarding which model would be the most effective in the twenty-first century. South Asia, the most populous region in the world is not represented on the UNSC, and so are not either Africa or South America. A new United Nations Security Council model that is more inclusive, fair, and logically based is proposed. In order to ensure an adequate functioning of such model, an inclusive yet simple decision-making process is suggested to replace the current Veto Power mechanism

Indonesien auf der documenta fifteen: Von der Kunst, in Dialog zu treten

Viele Kunst- und Indonesien-Interessierte fieberten der documenta fifteen entgegen. Als kurz nach der Eröffnung der Ausstellung auf dem Banner People’s Justice der indonesischen Künstler:innengruppe Taring Padi eine Figur entdeckt wurde, die sich antisemitischer Bildsprache bediente, rückte die Kunst jedoch in den Hintergrund. Die documenta fifteen katapultierte sich in die Medien und Politik. Die Empörung war groß. In diesem aufgeheizten Klima wurden zwar immer wieder Rufe nach Dialog laut, der aber bisher nicht oder nur ansatzweise geführt werden konnte. Dabei liegt gerade hierin eine Chance, voneinander zu lernen und so globalen Problemen wie Antisemitismus, kapitalistischer Ausbeutung sowie die Aufarbeitung und Nachwirkungen des Kolonialismus gemeinsam zu begegnen. Beiträge von Wulan Dirgantoro, Elly Kent, Kate Brown, Vanessa von Gliszcynski, Devandy Ario Putro, Christina Schott

Genocide in Bangladesh - The politics of Disinformation

For the whole eleven years during which I have been actively engaged in South Asia, nothing touched me more than the Bangladeshi people’s struggle for memory, justice, and accountability regarding the Genocide perpetrated against Bangladesh by the Pakistani military authorities. This genocide, organised in tandem with Islamic fanatic organisations from both West and East Pakistan, was meant to destroy the Bengali identity by murdering elites, destroying religious diversity, and raping women. […

Myanmar im Widerstand

Mehr als ein Jahr nach dem Putschversuch in Myanmar wehrt die Bevölkerung sich weiterhin gegen den Herrschaftsanspruch des Militärs. Durch ihren entschlossenen Widerstand konnten sie die effektive Kontrolle der Tatmadaw über weite Teile des Landes verhindern. In dieser Broschüre sind Analysen des Konflikts und Perspektiven des Widerstands versammelt. Beiträge von Nicola Glass, Ohnmar Khin mit Myo Myo Aye, Majid Lenz, Harry Myo Lin, Henri Myrttinen, Nang Zun Moe

The German Community in Siam between 1850 and 1917. A History of Transculturation and Integration

This research paper deals with the history of the German community in Bangkok from its emergence in the mid-19th century until 1917. It is divided into two parts: the first presents the development process of the German community; the second analyses the facts presented in the first part. The researcher draws on a variety of different sources, including Thai and German political files and documents, tombstones in the two cemeteries for Western foreigners in Bangkok, and interviews with descendants of the community living in Thailand. The first part of the paper (Chapters I-IV) shows how the German community in Siam formed and developed between 1850 and 1917 against the backdrop of global-local interplay of macro- and micro-historical factors. The German community developed in two phases. The first phase began with Siam's policy of opening up in 850 in response to the first wave of colonial expansion by European powers in continental Southeast Asia. The second phase of community development followed Siam’s modernisation on the Western model to counter the second colonial expansion from the 1880s onwards. The German-speaking cultural community in the first phase transformed into the national German community in the second phase. This research paper shows not only how the social structure of the community developed, but also how the process deepened in terms of occupation, and family circumstances in the residential society. The second part of the research paper (Chapter V) analyses the individual biographies of the German members of the community in the context of cultural transfer, transnational and transcultural developments. The research paper shows how members of European-German and Siamese communities interacted with each other, intermingled and finally formed new hybrid societies. The research paper points out that such a process of cultural transfer and transculturation took place beyond national borders, arguing that the history of the German community in Bangkok is also part of transnational history. Chapter VI provides a summary of the findings

Bangabandhu Sheik Mujibur Rahman (1920-75): His Political Thoughts and Ideals

This paper is a reproduction of the inaugural lecture by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Professorial Fellow Dr. Harun-or-Rashid, delivered at the South Asia Institute (SAI), Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies, University of Heidelberg, on January 20, 2022. The lecture marked the revival of aforementioned annual fellowship in the presence of Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Germany, Md. Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan. After a survey of Bangabandhu’s life and political career, Professor Rashid discusses his ideas about ‘Bengaliness’, economics, statehood, and Democracy. He pays particular attention to his controversial introduction of one-party system in Bangladesh in 1975, months before his assassination. Professor Rashid argues that Bangabandhu had to temporarily curtail democratic rights in order to resist extreme pressure from the political Left

Sri Lanka looks back to India

Geopolitical competition is increasing everywhere, and the Indian Ocean is no exception. One of the most significant causes of this phenomenon is the Chinese-driven Belt- and Road Initiative (BRI). In its quest to challenge the economic, political, and military supremacy of Western liberal democracies and their like-minded partners in Asia, Beijing started using major transcontinental development schemes to enhance its sphere of influence. Particularly autocratic regimes tend to join China’s BRI, forming a ‘quasi-alliance’ network. However, in recent years indications emerged that autocratic elites known to be closely embedded in the BRI are facing mounting domestic political pressure due to looming economic and financial crisis situations. This SADF Focus will shed light on the case of the currently ruling Rajapaksa dynasty in Sri Lanka. China’s involvement and considerable impacts on the country’s economy since the 2000s are well documented. The island must be regarded not only as the first major destination for Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), based on geostrategic considerations, but also as a focal point for Beijing’s international financial development assistance, long before the launch of the BRI. Yet today, Colombo is undergoing a foreign policy transformation, giving more importance to its relations with New Delhi than in the past. Observers are stating that the latter would be conducted at the expense of Chinese influence in the island. This Focus argues that the apparently changing patterns of relations between Sri Lanka and China might hint at a larger transformation within Beijing’s quasi-alliance system of “willing autocrats”