Beyond Bedouin and Bania: Arabia-South Asia Relations
Arabia and South Asia are neighbouring regions which have been involved in each other’s affairs for centuries. While their relations are not always the most visible, peoples from the two regions enjoy a degree of familiarity and mutual knowledge that defies conventional notions of cultural and religious difference.
This conference explores and maps the range of relations between Arabia and South Asia in the present and the past in a number of arenas, as in the programme booklet. The presentations bring to light engagements away from the usual focus on states, empire and migrant labour, to plumb deeper cultural currents that have had a continuous and continuing effect on both regions together.
We showcase here work employing original sources that have not been mobilized in a transregional framework, to show the range and depth of Arabia-Asia relations that are open to further research and discovery.
4th Muhammad Alagil Arabia Asia Conference, 7-8 December 2017
CONVENORS
Dr Nisha Mathew
Asia Research Institute, and Middle East Institute,
National University of Singapore
E | arinmm@nus.edu.sg; meinmm@nus.edu.sg
Prof Engseng Ho
Asia Research Institute, and Middle East Institute,
National University of Singapore