sadhana : 10 jan 2015 - wordpress.com...his poem khara to ekachi dharm ( there is only one religion-...

1Sadhana : 10 Jan 2015

2 Sadhana : 10 Jan 2015


South Asian University

Knowledge without Borders

This issue along with Marathi editionis going to be released in a programat Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune ( Maharashtra )on January 12, 2015.Chief guest : Dilip Padgaonkar( Former editor, The Times of India )Chairperson : Vasudeo Gade( Vice Chancellor , Savitribai Phule Pune University )

Editor :Vinod Shirsath

Guest EditorSankalp Gurjar

Consulting EditorsAbhay TilakAtul DeulgaonkarManohar JadhavRazia Patel

Cover & DesignGirish Sahasrabudhe

Production Manager :Suresh Mane

Special thanks to Mrs. Jyoti Tilakfor her valuable help in copy editing

This is a Special editon in EnglishOriginally published in Marathi asWeekly Sadhana'sSpecial issue on theoccasion of Youth Day.

Subscriotion forWeekly Sadhana( Marathi edition ):For one year : Rs.600,Two years : Rs.1200Three years: Rs.1800

Published by Hemant Naiknavareon behalf of Weekly Sadhana, Pune.Printed in Comp-print Kalpana Pvt.Ltd. ,Pune 411030

Office: Weekly Sadhana,926, Sadashiv Peth, Pune 411030Ph: 020-24451724Mob: [email protected]: weeklysadhana.com

Guest EditorialI was to prove wrong...Sankalp Gurjar 5Independence comes with responsibility ...Surangika Jayarathne (Sri Lanka) 9Memories that I would cherish...Thaathu Sharif (Maldives) 12It was indeed a tough decision...Fatima Parween (Pakistan) 15Solicited me to rethink my ideas...Omar Sadr (Afghanistan) 18Never suffered the cultural shock...Damber Bhatta (Nepal) 21We slowly began to accept the flaws...Pallavi Sharma, Bhutan 24Paved stepping stones for solutions...Rubaiyat Rehman (Bangladesh) 27I was sure that interesting times lay ahead..Iram Khan (India) 30


ñWmnÊ`m g_Vm em§Vr R>odwZr ewÕ gmYZm§ & H$[aVr gmYZm Ë`m§Zm R>odmo CËñ\y$V© gmYZm

Editorial

Weekly Sadhana was founded by Sane Guruji, on the eve of first anniversary of Indian independence( 15 Aug 1948 ). Sane Guruji was an outstanding freedom fighter and social reformer who is also known forhis literary contribution. His writings inspired many generations of children and youths. His book ShyamchiAai ( Mother of Shyam ) is considered as one of the milestones in the history of Marathi literature. The filmbased on Shyamchi Aai had been awarded the first Gold Medal by the President of India in 1954. His poemKhara to Ekachi Dharm ( There is only one religion- humanity ) is of such a high caliber that, generationsafter generations recite it as a prayer in Primary & Secondary schools across Maharashtra.

After the sudden death of Sane Guruji in 1950, S.D. alias Aacharya Javadekar & Raosaheb Patvardhanjointly edited the magazine for the next six years. After 1956, Yadunath Thatte ( 25 years ), N.G.Goray ( 2.5years ), Vasant Bapat & G.P.Pradhan ( again jointly 14 years ) were at the helm of Weekly Sadhana. All theseeditors, along with number of friends and followers (which includes likes of S.M.Joshi and SadanandVarde) of Sane Guruji made Sadhana a progressive and thought provoking journal.

After the golden jubilee year of Sadhana (1998), Dr.Narendra Dabholkar was handed over reins. Though,he was known for his work in the field of Anti-superstitious Movement and rationalist thinking, he carriedforward Sadhana in his capacity as an editor for over a decade and half. His assassination in August 2013has terminated his stint at Sadhana and now his name & work is familiar in all over educated India.Dr.Dabholkar never mixed up his role as a social activist and as an editor of Sadhana. But the impact of hisrational thinking and his association with the imminent personalities ranging in various fields made Sadhanamore attuned to the current times & much more readable than it was previously.

In short, from Sane Guruji to Dr. Dabholkar, Sadhana is known for its visionary, missionary and largerthan life size editors.Now a question may be asked as to what exactly was their mission ? They believed inthe values and goals propagated in the preamble of Indian Constitution! They deployed their thought andaction to bring about social justice and were firm believers in the ideal of Secularism.

After Diamond Jubilee year (2008) Sadhana entered in the new era. Its vision statement for this pe-riod remains: Real development occurs only when growth in content is accompanied with growth in num-bers. On this path of real development, a special Diwali issue for Children was the first step. The grandsuccess ( as an average of 3.5 lakh copies ) of Balkumar in the last six successive years has virtually doubledthe overall turnover. Keeping this success in mind, Sadhana decided to publish a Diwali special issue (YuwaDiwali) for youths. Its success (75 thousand copies) shows that , there is an unlimited space & hope towork.

In Yuwa Diwali, we published the articles written by ( or on ) Icons from various fields. That issue wasappreciated much by not only from youths but by readers of all types from different age groups. To cel-ebrate and carry forward the success of Yuwa Diwali , we decided to publish a special issue consisting thearticles written by youths only. To make it fresh & readable , we were in search of an innovative idea...andwe found it! South Asian University ( SAU) is that idea! We could think about it because of our youngfriend Sankalp Gurjar. He is closely associated with us, since the last five years. We tasked him to executethe idea and the result was beyond our expectations. Hence, we decided to publish its English edition aswell. And now, it's out. This is the first English issue ever in the history of Weekly Sadhana. We would liketo thank to Sankalp and his old & new friends in SAU, who wrote sincerely for us. We hope, such opportu-nities would come again and again...

Success and Celebration


Guest Editorial

In January 2010, Weekly Sadhana hadpublished its ‘youth special’ issue on the occasionof National Youth Day (12thJanuary). I was one ofthe ‘youth’ writers for that issue. My article titled‘2nd October’ was about the way we celebratedGandhi Jayanti in our (Fergusson) College. My realassociation with Weekly Sadhana began with thatissue. Now exactly after five years, I find myselfediting Sadhana’s special issue on South AsianUniversity (SAU). With this, for me, I think thingshave come full circle.

In this column, I am not going to narrate myexperiences of SAU in detail. That I will do later asa separate exercise. For this is not the right time orplatform for the same. Instead I would attempthere to provide relevant basic information aboutSouth Asian University (SAU) and set the contextfor the rest of the articles.

I was selected for MA - InternationalRelations even before my graduation results ofPune University were declared. I was alsoinformed that I would be the recipient of the‘President Scholarship’. Three years at FergussonCollege and in Pune had changed me completely. Iwas looking forward to being in Delhi and at SAU

as another stepping stone on my path of personaldevelopment. With this frame of mind, I left Punein July, 2012.

On my arrival in Delhi, I was surprised to seean International University functioning from a 10storey ‘L’ shaped building called Akbar Bhawan.Those were still early days. This grand old buildingwas being renovated to function as a universitycampus. Previous batches were staying either in afive star hotel (Centaur) near the airport or at theold JNU campus. Most of those students had

-1-I was to prove wrong...

It was indeed an ‘experience’in itself to watch matches there.Students from all countries usedto watch matches together in7th floor common room.Most of the time, Hindicommentary was preferredover English which I could neverreally enjoy. Many non-Indianstudents felt happy when Indialost a match particularly to anotherSouth Asian country. Ironically,the same students used to preachabout the need to be a ‘SouthAsian’ and how it would benefit all.


requested SAU authorities to shift them to AkbarBhawan as soon as possible. Consequently, ourstint at SAU commenced at Akbar Bhawan.

It was a different experience right from thebeginning. Our entire life was being organized inone single building. SAU’s classrooms andadministrative offices were on 2nd, 3rd and 4thfloor. Hostel was on 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th floor.Out of those four hostel floors, 5th was for girlsand 8th was undergoing huge repairs. 9th and10th were reserved for the Ministry of OverseasIndian Affairs (MOIA). It was not uncommon tosee then Minister Mr. Vayalar Ravi in the building.Our mess was on 1st floor and till 2013, there wasno separate canteen. Central Industrial SecurityForce (CISF) personnel were guarding thisbuilding. Their presence was sizeable in the initialdays. Later it was reduced.

I was allotted a room with two roommates on7th floor, one of them was from Aligarh MuslimUniversity and the other was an Afghan studentfrom Fergusson College, my alma mater! In ourrooms, everything was new including beds, mats,pillows, tables and even dust! The constructionsite right next to ours ensured the presence of thedust. As Akbar Bhawan is situated inChanakyapuri, we were enthralled to see variousstate houses and embassies around us. Insummers, SAU students used to play football infront of German embassy and for lunches, theyused to visit Bihar or Tamil Nadu Bhawan.

My batch of IR at SAU was made up of 27students. We had students from all SAARC nationsexcept Pakistan. But by the time we reached ourthird semester, our number had reduced to 21. Iwas the Class Representative (CR) and my jobincluded photocopying and distributing requiredreadings, co-coordinating with faculty members,extending deadlines and celebrating birthdays! Iwas part of a group in which all others except mewere from the previous batch, making me somesort of a go-between, a ‘Trishanku’. My presencewas not welcomed by a few from the previousbatch and my batch mates did not appreciate myspending most of the time with seniors. Yet,

thanks to this group that I was able to visit SriLanka in December, 2012.

Our days at SAU were going well except thatsometimes workload was too heavy and messfood too unpalatable. But frankly speaking, I wasdisappointed to see students from ‘just’ eightcountries around me. I came from FergussonCollege which admitted students from more than100 countries. I had friends from South Africa,Iran, Iraq, Cambodia, Mauritius and Sudan. So,while many students struggled to adjust to their‘very cosmopolitan’ surroundings, I was ratherfrustrated by the lack of it.

During our stay in SAU, two T-20 cricket worldcups (October, 2012 in Sri Lanka and March, 2014in Bangladesh) were held. Incidentally, both ofthem were in South Asian countries. It was indeedan ‘experience’ in itself to watch matches there.Students from all countries used to watch matchestogether in 7th floor common room. Most of thetime, Hindi commentary was preferred overEnglish which I could never really enjoy. Manynon-Indian students felt happy when India lost amatch particularly to another South Asiancountry. Ironically, the same students used topreach about the need to be a ‘South Asian’ andhow it would benefit all.

South Asia as a region is geographicallylocated in such a way that all countries shareborders with India but not with each other exceptAfghanistan and Pakistan. India with its largepopulation, economy and size looms so large overother South Asian nations that India happens tobe one of the axis around which their internalpolitics revolves. So many times, their internalproblems assume significance for India as theyspillover into the Indian Territory. India playingany role in its neighborhood either becomesunwanted intervention or avoiding responsibility.During our stay there, almost every South Asiancountry faced national elections and change ofregime except Bangladesh. Terrorist attacks, roleof religion in politics, civil-military relations,electoral violence, external intervention andassistance, its implications for national politics


etc. formed the back drop or staple diet for ourdebates. We used to discuss these withseriousness and passion. I now realize that ourtasteless meals in SAU were never short of agarnish (‘tadka’) of controversial issues!

It was usual for the student community tocriticize anything and everything around includingSAU. After all, was it not supposed to be aninternational university! But every university hasproblems with mess, hostels, scholarships etc. andI am in no way suggesting that all is hunky dorywith the SAU. There is a great scope forimprovement. But on hind sight, these were trivialissues. I would rather focus on the broader set ofproblems here.

I feel in the years to come the major problemthat SAU would need to solve is to ensure both the

student quality and national representation.Differences in the entrance exam marks areinstructive in this regard. That difference has to bereduced or else there will remain a stark gapwithin the classroom. It is not an easy task toattract and retain good talent from across SouthAsia. It would require sustained efforts over a longterm.

Another problem which will needsatisfactory answers is about the approach forknowledge creation. This problem will be moreimportant for social science disciplines thanscience and technical ones. Is there anythingcalled ‘South Asian approach’ to Social Science?Can South Asia be accommodated in the existingframeworks of knowledge? If not, are thoseframeworks needed entirely to be discarded or is

Watching a cricket thriller- in the boys' common room, seventh floor..


there anything valuable to learn from them aswell? Answers to these and many more suchquestions would determine how students arebeing trained here. It is not an easy task to findanswers. It is observed that many times in anattempt to include South Asia anywhere andeverywhere, the more relevant and importanttopics get side tracked or excluded. While it isnecessary to find our ‘own’ view and voice, itcannot compromise the basic principles of asubject of study.

Third and relatively lesser important point isabout syllabus and academic calendar. SAU needsto evolve a system where in its syllabus does notbecome ‘heavy’ for students coming fromdifferent parts of South Asia. Related to this is thepoint about academic calendar. Academiccalendar of SAU and other universities within theSouth Asian region should be in sync with eachother as it would facilitate student exchangeprograms.

There are many more such issues to discuss.More about it later.

-2-

In the first week of October, WeeklySadhana’s first ‘Youth Diwali’ issue was in the finalphases. It was then that editor Mr. Vinod Shirsathasked me about possibility of publishing such aspecial issue on SAU. As always, I welcomed itenthusiastically thinking that editors are alwaysfull of ideas and many of them never materialize!But I was to prove wrong this time. He not onlyannounced in the editorial of Sadhana’s mainDiwali issue that 10th January issue of Sadhanawill be on SAU but also that I will be the oneediting it! Now I was left with no other option butto proceed.

I drafted a letter for writers about theguidelines immediately. He was satisfied with itand I was hugely relieved. Our focus was on ‘life inSAU’. (That original mail clarifying our focus andintent is attached as part of one of the annexure.)I was given freedom to choose writers. (That is

how Sadhana usually functions.) I was aware thatwith freedom comes responsibility. I wanted toavoid making it an special issue of my extendedgroup of friends or of the IR department. I alsowanted to make it more participatory. So of theeight authors, four are from IR, three from Lawand one from Sociology. Also, one author is from2011 batch, two from 2013 batch and rest arefrom 2012 batch of SAU. Hence this issue presentsthe least common denominator of ‘life at SAU’from its first five years of existence.

The deadlines were set at 15th November tofive authors and 15th December for two others.Yet by 15th November, I had received only onearticle. By 10th December, only three articles werewith me. Slowly and steadily articles trickled inand by 22nd December I had received all of them.Around that time, Pallavi was going to Thailand.Hence so for our Marathi issue, I interviewed heron phone and translated it. She has penned theEnglish version. Thaathu has written her piecewhile her mother was hospitalized in Bangalore. Ifeel guilty for nudging her to complete her piece intime. Rubaiyat has written his article during hisexams. Fatima found it difficult to mail her piecebut I felt happy to see that it reached us. I amgrateful to all of them.

This is Weekly Sadhana’s first issue in Englishin its 67 years. I feel proud to be a part of it. I hopethat this issue stimulates further discussion andcontributes towards making SAU a betterinstitution of our times.

Sankalp [email protected]

Mob.: 08826629034


Surangika Jayarathne (Sri Lanka)

Two years have passed so quickly. Since Istarted my journey to a new chapter at SAU, manythings have changed for me. At first, it was anunforgettable experience. In the beginning, I wouldlike to explain how I came to SAU. I have come froma traditional, loving and supportive middle classfamily in Sri Lanka. I have completed my graduationin International Relations (IR) from the Universityof Colombo (UoC). After my graduation, I was luckyenough to be an Assistant Lecturer in thedepartment of International Relations. It proved tobe one of the turning points of my life. During mylast year of graduation, I realized that I wanted tostudy abroad. But I had no idea about where to goor even how to do it. I only knew what I wanted todo. Because of the IR department at UoC, I got toknow about the SAU. I was fortunate to clearentrance exam and got admitted in SAU forpursuing MA in International Relations.

Moving to SAU in New Delhi was really a bigstep for me. I have always been a family orientatedperson. Living away from home came to me as quitea shock. I stayed in girl’s hostel at SAU and it was agreat “social experience” mixing with other SouthAsians. They all were of my age but had differentinterests and views on life. Throughout the twoyears in SAU, a lot of things happened. Most ofthem were unplanned.

I was very excited to achieve my goal ofstudying in a foreign country. During my stay in SAU,I made lasting friendships. I even experienced myfirst real winter in Delhi. During summer, Delhitemperatures of about 35 to 40 degrees were

Independence comeswith responsibility ...

My life experience in SAU isone that I will never easily forget.This experience has facilitated meto focus on myself, and figure outearly what I would like to dowith my life. My stay in Indiainfluenced my personaldevelopment very much. WhenI returned to Sri Lanka from India,I could make out that myview of life has transformed.I had started respectingsmall things which so farI always took for granted.


almost exclusively without rain. Thesetemperatures exhausted me rather quickly. I havetravelled to attractive places in India and met allkinds of people coming from South Asian regionalong the way. University life is not just aboutstudying, but it is also about the memories youcreate throughout your whole journey. Without thepeople and places, life will never be as interestingas it could be.

On my arrival at SAU, I was excited andnervous at the same time. I found that I had manychoices, too much freedom, and too little directionand guidance. At times I found myself alone andeven felt disoriented by the different sights, smells,sounds and tastes. I even wondered how I wouldmake friends and how to communicate with others.I may have worried about my academicperformance at one point and wasn’t sure abouthow to spend my life here without my family.

Studying for MA (IR) in English medium was agreat challenge for me. I had done all the previouslearning in my mother language, Sinhalese. Butsoon I realised that studying IR at SAU was veryinsightful and I gained a lot in this process. I wasvery lucky to study with South Asia’s mostrespected teachers. It is pertinent to note thatacademic schedule was very tight and we couldn’teven breathe peacefully. We had to complete somany readings, assignments, and mid and endsemester exam. In the beginning it was very difficultto cope up with this, but after sometime our mindsand bodies got used to this killing schedule.

I am glad to remember my IR class andclassmates here, because they were like my familymembers. A group of approximately 30 studentsenabled me to make many friends from South Asiaand familiarized me to various cultures. We usedto discuss about South Asian politics, internationalpolitics as well as about daily life, religions, gesturesand many other subjects. Those conversationsshaped my critical thinking as well as understandingabout the world. The most worthwhile experiencewas that we shared different opinions. Myawareness has significantly improved upon seeingdifferent cultures with various habits, views and

line of thoughts. That broadened my faculty ofimagination and consciousness.

In the very beginning I felt quite surprisedabout the Indian food. As a Sri Lankan, we used tohave heavy meals such as rice and curry for almostevery meal. But Indian dishes are so light butdelicious, healthy and strongly different from SriLankan taste. The Indian food encompasses a widerange of regional cuisines. Once I ate Kadhai Paneerand I became a fan of all kind of Paneer dishes. Iwill never forget the amazing taste of HyderabadiDum Biryani, North Indian Chhole Bhature, PaniPuri, Raj Kachori and all kind of Indian sweets. I fellin love with the Indian street food as well. Theimportant lesson that I have learned from India isnot to waste food.

Life in SAU has taught me that withindependence comes responsibility. First time inmy life, I had to take all the decisions all by myself,spend my scholarship money very carefully, travelalone and fend for myself and do all sorts of things.I also had to adjust to the Indian food. Living andstudying here in SAU has given me an opportunityto connect with students across South Asia.

I observed that SAU students tried to meeteach other as often as possible for breakfast, lunchand dinner to keep in touch with each other. Theyspoke many languages, even though English wasthe common one. Everybody improved his or herlanguage skills rapidly in the process and ourvocabulary grew up incredibly. In my case,especially the spoken English skills advancedgreatly.

Interestingly, we celebrated many religiousand cultural festivals together at SAU. I will notforget the Holi, Diwali and Eid as well asInternational Mother Language Day ( 21stFebruary) celebrations at SAU. Because of thesewonderful celebrations, I became aware of howimportant it is to know different cultures and itsexpression in various forms. They all have differentattitudes on life. I will never forget the birthdaycelebrations at mid night in the garden and the timeto enjoy the whole nights with friends having smallget together near the swimming pool area at SAU.


When I was at SAU, I also had opportunity tovolunteer with Save The Children India, Delhichapter. Volunteering allowed me to personallymake an impact on the community where I lived.The Programme included volunteering to empoweradolescent and school dropout girls to pursue theireducation in the village of Sarai Kale- Khan, NewDelhi. I got a chance to associate myself with localpeople. It was a wonderful experience and Iimproved my Hindi speaking ability as well.

During my studies at SAU, I realized that Indiais culturally rich and fascinating country in theworld. India is extremely beautiful with its nature,animals and landscape. I travelled to manyattractive places. I felt heavenly when I went toManali, Shimla, Masuri and Rishikesh. On the onehand you see the typical mountainous region fullof snow and you may be surrounded by palmstrees, small waterfalls and amazing green lawns andon the other, attractive places with stony grounds,big rocks and mountains to enjoy the beautifulsunset. Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Puran Quilla and

Akshar Dham temple also impressed me so much.My life experience in SAU is one that I will

never easily forget. This experience has facilitatedme to focus on myself, and figure out early what Iwould like to do with my life. My stay in Indiainfluenced my personal development very much.When I returned to Sri Lanka from India, I couldmake out that my view of life has transformed. Ihad started respecting small things which so far Ialways took for granted. Travelling, speakingforeign languages, making friends and seeing thewhole new world as my new way of life. This allwould not have been possible had I not receivedthe SAU scholarship!

Surangika Jayarathne (Sri Lanka)[email protected]

(Surangika has completed her MA(International Relations, 2012-14) and workswith the Sri Lankan Chamber of Commerce)

On a visit to Himachal Pradesh, Surangika first from right and Pallavi second from left..


Thaathu Sharif (Maldives)

Most people in the South Asian University(SAU) do not know that my real name is FathimathShareef. Everyone at SAU calls me ‘Thaathu’. Myfamily and my friends back home call me ‘Thaathu’.

So when people in SAU refer to me as ‘Thaathu’, Ifeel at home - in Maldives!

I believe that life is made of little momentswhich you may not necessarily plan for but cherisheither way. My time in SAU is full of such littlemoments. My first night in SAU was an eye-opener.It in a way prepared me for the rest of my timethere. We had arrived in SAU around 7 pm and asAfzaal and I was yet to register, were awardedtemporary accommodations. We were given thesame room as Brenda, a sweet Sri Lankan girl withwhom we shared a flight but only met in SAU. Oneof our seniors, Indu (from LLM class - nowgraduated) took us to the mess and afterwards to‘Yashwant Place’ as we were unable to have thatfood. Later while we slept in our dusty and moldysmelled room, the electricity went off. At that time,a thought did cross my mind – was SAU the rightplace for me? Luckily Aruna di (the lady guard from5th floor) was there to help us out. I guess fromthat point I realized that no matter how toughthings get you would always find a friendly face inSAU ready to help you.

Famous Hollywood actress Marlene Dietrichhas once said, “It’s the friends that you can call upat four in the morning that matter”. It is true! SAUhas given me an exceptional and diverse group offriends that I would cherish for the rest of my life.

Memories that I would cherish...

Further a sad fact remains thattill date the SAU library does not

contain a single copy of theMaldivian constitution

even though ComparativeConstitutional Law of SAARC(South Asian Association for

Regional Co-operation) Countries isa mandatory course for all LLM

first semester students. However,given that this university is

relatively new, in due courseof time things would change

for the better.


My time at SAU would have been rather dull if itwasn’t for them. SAU has given me wonderfulfriends such as Harris and Abu. They do not shoutor scold you when they take you to the wrongairport at 4 am in the morning and have to rush tothe right one, or even the second time aroundwhen you miss it up again. They even spare yourlife after you break their phones!

Generally speaking I do not refer to Sakku asmy friend. While talking, we always refer to eachother as roommates. At first we didn’t talk much.It wasn’t that we didn’t like each other or anything,but at that point of time we were more engrossedwith ourselves to give much time to the other.However over the course of this one and half yearshe has been a pillar when I needed support, myconfidant and an overall ray of sunshine. We havespent nights awake talking about life, heart breaksand our aspirations. SAU has not only given me a

roommate but a soul sister in her. Room number521 truly loves her.

Coming from Maldives, where everything isso expensive and where we do not have the cultureof bargaining, Sarojini Market came as a wonderfulsurprise. One of the best pieces of advice I was givenwhen it comes to shopping in Sarojini was not tobuy in the first at the first go. My new found friendstold me that even if I think the price the vendorsare quoting was cheap, they could get it for mecheaper. People say shopping is therapeutic and itstands true. From Sarojini Market, Kamala NagarMarket, Janpath, Lajpat Nagar or Connaught Placeshopping with my girls have always been a delight.

Plus how can I forget about Pani Puri. My loveaffair with Pani Puri began after I came to SAU. Backin Maldives we do not have Pani Puri. However asI have seen it on TV, I was curious. And once I had

Thaathu, second from right..


the pure delight that was the Pani Puri, there wasno going back. Any trip to Sarojini is incompletewithout a plate of Pani Puri. From all my friends atSAU, Pooja is the only person who loves Pani Purias much as me.

When it came to academics, our Faculty ofLegal Studies in SAU has some of the bestacademicians from all over India. However, SAUbeing the ‘South Asian’ University, I was hoping thatthe faculty would be more reflective of all SouthAsian nations with lecturers from all of South Asiateaching us. In the past, there was a Pakistanilecturer in the department. However, we did notget an opportunity to study with him. Furthermore,our current President has stated that additionalmeasures would be undertaken in the hiring of thefaculty members so that it would include lecturersfrom all South Asian countries.

The curriculum, at certain instances was a bitdisappointing. It heavily reflected India and othercountries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and at timesNepal. But I felt that the smaller countries such asthe Maldives were neglected. This stands true ofother departments such as Sociology and evenInternational Relations. Further a sad fact remainsthat till date the SAU library does not contain asingle copy of the Maldivian constitution eventhough Comparative Constitutional Law of SAARC(South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation)Countries is a mandatory course for all LLM firstsemester students. However, given that thisuniversity is relatively new, in due course of timethings would change for the better.

SAU also opened my eyes and made me moreaware about the culture and traditions of the otherSAARC nations. The functions of SAU introducedme to the dance forms of Nepal, Afghani food,different traditional dresses and music of India andthe International Mother Language Day (21stFebruary) celebrations of the Bangladeshis. And nofunction in SAU is complete without Nouman’ssinging. His rendition of Gulaabi Aankhein (RajeshKhanna song from 1970 movie The Train) wouldalways remain with me. Further I would drawattention of the readers to the idea of joint

Independence Day celebrations of India andPakistan; jashan-e-azaadi. I think it is beyond doubta novel celebration. If students from India andPakistan could celebrate their Independence daystogether, hope for peace between these twonations still exists.

My experiences in SAU have not been perfect.However I would not trade those experiences foranything. When I return to Maldives aftercompleting my LLM, it would be the smallmoments, which at the time may not have meanta big deal that I would be missing the most…fromthe nights spent awake in the reading roompreparing for a next day presentation, term paperor an exam, or the time I spent having a cup of teawith my friends from the chai wala in front ofIn&Out store, the nights we had dinner atJawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), efforts to learnBengali or the shopping in Sarojini Market. Theseare the memories that I would cherish for the restof my life!

Thaathu Sharif (Maldives)[email protected]

Thaathu is pursuing LLM since July 2013 at SAU. Second year IR student Labh Yadav

helped us in contacting Thaathu and getting thiswrite up – (Guest Editor)


Fatima Parween (Pakistan)

My name is Fatima Parveen. I belong to a remotevillage in Pakistan known as Shimshal. Shimshal islocated near China boarder at an altitude of about3000 meters above sea level. Shimshal is blessedwith natural resources, but its geographical locationin the mountainous northern regions of Pakistanproves to be a block in the way of having access tobasic facilities for modern life, like electricity,communication etc. Before 2003, this village wasnot even connected with the Karakorum Highway,which connects other parts of the country. For myhigh school, I used to travel for three days to reachthe main road. Since 2003, a jeep-able roadconnected Shimshal village with the rest of thecountry.

I belong to a middle class family. My family’sincome source consisted mostly of small agricultureand livestock up to 2003. Since then, my brothershave started working in cities after completing oftheir university education. My parents have neverattended schools but they know the importanceof education. I completed my primary schoolingfrom ‘Agha Khan Diamond Jubilee School Shimshal’.They always encouraged us to go to school. Attimes, they even sold livestock to pay for oureducational expenses. They took active interest insocial services in the village. I have three brothersand three sisters all older to me. I am the youngest

It was indeeda tough decision...

in the family.I had completed my graduation in Education

from Islamabad (B.Ed) and had even worked withCanadian professors as their research assistant. I

So the moment he asked me,‘Madam where are you from’?,without thinking much I spokein Urdu and said ‘I am fromPakistan’. He looked at me,smiled and asked further,‘Madam, how is Pakistan’? Andwithout waiting for an answercontinued with the words ‘I thinkit must be same as Delhi. After all,we speak same language!’ On theway to my hostel in Akbar Bhawan,I began to feel rather comfortableasking about India and sharingabout Pakistan.


had taught in my village school as and whenpossible. I got to know about South Asian University(SAU) through a local FM radio channel. SAU wasnever on my priority list for higher education. Butwhen I cleared the entrance test for Sociology andwas invited for admissions, it surged my confidenceto proceed further. Going to India and joining SAUwas a beginning of the new phase in my life. It wasindeed a tough decision to take but my familysupported me in this endeavour.

Thanks to Bollywood films and TV serials, wealready knew a good deal about India’s diverseculture! But still I was very excited to experience itin person. Yet there was a sense of apprehension,as I wondered how other people would treat me, aPakistani. But my very first experience wassurprising. Upon my arrival in Delhi, I got intoconversation with a cabbie. Initially, I was hesitantto disclose anything about myself. So the momenthe asked me, ‘Madam where are you from’?,without thinking much I spoke in Urdu and said ‘Iam from Pakistan’. He looked at me, smiled andasked further, ‘Madam, how is Pakistan’? Andwithout waiting for an answer continued with the

words ‘I think it must be same as Delhi. After all,we speak same language!’ On the way to my hostelin Akbar Bhawan, I began to feel rather comfortableasking about India and sharing about Pakistan.With this interesting conversation I started my lifein Delhi.

After few early days later, I found myself minglingwith other students from South Asian countries.First month in India was full of fun with friends.That was necessary to adjust myself with the newenvironment. We used to go out for visiting thehistorical places in Delhi, for enjoying differentfoods, for shopping etc. The very first taste of Dosa,Sambar and Idli of Tamil Nadu Bhawan, the verydifferent taste of Bihar Bhawan’s Fish and the foodat Assam House is still unforgettable. How could Iforget about sweets I had tasted at many places inDelhi? Traditional Indian cuisine is the source offascination for me. I am not able to visit manyplaces in Delhi. So far, I had visited only few historicplaces of interest in Delhi. Mughal emperorHumayoon’s tomb fascinated me the most due toits architecture. It is strikingly similar to ourtraditional architecture.

SAU has changed my life in many ways. I learnthow to live with the people from different culturesand backgrounds. That helped me to know aboutvarious aspects of their culture as I shared minewith them. I also got into the habit of studying forlonger hours as our academic schedule is very busy.SAU provided me with new environment and toolsfor learning. It included attending seminars,workshops, talking to professionals, watching anddiscussing different films and documentaries onsocial issues. It helped me a great deal to have ahandle on my field of study i.e. Sociology. We havea full course on ‘Cinema and Society’ whichexposed us to many interesting films. Ourdepartment runs a blog (students’ collective) called‘Rickshaw’ and had started a students’ festival fromthis year.

In SAU, various extra-curricular activities formpart of our overall study package. SAU has providedme an opportunity to engage in and organizediverse activities. They are sources of immense

Thanks to Bollywood filmsand TV serials, we already knewa good deal about India’sdiverse culture! But still I wasvery excited to experience itin person. Yet there was asense of apprehension,as I wondered how other peoplewould treat me, a Pakistani.But my very first experience wassurprising.


(Before contacting Fatima, I had approachedtwo other students from Pakistan but they didnot respond in any way! I asked Fatima in thefirst week of December and we mutually fixedthe deadline of 15th December for thesubmission. She could not mail her piece dueto lack of internet access. It was not till 22ndDecember that her piece reached to us. By thenwe were ready with all other translations andwere just waiting for hers. Omar Sadr (who hasrepresented Afghanistan in this issue) helpedus a lot in obtaining this write up. - Guest Editor.)

Fatima Parween (Pakistan)[email protected]

(Fatima is pursuing MA Sociologysince 2013 at SAU)

At Humayun's Tomb, Delhi- Fatima (sitting) first from left..

indirect learning besides our usual journal articlesand text books. I found myself working hard andbeing responsible for attending and arrangingdifferent programs. It included celebrating friends’birthdays, celebrating India-Pakistan independencedays jointly etc. Such opportunities provided me achance to represent Pakistani culture and heritagethrough its dress, songs, food etc.

As the only Pakistani female student in SAU, Iexpect that SAU should maintain theseopportunities for the foreign students to becomepart of it. It should continue itself in providingdiversity in courses, subjects, disciplines and inmaking available full scholarships to needystudents. I think, SAU is the only institution in SouthAsia, which is the sole source of buildingrelationship and peace among SAARC nations.


Omar Sadr (Afghanistan)

I was born in a middle class Tajik Afghan family.I grew up in Kabul in the era of civil war andresistance against Taliban. After completing mygraduation in ‘Law and Political Science’ from KabulUniversity, I worked for about seven months at theNational Center for Policy Research at KabulUniversity. Higher education was always mypassion. Hence while searching for variousinstitutions I learnt about South Asian University(SAU). The University fascinated me. It lookedpromising. It was an international university, ofwhich, Afghanistan was one of the stakeholders. Irealized that for me, there could be no betteroption than the SAARC (South Asian Associationfor Regional Cooperation) University. On the onehand, it was an international university goingbeyond the narrow nationalist agenda ofeducation. On the other hand, I imagined SAU tobe sensitive to the temporal and spatial context ofthe region. I admitted myself for MA inInternational Relations at SAU in July 2011. As soonas I finished it, I opted for PhD in July 2013.

There is a saying in Persian “Safar Ensam RaPukhta Meshazad” [the trip ripens the man].Humans socialize in a multidimensional setting. Bystaying out of the familiar environment andinteracting with ‘others’ would give one theopportunity to reflect upon his own self and his

Solicited me torethink my ideas...

Screening pictures of armed forces,waving of national flags,

shouting nationalistic slogansundercut the collective

South Asian solidarity of students.I am in no way suggesting that

one should not honorIndependence Days of respective

countries. However, SAU asan academic and multinational

university should developa different culture of celebrating

these occasions.


society. Coming to SAU was the first opening of theworld beyond home for me. Debating on Afghansociety and politics with friends from the regionsolicited me to ‘rethink’ my ideas aboutAfghanistan.

Studying at SAU and staying in India for thepast three and half years, introduced me to themulticultural beauty of South Asia. It was anamalgamation of opportunities, challenges andexperiences. Established in 2010, SAU is indeed avery young institution and it has its own set ofproblems. On the very first day of my arrival in SAU,I was allocated a bed in a common room. I had toshare it with ten other students! It was a shock forme to stay and sleep in such a common room. Atthat time, SAU was functioning from the old JNUcampus. After few initial days, we were shifted tothe five-star Centaur Hotel in South Delhi. It wasyet another experience for me. I shared a room witha Hindu practitioner, who used to listen to theHindu rituals and prayers and practice Puja everymorning. However, me being a Muslim and himbeing a Hindu was never a barrier among us.Respecting each other’s religion and culture, welived and learned from each other in harmony.

There were many things that we could learnfrom each other. I enjoyed reading Khushwat Singhand Rabindranath Tagore. I watched movies likeThe Legend of Bhagat Singh (Hindi), Ghare Baire(Bengali) based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novel,Katmandu (Nepali) and Khuda Ke Liye (Pakistani)in India. My friends from the region used to narratehow they like reading novels like The Patience Stoneand The Kite Runner by Dari-Persian novelists orwatching Dari-Persian movies like Kabuli Kid andOsama. Traveling to Hyderabad, Rajasthan, OldDelhi or Agra I witnessed the legacy of Persianculture.

The processes of globalization are bringing thetrend of homogenization. Foreigners are expectedto customize themselves to McDonald’s style fastfood. But I was enjoying the diversity of South Asiancuisine in Delhi. Mughlai food can be taken up asone example of hybridization of food in South Asia.It is the hybrid of Central Asian and North Indiancuisine. In Delhi, my favorite dishes were Mughlaifood specially Chicken Tikka Masala and ChickenBiryani, Nepali Momo, Punjabi Chole Bhature andKashmiri Rogan Josh. At the same time, almost allof my friends from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Sri

Afghan students in their traditional attire- Omar second from left..


Lanka and Pakistan were fond of Afghan Cuisine.Varieties of Kabab and Qabuli, Mantu, Ashak andBulani were very popular.

However, we were not so lucky to have allthese items in our mess. The university mess wasone of the challenges that I as an Afghan havefaced. Indian style spicy Sabzis and Dal served as astaple food. It has taken away the appetite fromus. Being an international university, SAU issupposed to take in consideration the culturaldiversity of food and tastes across the region. Forthe change of taste and to taste Afghan Cuisine, Igo to Afghan restaurants in Lajpatnagar, Delhi oncein a while. (Large number of Afghan refugees havesettled in Lajpat Nagar since 1980s.)

Of the pleasant memories that I have of SAUis a joint celebration of various cultural festivals.Afghan Nawroz [new year], Muslim’s Eids, Hindu’sDiwali and Holi, and International MotherLanguage Day (21st February) are the festivals thatare celebrated jointly by all the students. Culturalnight is another opportunity to enjoy the culturalpractices of South Asia such as cultural clothes,Nepali Lok Dancing, Urdu and Persian Poetry, Hindiand Bengali songs. Qarsak Dance from Afghanistanhas become one of the popular dances among myfriends at the University. The rhythmical song andcircle group dance of Qarsak has fascinated almostall of them. Celebration of classmates’ and the closefriends’ birthdays is another custom that we havedeveloped.

One of the practices which, I feel is incontradiction with the spirit of an interculturaldialogue of the university is the celebration of somecultural programs or independence days of somecountries with nationalistic and jingoistic flavor.Screening pictures of armed forces, waving ofnational flags, shouting nationalistic slogansundercut the collective South Asian solidarity ofstudents. I am in no way suggesting that one shouldnot honor Independence Days of respectivecountries. However, SAU as an academic andmultinational university should develop a differentculture of celebrating these occasions. Initiating adebate on the role of colonialism in the region or

the importance of freedom is much admirable andsuitable for university.

Financial problems have always accompaniedme in the SAU. The faculty members andadministrative staff of SAU enjoy the salaries andprivileges on the international standard. However,when it comes to the student scholarships andliving conditions, SAU not only lags behind theinternational standard, it does not even meet thenational standards. Considering the living expensesof Delhi, 12500 Indian Rupees (INR) per monthscholarship for a PhD scholar and 7000 INR for aMaster’s student is not even sufficient to cover thebasic and necessary requirements such as food,living expenditure, transportation and clothes,leave aside the academic requirements.

Standing in the midst of a PhD project at SAU,I can sense the ongoing transformation in mypersonality and thinking. SAU has not just been anacademic experiment for me. Rather it has been away of life. So to sum up, I could say that my life inSAU was about an academic endeavor, anintercultural dialogue and an identitytransformation.

Omar Sadr (Afghanistan)[email protected]

(Omar completed his M. A.(International Relations, 2011-13) from SAU

and is pursuing his PhD at SAU)


Damber Bhatta (Nepal)

I believe that universities are not only theplaces to teach the content of thick textbooks, butare also places of learning different ethics, buildinggreat friendships, understanding diversities andlearning to accommodate them. While doing these,they should teach life skills required to live the laterpart of life with greater ease and pleasure. I think,the evaluation about quality of any universityshould be done based within this broad framework.

My two years at South Asian University (SAU)functioning at the erstwhile Akbar Hotel hasdefinitely helped me to grow as a person. Learningsfrom the academic life, bitter and sweet argumentswith friends from different backgrounds and livingin a real South Asian community are worthyexperiences to be carried into the rest of life.

Stay at SAU for me and for almost all of usstudying there was quite unique experience for twomain reasons. First its diversity. Students from eightSouth Asian countries were sharing the samecampus and kitchen. Second the trueunderstanding of South Asian identity - both withits positive and negative shades. Since I completedmy under graduation in Nepal, this diversity andfeeling of regionalism was unfamiliar for me.

Personally, the first six months at SAU werereally difficult in terms of adjustments - to the newdiscipline and diversity. Since I had graduated in

‘Travel and Tourism Management’, I was notfamiliar with the discipline of InternationalRelations (IR). Frankly speaking, my decision tostudy IR at SAU was influenced by two things. Firstwas the ‘glamorous’ sound of the word‘International Relations’. The dreams of cars withblue (diplomatic immunity) number plates hadoccupied my mind space before I joined the SAU.

Never suffered thecultural shock...

The debates with friends fromdifferent countries were helpfulin getting first hand informationabout their cultures, politics andeven problems. I think, this canrarely be understood throughother means. The friendshipwith wonderful brains ofeight different countries andthe first hand knowledge learntfrom them will remainmy cherished assets from SAU.


The full scholarship award, called ‘President’scholarship based on my performance in theentrance exam formed the more important secondreason.

Yet soon after joining, I felt uncomfortable andnervous thanks to the syllabus - the course content.Also I had to share room with two unknownstudents hailing from different nationalities andcultures – an Indian and an Afghani. While I neverexpressed it openly, I was uncomfortable with myAfghan roommate throughout the two years,probably because of the cultural, religious andlinguistic differences. I had few friends and mostof my time was spent in either watching movies orreading or sleeping. Thoughts of returning homeconstantly lurked at the back of my mind – so muchthat my main travel bag was always packed, readyfor departure during the first few months.Surprisingly, however I somehow managed tosurvive the first semester at SAU, mostly becauseof the fear of humiliation. Admit I must though thatI never suffered the cultural shock outside AkbarBhawan since I was in Delhi most of the time asalso because of my homeland’s proximity with theIndian Border. More importantly, I had carried withme some familiarity with Indian culture from myhome.

The second semester along with the new year(2013) at SAU brought new hope as I startedbuilding friendships with my classmates and othersin the hostel. Late night discussions regardinghistory, politics, culture and even future plans, withhardworking and intellectual friends provided memotivation to learn more about the world around.At the same time, I built close friendships with someof my classmates like Suresh, Manoj, Naveen,Sankalp, Shishir, Slok, Mizan, Apu, Shuvo, Sharif,Kritika and with my roommate Karan. I am sure,this intimacy will deepen in the days to come andwill be carried on for life. The debates with friendsfrom different countries were helpful in getting firsthand information about their cultures, politics andeven problems. I think, this can rarely beunderstood through other means. The friendshipwith wonderful brains of eight different countries

and the first hand knowledge learnt from them willremain my cherished assets from SAU.

In one of our usual discussions, I rememberasking Suresh and Manoj (both from Tamil Nadu,India) about popular singers of India likeMohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar. They said thatthey don’t know anything about them. This wasproof of vast diversity of India and the effect oflinguistic movement of South India during the laterhalf of 20th century. However, they did tell me thatthey are aware of Lata Mangeskar, AmitabhBachchan and many recent artists in the world ofIndian cinema. This was probably because of thegreater development of means of communicationin the recent times. I also got to know two differentversions (Sinhala and Tamil) of Srilankan Civil Warfrom the Srilankan friends of these twocommunities. The same was true about the historyof wars in Afghanistan – varied versions. I don’tthink the above mentioned information would beavailable from any other means in such a lucid andcomfortable manner.

The discussions among friends were not justlimited to above mentioned subjects. We wouldponder and dwell over the administrative loopholeswithin the SAU, academic freedom, ethics and eventhe future of this institution itself. Most of us wereunsatisfied with the bureaucratic hurdles and therude behaviour of many personnel in theadministration. Some people with high profile jobsin administration were even less qualified andirresponsible. However, the faculty assistantsbehaved like good friends, which made our lifemuch easier. Regarding the academics, the facultiesrange from best to worst, which I think is sameeverywhere in new institutions. I would be gratefulto SAU for the knowledge regarding the academicethics that I gained.

I also have to point out that the hostel in AkbarBhawan was one of the best hostels I have everseen. The amenities like computer room andinternet are good and easily accessible. The libraryis also easily accessible and continuously growingalong with the facilities of reading rooms. Most ofthe students at SAU have high hopes about the


bright future of SAU. But I think certain difficultissues need to be taken care of. The visa issues ofPakistani and Bangladeshi students have to beaddressed with proper coordination among theconcerned agencies. Some targeted programmesshould be launched in all eight countries to attractthe best quality students.

As an ex-student of SAU, I think I have certainspecific role to play for enhancing the image of thisinstitution. I envision some necessary steps to makeSAU a rigorous research and academic centre ofexcellence in South Asia. Among others, provisionof internships and placement opportunities isrequired to get the real life experience. SAU couldbuild strong relationship with different national,regional and International organisations andrecommend its students for Internships.

At the same time, SAU can also carry outstudent exchange programmes with majoruniversities within and outside South Asia. It couldprovide opportunities for students to explore theacademic life in different universities, even if forthe shorter durations. The partnerships with majoruniversities in South Asia will also streamline theiracademic calendar with SAU. It will result in greaterbenefits for the students across the region. Apart

from these, I think, SAU should develop first-rateresearch capacities for the SAARC (South AsianAssociation for Regional Co-operation) whileproviding inputs for its positive development.Gradually SAU can also use its alumni in enhancingits image and attracting excellent brains.

One more important aspect for the progressof this institution is its own infrastructure. I hopeSAU will build its campus within next five to sixyears which could provide students with a feel ofbeing in a real university. The absence of campusenvironment and space for recreation at AkbarBhawan has long been missed by almost everyoneincluding me. As of now, SAU is yet to create anygreat optimism but I think it is continuouslygrowing. Its presence is being felt gradually in allcountries. Its students are doing well in theirrespective work. These are positive signs and I hopethey strengthen themselves in creating greaterconfidence in the coming years.

Damber Bhatta (Nepal)[email protected]

Damber has completed his M.A.(International Relations- 2012-14) from SAU and

now teaches in National College, Nepal, Kathmandu.

Mother Language Day- Damber (in cap) at the centre..


Pallavi Sharma, Bhutan

My decision to join South Asian University byfar has been a moving milestone of my life; it haschanged the way I think, the way I interact withpeople and who I am at large.

With Bhutan having no exceptionally goodboarding schools, I was sent to Darjeeling, India ata very young age of nine. I was admitted to MountHermon School where I completed my basic schooleducation. After completing my ISC, I moved to NewDelhi to join Delhi University along with few of myfriends from school. It was when my graduationwas coming to an end that I developed a keeninterest in International Relations. I had filled formsfor different universities for various mastersprogram. It was amid such processes that I met aclose friend of my mother’s who was working inSAU.

Dr. Dil Bahadur Rahut, assistant professor inthe department of economics, introduced me toSAU an interesting place to meet people fromdifferent cultural backgrounds and at the sametime be united through a common regional identity.Frankly, I hadn’t heard of SAU until then, but aftertalking to Dr. Rahut, I was intrigued by the idea of aSAARC University, especially because of the fact thatthe region stands divided at so many levels caughtin enmity and suspicion.

I cleared the entrance exam for MA

We slowly began toaccept the flaws...

Being from the minorityNepali-speaking community,

Lhotshampas and having studiedin India since I was a child,the difficulty did not arise

in understanding friendsfrom Nepal or both myroommates from India.

It was those with contrastingviews that became a challenge

to not only understand,but also to accept.

In our growing friendship,we slowly began to accept

the flaws that marredour own countries.


(International Relations) and immediately decidedto take admission; today when I look back, that hasbeen one of the best decisions I have ever taken.

At first, SAU was a place where I was metpeople with different ideas, cultures andbackgrounds, and at that time, it was all aboutgetting to know each other and understandingdifferent cultures. It was only after getting to knoweach other that we started opening up and seeingthrough our different national identities.

Being from the minority Nepali-speakingcommunity, Lhotshampas and having studied inIndia since I was a child, the difficulty did not arisein understanding friends from Nepal or both myroommates from India. It was those withcontrasting views that became a challenge to notonly understand, but also to accept. In our growingfriendship, we slowly began to accept the flaws thatmarred our own countries. While at first, all of us

patriotically upheld our national flags and did nottake a single word against our nations, we later notonly became open to criticism, but ourselvesbecame openly critical of the various drawbacksthat withheld our countries. That was one of thefirst changes I noticed towards developing acommon regional identity under the umbrella ofSAU.

SAU became a platform for me at so manylevels; I was selected to represent Bhutan at theEarth Care Awards that was held in New Delhi andbeing a great music lover, I was also honored toshare the stage with the popular Indian band, Ekaat the award ceremony. Later, I also got anopportunity to represent Bhutan at Moving Youth,a student meet held in Germany. It was there thatI realized how neglected SAARC is at theinternational stage; not a single person had evenheard of SAARC. For that matter, only a handful

Mother Language Day- Pallavi second from right..


would nod their heads when I told them that I wasfrom Bhutan, I always had to name India as a pointreference. As a matter of fact, the same was in SAUas well; while almost all the countries werethoroughly covered in the course-syllabus, Bhutanand Maldives seemed to be ignored. While therewas a great deal of knowledge that we took backwith respect to every country, I don’t think welearnt much about either Bhutan or Nepal. Bhutanwas only referred to when Gross NationalHappiness came up; but isn’t Bhutan more than itsGNH index; and isn’t the whole idea of SAU tounderstand each of the countries deeply andinternally and not just what is being portrayed bythe media?

Academics aside, SAU also opened me up todifferent cultural festivities and that is somethingthat I think am going to cherish for a very long time.Though having studied in India, it was the first timein SAU that experienced Holi, the festival of colours(and in case of SAU, mud). Eid was anotherinteresting festival; it was amusing to see the all-so-serious Afghani boys dance to the tunes ofAfghani and Bollywood music. Deewali, Teej (Nepalifestival), Afghani New Year were other festivals thatbrought the entire university together in colour,music and laughter. However, my favourite amongall such gatherings was International MotherLanguage Day. It was a sheer delight to witnessevery student dressed in their national attires,walking the ramp with their national music playingat the background. While everyone seemedpossessively eager to represent their ownnationality that day, it somehow created a strongsense of regional consciousness and that willremain one of the fondest memories of SAU forme.

With everyone coming from contrastinglydifferent backgrounds, each carrying a differentexpectation from the other and myself carrying apersonal baggage, I wouldn’t say SAU was all aboutlaughter and joy; it was difficult. Having to cater toeveryone’s idea of what an ideal girl should be likeand having a personal identity of my own, verydifferent than that of others’ expectation, SAU was

difficult. However, in that difficulty, I learnt to be astronger and a more mature person and in that Ifound freedom of my own identity.

What I learnt from the courses is meager incomparison to what I learnt from my classmates,friends and colleagues. Travelling together toHimachal Pradesh, skiing in the snow-capped Kufri,eating in Andra Bhawan, forcefully attendingseminars and exchanging note-chits, engaging inlong chats and discussions sitting by the Swimmingpool area; these are the things that have shapedme into the person I am today and I couldn’t bemore grateful for that and for so many other thingswhich cannot be put in words but nonetheless, willremain in my heart.

Pallavi Sharma (Bhutan)[email protected]

Pallavi completed her M.A.(International Relations- 2012-14) from SAU and

now working as a Junior Editor in a magazine at Dellhi


Rubaiyat Rehman(Bangladesh)

‘South Asian University ( SAU) would remaina glowing point of my academic life’. Others mayconsider such a single sentence as a humblebeginning. However, to unearth the essence of thesentence, from my perspective, would require rimof papers. Nevertheless, I would try to churn outthe most pivotal ones in this write up.

I belong to a middle class family where mylearned parents always endeavored to make meunderstand that without a ‘sincere’ academic life Icannot achieve the desired goals in my life. Myefforts, in tandem with their sincerity, paved me toenroll in the best academic institutions inBangladesh. I spent my school life in St. Joseph HighSchool; college life in Notre Dame College andcompleted my undergraduate from DhakaUniversity. The interesting thing in common aboutthese educational institutions is that they all areelite learning hubs in Bangladesh.

I will never forget that innocent and celestialsmile of my parents when I got admitted to thoseinstitutions through the grueling admission tests.Till my undergraduate life, it was a routine matterfor me to brief my parents during lunch or dinnertime about the content of attended class lectures.Each of such meal time briefings used to end bytheir very common but gilt edged advice, ‘read alot and you will learn a lot’ and ‘be academically

Paved stepping stonesfor solutions...

Those ‘foodie’ adventures havetaught me to accept andappreciate the diversity; and also,which is no way the least,to get familiar with motley ofSouth Asian cultures.I used to enjoy Chicken Biryaniof Karim’s and Domino’s pizzaequally well. Due to my visitsto Gujarat and Rajasthan I also gotto taste amazing vegetarian foodwhich I was reluctant to tastein Delhi. Select few studentsused to accompany meduring those food adventures.


good if you really want to contribute to humancivilization’. Their ambition about me eventuallymade them vigilant about my welfare. Their sincereeffort has not lost in vein, least it has helped me tofall in the romantic affair of ‘reading and writing’.

The prestigious ‘President Scholarship’ of SAUhad enabled a new possibility in my academic life.The day my father handed me the air ticket of‘Dhaka to New Delhi’, it ignited a unique sense offreedom into me. A new feeling of elation hadsparked through my mind that in the following daysin SAU, I would be the guardian of myself. I havegot the freedom to lead myself to satiate the zealof learning! I am thankful and respectful to myparents to allow me the honor of freedom.

SAU’s hostel life had provided me one of theunforgettable experiences in my life. Mates fromdifferent countries of South Asia and Africa (Eritrea)had staged a new perspective of learning. I realizedthat discussions ‘before or after dinner’ would bea great source of learning the dynamics of SouthAsia and various perspectives about it. That wasthe moment when we, students of SAU, used togather in the hostel corridors or the SAU premiseand debate about contemporary issues directlyaffecting South Asia and the world beyond. Atpresent moment, I cannot rattle off any specificissue, but I must concede that such brainstormingsessions before and after the mealtime hadprovided me a great learning lesson that an issuemay also conceive motley of perspective.

I think I was privileged to have such brilliantminds in the hostel around me. Our discussionsranged from topics as diverse as ship breakingindustries in South Asia to the US elections.Furthermore, discussion sessions at variousinstances with faculty members, governmentofficials and think tank researchers had providedme a lucid and far reaching understanding andimpetus to explore myself with more concentrationin South Asian perspective.

My life in SAU would be incomplete withoutmy gourmet adventures and visits to librariesduring the two years stay in Delhi. I admit that mygourmet adventures in India had facilitated a new

approach of learning. Those ‘foodie’ adventureshave taught me to accept and appreciate thediversity; and also, which is no way the least, toget familiar with motley of South Asian cultures. Iused to enjoy Chicken Biryani of Karim’s andDomino’s pizza equally well. Due to my visits toGujarat and Rajasthan I also got to taste amazingvegetarian food which I was reluctant to taste inDelhi. Select few students used to accompany meduring those food adventures.

The libraries of New Delhi have widened myhorizons. The libraries of Jawaharlal NehruUniversity (JNU), Indian School of International Law(ISIL), and SAU had just brought that knowledgehub very near, which had been a distant foghornto me for the preceding years. These knowledgetemples had appeared to me as stepping stones toturn my readings, researches and writingscomplement to each other. I was able to write morethan 30 papers using available facilities in Delhi.This article has availed me the opportunity toexpress my gratitude to these knowledge centerswhere I have learned that simplicity, appreciationand tolerance of other opinions would be theembellished ornament of a learned researcher.

Sifting through my preceding days in SAU,sometimes it swirls into my mind about myachievements and learning from SAU. The answerthat reiterates from my mind is that theindispensable nature of SAU, where all eightcountries’ students are brought together, hadavailed me the opportunity to look into the iffy andabysmal issues of South Asia. The issues andconcerns that I studied and researched in SAU havebeen such that it entwined the legal andinternational relations of South Asia. I had alwaysenjoyed great friendships with students ofinternational relations. It allowed me to have adeeper sense of these issues.

I reacted to these issues through my academicwritings and also through my research works. I hadbeen privileged to present my academic worksrelated to South Asia in international conferencesin Delhi, Gujarat, Odisha and Jodhpur. During oneof the conferences, I met young professors from


Pune! I had presented issues through my papers,which had been contentious for long span of timeto South Asia. Obviously, those academic paperswould not provide short time achievable solutions;but, the papers bring forward some directions thatwould permeate to a long lasting solution. Thisconvinces me a satisfaction in the sense that I haveat least made an endeavor in paving steppingstones for solutions of those ruffled issues of SouthAsia.

(While his stay in Delhi, Rubaiyat had a blogcalled ‘south asia canteen’. For this blog, hecollected (good!) students’ assignments, papersand presentations. He even tried to get specialarticles written for the blog from students. Purposeof that blog was to bring together writings aboutSouth Asia and from brighter minds of South Asiaon one single platform. He was very passionate

about this blog and used to keep track of visitorsfrom different continents to the blog. So, it was afamiliar sight to see Rubaiyat informing someoneabout last week’s four hundred visitors and howseventy of them were from Brazil. - Guest Editor)

Rubaiyat Rehman (Bangladesh)[email protected]

(Rubaiyat has completed his LLM (2012-14) fromSAU and is pursuing yet another LLM in Admiralty

Law, Tulane University Law School, USA)

Law students standing just outside SAU- Rubaiyat third from right..


Iram Khan (India)

After studying in Aligarh Muslim University(AMU) for seven long years, I wanted to explore theoutside world. Hence, I chose to head towards NewDelhi. I had many options but somehow the idea ofstudying at a place where there would be studentsfrom all over South Asia seemed quite appealing! Igot enrolled here for LLM in 2012 and completed itin May 2014. After that I joined M.Phil/PhDprogramme here in July 2014. Therefore, this is mythird year in the South Asian University (SAU). It hastruly been an enriching and fulfilling journey so far.

Today as I write this piece about myexperiences at SAU, my mind is flooded with manymemories and I am unable to decide where tobegin. Well, on a safer side let me start from thebeginning. It was one day before my last exam atthe Law Faculty, AMU when the SAU entrance examresults were announced. I had cleared it. Therewere just 15 seats for Indians and being one ofthem before finishing your final exams wasundoubtedly a welcome relief!

Studying in an international university, still inits early years, situated so close to one’s house canbe tempting to anyone. (My home is in Bulandshahrwhich is 70 km from Delhi). I was coming from thehistoric institution like AMU. It was a huge risk butthe first class itself set all of my doubts to rest. Itwas the International Law class and was conducted

I was sure thatinteresting times lay ahead..

We all had our own set ofbiases and prejudices against

each other’s countries, regions,cultures, religions, languages,

and what have you.However, gradually we all shed

off these biases. It is relevantto note that whatever be the

position at our borders,the classroom was always

lively and amicable. This does notmean that we didn’t

argue or debate.


by the Dean of the Law faculty. I was mesmerisedby the way he addressed the class. He asked us tointroduce ourselves and state the reason for joiningthe course. In this way, I became familiar with myfellow students in the class. There were studentsfrom Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lankaand even Eritrea (Africa- so far the only non SouthAsian in SAU). In addition, we had a soundrepresentation from within India- we had studentsfrom Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh and Kerala.

On day one only I was sure that interestingtimes lay ahead - for the diversity in the regionswas bound to be reflected in the opinions andperspectives of the people. And, it proved to betrue. We all learnt from each other. We all had ourown set of biases and prejudices against eachother’s countries, regions, cultures, religions,languages, and what have you. However, graduallywe all shed off these biases. It is relevant to notethat whatever be the position at our borders, theclassroom was always lively and amicable. This doesnot mean that we didn’t argue or debate. Rather,there was always a heated discussion on everything

in the class but that never came in the way ofbuilding strong bonds among us.

Unlike the struggle that almost all studentsface to get hostel in Delhi, I didn’t face any problem.SAU provides hostel to all the students from outsideDelhi without any trouble. The life here is quitecomfortable for most of your needs are taken careof quite well. The hostel life is very vibrant. We haveto share the room with two other students. Thehostel has all modern facilities from washingmachines to Common room to Reading room.There is help at hand to clean our rooms too. Themess provides reasonably good food, plus thecafeteria supplements the food requirements. Myroom-mates in LLM were from India and Pakistan.Presently both of my room-mates are from India.

Coming to SAU opened up a plethora ofopportunities for me. The facilities and theinfrastructure present here is truly world class.Being a new University did not mean that it lackedgood teachers. Iindeed it has some of the best andexperienced professors. It is a perfect mix of old /experienced professors and new / bold youngstudents from all over South Asia.

In a seminar- Iram at the centre..


The location of SAU in Chanakyapuri thathouses embassies and foreign missions gives us anadditional privilege to meet and interact with manylearned scholars from all over South Asia andbeyond. The sessions conducted by Pakistaniacademic Dr.Adil Najam, Judge Helmut Turk- Judgeof the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,Iceland’s Minister of the Interior- OgmundurJonassan, Chairman of Pakistan Higher EducationCommission (HEC) Prof. Mukhtar Ahmed, EminentSri Lankan anthropologist and author of celebratedethnographic studies- Prof.Gananath Obeyesekerewere life time experiences!

One of the most interesting celebrations thattake place in SAU is the joint celebration ofIndependence Day of India and Pakistan. It startsin the night of 14th August around 9 pm when thePakistani students begin the programme. Indiansstart their programmes at midnight. It has beenvery exciting to be part of this function in all theseyears. India and Pakistan have a shared history yetsomewhere or somehow, the borders created anotion of enmity in our minds. It is true for bothIndians and Pakistanis. So celebrating ourindependence days together is the first steptowards accepting each other and rejoicing in eachother’s happiness. I think that can be the onlydurable solution for a lasting peace between thetwo neighbours.

Another function that I enjoyed a lot isInternational Mother Language Day (21stFebruary). UNESCO first announced it on 17thNovember 1999. The United Nations GeneralAssembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as theInternational Year of Languages also formallyrecognized its observance. The date represents theday in 1952 when students from differenteducational institutions in Bangladesh weredemonstrating for recognition of their language,Bangla, as one of the two national languages ofthe then unified Pakistan. They were killed by policein Dhaka. This day made me comprehend howlanguage plays a role in connecting us and how wecan visualise an integrated South Asia based onlanguage alone.

The North Indians and Pakistanis speak Hindi-Urdu; Bangladeshi and Bengali people from Indiaspeak Bengali; Tamils in India and Sri- Lanka sharethe same language. We have so many differencesin our languages and food habits within India stillwe cherish these differences and feel proud of thisdiversity. But within South Asia, we have so muchcommon between the countries that despite thedifferences in the borders, we have strong reasonsto connect deeply to each other! It will smoothenthe progress of South Asia as a whole with a fastpace on the road to development and prosperity.

This celebration made me connect with theoutsiders whom I found to be just like insiders! Butthis could have never occurred to me otherwise. Iwould have never been so convinced in this regardwithout meeting people from other countries. Thishappens only when you know a country throughpeople and not just through maps! SAU will play amajor role in developing a culture of tolerance anddemocracy throughout South Asia.

It must be remembered that South Asia is ablend of stark contradictions, where on the onehand we have Bhutan speaking of gross nationalhappiness index and on the other hand we haveAfghanistan facing turbulence for quite some timenow. South Asia is a region with one of the largestpopulation of poor people in the world. It is a regionwhere so many people suffer from castediscrimination. This region is worst with regard toviolence against women. We have so many peoplewho are economically backward, sociallymarginalised, differently abled and transgender.

What my experience here tells me is that wecan come out of all these issues through aconstructive dialogue. SAU offers the space toinitiate that dialogue for the future of South Asia.To sum up, I would say that the dream ofprogressive South Asia will be realised only if theidea of inclusion is materialised!

Iram Khan (India)[email protected]

(Iram has completed her LLM (2012-14) fromSAU and is now an M.Phil/ PhD candidate at SAU)


South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) was formed in 1985. But ef-forts for its formation were underway since late 1970’s. Then Bangladeshi President GeneralZia-Ur-Rehman was very enthusiastic for the formation of such an organization in South Asia.But India and Pakistan were initially reluctant about it. India feared that all its neighbors wouldtry to corner it in such an organization. Pakistan considered it as just another attempt by Indiato build a coalition against Pakistan. In addition to that, there was a shadow of Cold War loom-ing large over the subcontinent due to the ongoing the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.

But putting all these difficulties aside, Saarc was formed. It held its first summit in Dhakaon 8th December 1985. But General Zia was not lucky enough to see his efforts succeeding. Hewas by then replaced by General Ershad. India was represented by its young Prime Minister(PM) Rajiv Gandhi. In 1986 second summit was held in Bangalore. Till 1991, Saarc summitswere held annually. But since then, they are taking place after every two years. So far, India hashosted three (and Pakistan two) Saarc summits. 2004 Saarc summit was significant for Indo-Pak relations. It launched a new phase of co-operation between these two nuclear armedneighbors. That process continued till November, 2008 and was derailed due to the terroristattack on Mumbai. The most recent (18th) Saarc summit was hosted by Nepal in November,2014.

At the time of its formation, Saarc had seven member states i.e. India, Pakistan, SriLanka,Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. In 2007, Afghanistan was included as the eighthmember. Saarc has nine observers including the United States (US), China, European Union(EU) and Iran. Saarc headquarters is located at Kathmandu. Saarc has eleven centers spreadacross eight members, out of which two (Documentation and Disaster Management) are inDelhi. Saarc cultural centre is in Colombo and Energy centre is in Islamabad.

Progress in Saarc was hampered due to political problems among its members. Hence, bi-lateral issues are never discussed on the Saarc platform. Many members believe that state ofIndo-Pak relations hold the key for this region to move forward. So, they would like India andPakistan to have better relations for the sake of whole region.

In the last few years, Saarc has been dominated by the economic agenda. Efforts are ontrack to create a common market in South Asia like that of Europe. All Saarc economies grew atan average annual rate of 6.5% in the years of 2005-2010. But Saarc states do not trade much intheir own region. There is a fear among India’s neighbors that if they open their markets for In-dian companies, they would be swept away by Indian companies.

Basic Information aboutSAARC


Dear All,

Thanks for accepting our invitation to write in Weekly Sadhana's special issue, about yourexperiences in South Asian University (SAU).

Purpose of this e-mail is to highlight certain broad points around which you can structureyour write-ups.

1. Word Limit- About 1300-1500 words.2. Date for submission- Let's say around 15th November, 2014.3. In this special issue, we are going to publish write ups from SAU students drawn from

eight countries. Surangika (Srilanka), Damber (Nepal), Pallavi (Bhutan), Fatima (Pakistan),Thattu (Maldives), Rubaiyat (Bangladesh), Iram (India) and Omer (Afghanistan) have agreedto share their experiences.

4. Basic Information about Weekly Sadhana- Weekly Sadhana was founded in 1948 andsince then it has been at the forefront of Marathi intellectual circles for the last 60 years.Published articles in Sadhana are mainly focused on social-political-cultural-educational andliterary aspects. It has a readership of about 40,000 spread across all regions of Maharashtra.These readers are from the class which is generally categorized as 'opinion maker'. Readers areconscious about what is happening around and they take active interest in it. In this project,our basic idea is to make them aware about a novel educational experience, hitherto un-known, in India happening through SAU.

5. About write-ups- Overall focus should be 'Your life in SAU'. Write-ups should givereaders a brief idea about your background (family-education-work experience), what youexpected when you joined SAU, how was hostel life, life in Delhi, interesting things aboutIndia-places you visited, overall adjustments to make (language- food) etc. Mention interest-ing experiences, how SAU has changed you, what you have gained by staying here. Provideattention to (even small but) general details which we feel unimportant so not to mention likesay sharing rooms with people from different countries, their peculiar habits, your perceptionabout that country,etc. How do you view future of SAU, what are its prospects, what needs tochange (I know, we all want to give a very long answer to this, but highlight very importantpoints only).

6. Write up should not be too technical as target audience is not expert about specificsubjects. If necessary, make 2-3 drafts but try to write simple yet as interesting as possible.

7. You have a month to ponder over memories of SAU. I think, after staying here in SAUfor so long, we would be able to think objectively about our stay here.

8. Don't bother about political correctness. Write as frankly as possible.9. Every single sentence/ observation will be new and novel for our readers back home.

So, choose appropriately what you want to write yet don't get yourself pressurized.10. In case write to me for clarifications.

Best,

Sankalp Gurjar

34 Sadhan : 10 Jan 2015

sadhana : 10 jan 2015 - wordpress.com...his poem khara to ekachi dharm ( there is only one religion-...

Documents