CASI Election Conversations 2024:

As millions of Indians set out to vote, India in Transition brings you CASI Election Conversations 2024, an interview series featuring IiT Consulting Editor & CASI Spring 2024 Visiting Fellow Rohan Venkat speaking with renowned scholars, reflecting on the factors and dimensions of politics, political economy, and democracy that will define India’s 2024 election.

Yamini Aiyar on the BJP’s “Techno-Patrimonial” Welfare Model

Yamini Aiyar & Rohan Venkat
April 15, 2024

In Part 2 of the series, Rohan Venkat speaks to Yamini Aiyar, public policy scholar and former president of the Centre for Policy Research, about what she has dubbed the "techno-patrimonial state" and the creation of a new "labharthi varg," or beneficiary class that can be politically mobilized.

Rachel Brulé on the Promise and Pitfalls of Gender Quotas in Indian Politics

Rachel Brulé & Rohan Venkat
April 22, 2024

In Part 3 of the series, Rohan Venkat speaks to Rachel Brulé, Assistant Professor of Global Development Policy at the Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University, about the successes of India’s quotas for women, her own research into the backlash they have caused, and how extending quotas to Parliament and state assemblies are set to alter Indian politics.

CASI in the News

CASI IAB Member Ashley J. Tellis (CEIP) moderated an April 18, 2024 conversation at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on "India in Modi’s Third Term" with former CASI Deputy Director Alyssa Ayres (George Washington University) and Ashok Malik (The Asia Group).

CASI Non-Resident Visiting Scholar Milan Vaishnav (CEIP) co-authored, with Caroline Mallory, "In India, Foreign Policy Is on the 2024 Ballot," an April 12, 2024 article published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

CASI Summer 2022 Intern, Aravind Krishnan, C W'25, received a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, a merit-based award for graduate or professional school to prepare for careers in public service. His accomplishment was featured in the April 15, 2024 issue of Penn Today.

UPIASI Releases Video of Recent Webinar & Opens Applications for Garware Fellowship

UPIASI—showcasing its work on contemporary India over the past 25 years—held an April 19, 2024 webinar on "India's Defence Sector in a Changing World Order," which explored the emerging trends in India’s defense sector, including nuclear, missile, and space programs under the fast-changing geopolitical conditions. The event was moderated by UPIASI Academic Director & Chief Executive E. Sridharan and featured CASI IAB Member Ashley J. Tellis (CEIP), former CASI Postdoctoral Research Fellow Anit Mukherjee (Kings College London), and former CASI Visiting Scholar Bharat Karnad (CPR).

UPIASI has also opened applications for the 2024-25 Garware-Excellence Postdoctoral Fellowship. Based in UPIASI’s New Delhi office, this Fellowship offers scholars with recently completed Ph.D.s an opportunity to pursue independent research projects on topics of contemporary India. Read More & Apply

CASI Welcomes Spring 2024 Visiting Fellow, Rohit Mujumdar

Rohit Mujumdar is a student of Southern cities and urbanization. His current research attends to the myriad ways in which monsoons' everyday wetness and extreme events weave into the urban majority’s life in India’s coastal monsoonal geographies, and explores the possibilities of decolonizing and democratizing climate change action through multimedia storytelling.

CASI Student Programs

APRIL 29 APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING for the 2024-25 Sobti Family Fellowship and the new Sobti Fieldwork Fellowship!

Read all about the CASI 2023 Summer Interns and Summer Research Grant recipients' experiences on the CASI Student Programs Blog!

Questions about CASI Student Programs?
Please contact Juni Bahuguna (Assistant Director, Student & Visitor Programs) at junib@sas.upenn.edu

Upcoming Events

2023-24 CASI Seminar Series

April 25, 2024, 3:00pm (In-Person) at Amado Recital Hall in Irvine Auditorium

"Means to Enhancing Hindu-Muslim Unity in Contemporary India"

CASI / South Asia Center / Dept. of South Asia Studies Discussion with A. Faizur Rahman (Peace Activist & Independent Researcher)

May 2, 2024, 12 noon (In-Person) at Penn Carey Law

"Monsoon Voyagers: An Indian Ocean History"

CASI / Legal History Workshop / South Asia Center / Dept. of South Asia Studies Seminar with Fahad Ahmad Bishara (University of Virginia)

CASI 2023 Data Seminar Series Videos Available

View the full videos of all 12 seminars in the CASI 2023 Data Seminar Series—hosted by CASI Non-Resident Visiting Scholar Rukmini S. (Independent Data Journalist; Founder of Data For India).

Campus Location

CASI's office is located close to the heart of Penn's campus at the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science & Economics at 133 South 36th Street (Suite 230) Philadelphia, PA 19104-6215.

Please note: CASI is operating on a hybrid schedule.