Dr Zavos, University of Manchester, explores the transformation of ideas of devotional service and charity in the context of diasporic identity formation amongst South Asian communities in Britain. The paper is preceded by a tribute to the Centre's former Director, Professor Sir Christopher Bayly, following his tragic loss.

Dr Bhardwaj-Datta (University of Cambridge) investigates Delhi's gendered spaces and how they were reordered by the aftermath of Partition, looking at how social space was redefined, presenting a new social history of the city and the villages on the urban fringe.

Professor Fuller, of the London School of Economics, examines how official anthropologists overcame the empiricism of nineteenth century work on caste and religion, and investigates why the impact of their work was limited in informing the political situation in colonial India.

Dr Amrith, of Birkbeck, University of London, details the various crossings of the Bay of Bengal, as world powers sought access to new resources in the East, and various waves of migrants crossed the ocean in search of new lives, or in flight from drought and other disasters, all of which created some of the most diverse and dynamic societies. The seminar also charts the decline of these movements, as patterns of connection were constrained by economic and environmental pressures in the early-mid 20th century.

Kingsley Martin Memorial Lecture - Professor Blom Hansen examines the relationship of sacrifice and asceticism to upper-caste Hindu traditions, arguing that too much emphasis is placed on renunciation as the reason for the success of the success of a variety of social and political causes in South Asia. This is shown, he says, by the way that sacrifice has influenced a number of other movements which include activity among marginalised communities as well.

Simon Layton investigates the discourses of 'piracy' and their decline throughout the nineteenth century in India.

Dr Kriti Kapila presented a paper detailing the often complex relationship between the legal system and popular culture in North India

Professor Raina, of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, examines debates in the sciences in India around the turn of the twentieth century.

Professor Dhruv Raina of Jawahrlal Nehru University, investigates controversies in the sciences in India around the beginning of the twentieth century.

Ali Khan, of the Faculty of History, investigates Muslim identity, society and politics through the Urdu-language poetry of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.