SOAS South Asia Institute

The SOAS South Asia Institute (SSAI) represents the most extensive and diverse community of scholars working on South Asia of any university in Europe.

While most of its members’ research and teaching activities are related primarily to India, the SSAI also provides a home for scholars whose work focuses on Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. The institute has a growing number of partnerships with universities and research institutes in South Asia which provide a basis for mutually beneficial collaborations in both teaching and research.

It works to strengthen links with SOAS alumni, particularly in South Asia, and to secure philanthropic funding to enhance SOAS’s reach and impact in South Asian Studies and ensure the future sustainability of its more specialised scholarship. It makes the expertise of its members more widely available to the wider world by engaging with governments, businesses, NGOs the charity sector, the media, and beyond.

In collaboration with SOAS's Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, it offers an online postgraduate programme in Global Diplomacy (South Asia) for diplomats and interested persons worldwide

SOAS academics working on South Asia have secured several external research grants, including awards from the European Research Council, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Our research quality is reflected in our success in securing external funding. 

The institute also delivers interdisciplinary research seminars; organises high profile lecture events; and facilitates symposiums and lectures on current affairs. 

Here are some recordings of events hosted by the SOAS South Asia Institute. More can be found at SOAS youtube channel.