History professor to address India, Pakistan for Great Decisions

Ritika Prasad, associate professor in the Department of History, is the fourth speaker of the 2020 Great Decisions Lecture Series. She will talk about “India and Pakistan,” at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 12, at Charlotte Country Day School.

In her free, public presentation, Prasad will discuss Barbara Crossette’s article from the Foreign Policy Association’s Great Decisions 2020 Briefing Book. The article describes how “India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi rode a wave of Hindu nationalism to a historic reelection in 2019. His first order of business was to revoke the special status granted to the Kashmir region, inflaming the rivalry between India and Pakistan. How will the Kashmir situation affect the region, both economically and politically?”

Prasad’s research interests include South Asian history with a focus on colonial and imperial history nationalism and decolonization; social history; history of technology; and railway history. Her current book project, “Imprimatur, Mediator and Adversary: Press, Public and State in India, 1780-2016,” examines the long-term triangular relationship between newspaper press, the colonial and postcolonial state and a broader public as it has developed in India over two centuries.

The Office of International Programs coordinates the annual Great Decisions lecture series for the Charlotte community to discuss foreign policy issues selected as pressing by the Foreign Policy Association. The series is coordinated in collaboration with Charlotte Country Day School, International House of Charlotte and the World Affairs Council of Charlotte.