South Asia Capacity Building in Nepal Political Roles of Religious Communities

During 2007-2008, ISDP started a project of a series of seminars and a workshop. The intention is to bring together scholars and people with various religious affiliations to discuss a number of key questions and to bring together scholars and people with various religious affiliations to discuss a number of key questions about the political roles of religious communities in South Asia.

The seminar participants consist of nationals from Afghanistan, Pakistan India and Sweden. The aim is to have as diverse a list of participants as possible including representatives from government, minority organizations, academia, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The focus of the local seminars is multidisciplinary, including perspectives from sociology, economy, political science, law, and the history of religions. Three seminars have been held, one in Islamabad, one in Kolkata and one in Kabul.

A workshop with a wider regional focus is being prepared for February 2010 in Singapore. The main aim of the workshop is to continue on the discussions in the local seminars but adopting a wider perspective. The workshop will focus on the political roles of religious communities in South Asia in its entirety and how their roles relate to the wider strategic picture of the region.