A Comparative Studies Project on Taiwan-India Democratic Governance Under the Taiwan Studies Project in India 

Funded and sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, ROC  

Hosted by the Center for South and Southeast Asia Studies (CSSAS) FLAME University

Date: July 20, 2022, Wednesday 

Time: 11am to 1 pm

Zoom: https://flameuniversity.zoom.us/j/94297244943

Ethnic policies and politics are sensitively important in democracies of different sizes. After the lift of the martial law in 1987, Taiwan has seen different waves of indigenous/aboriginal ethnicities. Small in numbers though, the emphasis on ethnic equality has been listed as an essential agenda item on different political parties’ agenda for its symbolism. After several decades, how has the ethnic politics in Taiwan developed? 

On the other hand, for a multi-ethnically complicated democracy like India, ethnic politics has many different aspects. One example is India’s northeast - located in a strategic region, surrounded by international borders, and historically mired in separatist and inter-ethnic conflicts – has recently seen new developments such as the rise of the Hindu nationalists and political challenges such as the CAA, creating inter-ethnic tensions. 

Can democracies of such differences like Taiwan and India find common grounds in the study of ethnic policies and politics, while recognizing the differences of angles, aspects, and topics of research of ethnic policies? 

The purpose of this workshop is to enhance the mutual understanding between Taiwan and India in areas including ethnic policies in the democratic context of each. We hope through conversations like this, the academic/scientific communities of Taiwan and India would have opportunities to better understand each other, as more academic interactions can generate more interesting perspectives in theory and/or in practice. 

Agenda: