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About the seminar

The Tibetans were the first refugees in India with no diasporic ties to the area, and likely to attract international recognition. The question of asylum provoked domestic debate about India’s relations with China and larger visions of non-alignment, with public opinion at odds with the government foreign policy machine. Ultimately the Indian government led by Prime Minister Nehru would focus on human rights with limited involvement from the international community, with public opinion calling for the group right to self-determination. Simultaneously, the Nehruvian vision of non-alignment was undergoing a change from its immediate post-colonial form. The Indian government tried to draw a clear line between those displaced by India’s own decolonisation and a crisis that was a thorn in the side of Sino-Indian bilateral relations in the bipolar world of the Cold War. In this way, we can look at the early 1960s as India’s introduction to the role of refugees in international realpolitik.

About the speaker

Ria Kapoor is a DPhil Student at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, studying ‘Alternative conceptions of a refugee regime in India in the 20th century’.

podcast

The podcast of this seminar is available here >>

Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture

The Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture is held in Trinity term. It is named after Professor Elizabeth Colson, a renowned anthropologist.

Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture

The Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture is named in honour of Dr Barbara Harrell-Bond, the founding Director of the Refugee Studies Centre. It is held each year in Michaelmas term.

Public Seminar Series

Each term the RSC holds a series of public seminars, held on Wednesday evenings at Queen Elizabeth House. Click here for details of forthcoming seminars.

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Forthcoming events

Supply Chain Justice: The Logistics of British Border Control

Wednesday, 19 February 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 1, Oxford Department of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB

Scattered: The making and unmaking of a refugee. A conversation with Aamna Mohdin

Wednesday, 26 February 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 1, Oxford Department of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB

The Politics of Immigration and the Politics of Identity | Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture 2025

Wednesday, 05 March 2025, 5.15pm to 6.15pm @ Grove Theatre, Magdalen College, Oxford. Please use Octagon Gate entrance, located on Longwall Street side entrance to Magdalen College

Book Launch and Panel Event | Social Science: A Very Short Introduction

Thursday, 06 March 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Harold Lee Room, Pembroke College, Pembroke Square St Aldates Oxford OX1 1DW

Book talk: The Home I Worked to Make: Voices from the New Syrian Diaspora

Tuesday, 11 March 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Investcorp Lecture Theatre, St Anthony’s College, 62 Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6JF

'Wicked' Challenges in Migration Management: Weaponization, Politicization, and Hostile Influence Operations

Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 1, Oxford Department of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB