Mr K Kesavapany,
Former Diplomat, Singapore
On 12 July 2024, the Institute of South Asian Studies(ISAS) held a book discussion at National Library Board(NLB).
The discussion was on a book entitled ASIA AFTER EUROPE by Harvard Professor Sugota Bose.
The theme of the book was the profound changes that have been occurring over the course of the twentieth century.
Prof Bose , grand nephew of the legendary Freedom Fighter Subhas Chandra Bose traces the ” conflicting and overlapping ways in which Asians have conceived their bonds and their roles in the world “.
Following the Keynote Address on the topic by former Minister George Yeo, Prof Iqbal Singh moderated the discussion on the book, which featured Prof Bose himself, academic Dr Kathleen Burke and veteran ST journalist Mr Ravi Veloor.
Globally recognised thinker Prof Kishore Mahbubani was also present .
The moot question was whether it would be an Asian Century or a Century of Conflicting Realities.
The audience left the discussion to ponder over the many issues that had been raised, with Prof Sugota Bose book providing the intellectual back- drop.
Keynote Address Mr George Yeo Visiting Scholar and Founding Patron, Asia Competitiveness Institute Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS; and Former Foreign Minister of Singapore
Book Discussion
Chairperson
Associate Professor Iqbal Singh Sevea
Director
Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS
Panellists
Professor Sugata Bose
Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs Harvard University, United States; and
Author of Asia after Europe: Imagining a Continent in the Long Twentieth Century
Dr Kathleen Burke
Postdoctoral Fellow, Food Politics and Society Cluster Asia Research Institute, NUS
Mr Ravi Velloor
Associate Editor & Senior Columnist
The Straits Times; and
ISAS Honorary Senior Fellow
Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS
Article by Mr K Kesavapany