South Asia Chat

Episode 37: Pandemic and the Role of Technology with Dr Anuradha Rao, Founder of CyberCognizanz

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic early this year, there has been an exponential increase in our dependence on technology. Governments are experimenting with social media to keep citizens informed and updated about the infection. Among other aspects, the pandemic has, globally, shaken the conventional methods of education. It has forced us to rethink of ways we use technology. While more countries are moving towards restoring normalcy and opening up, one of the aspects governments are enforcing is the usage of contact-tracing applications to avoid the further spread of COVID-19. To discuss the impact of the pandemic on technology, we spoke to Dr Anuradha Rao, the founder of CyberCognizanz, a training and communications company in Singapore that focuses on cyber-safety and cybersecurity.

For over 11 years, Dr Anuradha has studied, taught and conducted research on the relationship between new technologies, society, politics and security in Asia at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and other higher education institutions in Singapore. Anuradha holds a PhD in Communications and New Media from NUS, and an MA in Political Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), India. She can be reached at anuradha.rao@cybercognizanz.com

Episode 36: COVID-19 Special Series with Mr K Shanmugam, Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Law

A vast majority of Singapore's COVID-19 infections involve foreign workers residing in dormitories. The government has taken strong and proactive measures to contain and combat the outbreak among this group. After initiating measures to curb the spread among the migrant workers in dorms, it recently decided to test all 323,000 workers residing there. Singapore has been effectively addressing the ever-changing situation and initiated measures to fight different challenges including that of online misinformation and xenophobia. We spoke to Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, for his insights into Singapore’s response to COVID-19, measures taken to keep the foreign workers safe, and curbing the spread of fake news which could potentially create disharmony in the society.

Episode 35: COVID-19 Special Series with the High Commissioner of Pakistan, Rukhsana Afzaal

Pakistan, like many countries, found itself unprepared for COVID-19 when it struck. More than 90 per cent of the cases in Pakistan were imported, and its healthcare system struggled to grapple with the dearth of medical equipment, leading to many Pakistanis being stranded abroad. In Singapore, migrant workers are mostly from India and Bangladesh, so the number of Pakistani infected cases has been few — most of the country’s blue-collar workers are in the Gulf.

In this episode, we speak to HE Rukhsana Afzal about what the Singapore government, local Pakistani community, and global financial organisations are doing to help. This involves, among other things, the development of a mobile app, the diaspora sending home critical supplies, and a global initiative for debt relief.

Episode 34: COVID-19 Special Series with the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Singapore, Md Mustafizur Rahman

In this episode, we speak to Md Mustafizur Rahman, the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Singapore, on the impact of COVID-19 on the Bangladeshi community here, and what steps are being taken to help them. During the initial period of the outbreak, only five Bangladeshi migrant workers were infected; then came the sudden outburst in the middle of March, which has continued till date. Mr Rahman explains that the priority of the High Commission is to ensure timely treatment of infected workers, their recovery, and return to a normal life. Since, the nature of the disease and restrictions on accessing the dormitories, does not allow the High Commission to directly help these workers, they have been working with Singapore government agencies.

 He commends the Singapore government’s handling of the situation within dormitories and said that even small needs like providing proper interpreters and enuring these workers get Bangladeshi food are being looked into, especially since this is the month of Ramadan.

Episode 33: Oil’s Not Well – How the Drastic Fall in Prices will Impact South Asia

Demand for the world’s most important commodity, oil, has crumbled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the fourth week of April this year, the US oil prices plunged to below zero for first time in history. The fundamentals of the oil industry are not determined merely by demand and supply. Geopolitics, the politics of exchange rates and paper trading also impact its performance. This could be, by far, the greatest crisis the oil industry has ever faced impacting upstream and downstream activities. It is estimated that more than 400 industry-related companies worldwide will not be able to bear the production cost at US$20 per barrel.

This conversation between Dr S Narayan (Visiting Senior Research Fellow, ISAS) and Mr Vikram Mehta (Executive Chairman of Brookings India), looks at the impact and challenges that the dive in crude oil price will have on South Asia’s oil and energy sector, as well as the economic impact (consumption and net exports) on India. For India, there is also an urgent need to build linkages and pipelines between oil and gas producers in other parts of the region such as Bangladesh.

Episode 32: COVID-19 Special Series with the Indian High Commissioner HE Jawed Ashraf

The number of COVID-19 cases has risen drastically in Singapore affecting about 4,800 Indian nationals. Over 90 per cent of them are foreign workers living in dormitories across the island. To get some insights on the measures taken by both the Indian High Commission in Singapore and the Singapore government to support them, we spoke to His Excellency Jawed Ashraf, High Commissioner of India to Singapore. In this episode, HE Jawed Ashraf gave us details of what was being done to not just help Covid-affected individuals but also Indian nationals stranded here, Singapore’s contribution to India's fight against the Coronavirus and how the pandemic will impact Singapore-India bilateral relations.

Episode 1: The Bookshelf - British India, White Australia: In Search of a Social History

In the first episode of ‘The Bookshelf’, a new ISAS initiative dedicated to scholarly works on South Asia, we speak with Kama Maclean, Professor of History at the University of New South Wales in Sydney on British India, White Australia, which unearths the complicated colonial dynamics between India and Australia and their relationship before India’s independence in 1947.

In her talk, Professor Maclean discusses the Immigration Restriction Act, which earned the country the name ‘White Australia’ for its prevention of non-white migrants from settling there—often by linguistic means! She touches on racism under the Empire; the positive legacy left by Indian hawker settlers; and social bonds transcending the ‘commonwealth’ commonalities most often evoked in celebrations of the countries’ shared histories. Through a careful archival reading, Kama Maclean’s book paves the way for a nuanced, social history of old colonial ties.

Episode 31: Stuck in a Limbo - Migrant Workers amid India’s Lockdown

On 25th March 2020 the Indian Prime Minister declared a nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19. Four hours after the Prime Minister’s announcements, all forms of transportation stopped. Millions of internal migrant workers found themselves without a job as most economic activities came to a halt and left with little choice but to walk hundreds or thousands of kilometres back to their home villages, only to find inter-state borders close. In this conversation with Dr Indrajit Roy (University of York), we look at the scale of the phenomenon, what kind of assistance are migrants receiving and what implications this massive internal migration will have on India’s political economy.

Episode 30: Sri Lankan Response to the COVID-19 Crisis - A Ground Report

Sri Lanka is among the 209 countries fighting the coronavirus. Since it reported its first case  in late January, the country has so far identified close to 200 patients. Despite being a small economy, it has managed the pandemic quite admirably. The country has not seen an exponential growth in the number of patients, which is currently at manageable levels. What measures did the Sri Lankan government take in order to contain and manage the spread of the virus? How effective have the measures been so far? In this episode, Admiral Professor Jayanath Colombage shares his insights and observations on Sri Lanka’s battle against COVID-19. Professor Colombage is the former chief of the Sri Lanka navy. Since his retirement, he is an active academic. Currently, he serves as the Additional Secretary to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He is also the Director of the Institute of National Security Studies of Sri Lanka.

Episode 29: Intra-Afghan Talks - Obstacles and Prospects

The intra-Afghan dialogue is off to a rocky start. In recent developments, Kabul and the Taliban debated a prisoner swap, the Taliban rejected the Kabul government’s negotiation team, and attacks on Afghan forces continue amidst a draw-down of American  troops. President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdulla Abdulla also both claimed the presidency after contentious elections, splintering consensus further.

In this episode, we speak with Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury, Principal Research Fellow, ISAS, and former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, to understand what the Taliban wants now that the crown appears within reach. He argues that a Taliban in power may have good working relations with the international community, and that the world should engage the Taliban to ensure that certain universal rights and values are respected.