by Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, Fellow, Research School
of Pacific and Asian Studies The Australian National University kuntala.lahiri-dutt@anu.edu.au
This story is about Thiru. It is easier even for an Indian
to call him just by that little name – Thiru – than trying to
remember his full Tamil name, Thiruppagazh Venkatachalam.
Thiru is currently a doctoral student at the Australian National University.
When I first met him, this soft spoken, diminutive, bespectacled figure reminded
me of the fictional old timer Indian judge of Letters from an Englishwoman
to an Indian Judge. Thiru’s demeanour and his world view have indeed
been largely shaped by the Indian Administration Service, the great institution
of bureaucracy established by the colonial British.
Thiru is writing his dissertation on post-earthquake rehabilitation in Gujarat,
India. The disaster occurred on Australia Day (also India’s Republic
Day) in 2001. It turned multi-storied buildings into rubble and wiped out
entire towns and villages. The physical scale of the Kutch disaster and its
human dimensions shocked the entire world, and raised doubts that it would
ever be possible to rebuild the human lives and get the economy back on track
again.
Not long after the earthquake, Thiru, then a district magistrate, was called
to the state capital, Ahmedabad, by the Chief Minister of the state and put
in charge of the newly established Gujarat Disaster Management Authority.
Once Thiru took over, there was no looking back. Thiru lived in his office
and worked ceaselessly. In his own words: ‘For the next three years
I didn’t once sleep in my own home’.
When I went recently to see the rebuilding work that Thiru had conducted,
young kids lined up the streets to welcome him, village elders came to chat
and to bless, and local politicians and NGO workers rushed to meet him. I
have not seen so much love and spontaneous respect showered on any bureaucrat
in India. In the completely rebuilt hospital at Kutch, the doctors and nurses
proudly showed us the new earthquake resistant construction technology used
in the building. Staff and students at the new engineering college and the
residential school for orphaned children spoke eloquently of how well Thiru
had used the aftermath of the disaster as an opportunity to help those in
need.
Kutch is located at the western end of India, on the border between India
and Pakistan, and although protected by wide and empty tracts of salt pans,
the land has been repeatedly invaded from the West. This has made Kutchis
resilient and able to fight back. It is here in this saline and parched country
that a new community has been born with the Herculean efforts of people like
Thiru.
At the ANU, Thiru comes to us, the pedagogues, as a student. Many of us tend
to see students as empty vessels waiting to be filled up with knowledge that
they will go back home and use. In this one-way street of exchange, we are
represented as the ‘givers’ and our students are the ‘takers’,
whose ‘capacity’ we are supposed to build. Our assumed superiority
makes us blind to the wealth of knowledge and the rich reservoirs of experience
that our students bring to us. Visiting Thiru's work in villages made me aware
of this, and helped me to see him in a different light.
They say that the lonely salt Runns of Kutch does strange things to people.
They certainly changed my worldview. I learned that my student was also a
man with a mission that he has already accomplished, touching the lives of
all around him.
Links:
Profile
This month we profile Linda Jaivin, Visiting Fellow in the
Pacific and Asian History Division, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
at the Australian National University whose most recent book is the novel
A Most Immoral Woman http://www.harpercollins.com.au/books/9780732282769/A_Most_Immoral_Woman/index.aspx
Q:When did you become interested in Asia and why?
A: Stumbling on an introductory course to East Asian history at university
hooked me on Asian studies. Chinese history soon became my obsession. At the
time (the 70s), China was in the throes of the Cultural Revolution and closed
to the world. It seemed unlikely that a degree in Chinese history or fluency
in the language would have much practical use outside the world of academe.
Perversely, I was attracted by this; I loved the idea of studying something
for no other reason than that it was profoundly and intrinsically interesting.
Then in 1978 Deng Xiaoping came along, flung open China’s
doors and launched the economic reforms that would transform China, at the
same time repudiating radical Maoism. Suddenly the eyes of the world were
on China. Quite accidentally, I found myself with a knowledge and skill (fluency
in Chinese) that led to an extraordinary number of opportunities.
I’d always wanted to be a writer, and was interested
in all forms of writing, from popular history to novels to essays and cultural
commentary. Though young and inexperienced, I was able to walk straight into
all manner of writing jobs, from book reviewing to writing travel essays and
doing literary translation. I even obtained a position with Asiaweek
magazine in Hong Kong as their chief China, Taiwan and Hong Kong correspondent.
Since leaving Asiaweek in 1986, I’ve made
a living as a freelance writer. I contribute to newspapers and magazines in
Australia and overseas, and have published five novels, a novella, a book
of essays and a China memoir cum biography of the singer-songwriter, activist
and fengshui master Hou Dejian, The Monkey and the Dragon. Although
not all my writing is directly related to China, it was my Asian studies background
and proficiency in Chinese that opened – and still opens – door
after door to me.
Q: What are your current preoccupations?
A: My current preoccupation is blending my abiding interest in Chinese
history, culture and language with my passion for writing fiction.
My most recent novel, A Most Immoral Woman, is set
in late Qing Dynasty China as well as Japan in 1904. A Most Immoral Woman
focuses on an obsessive sexual affair between the great Australian journalist
George Morrison and an American millionaire’s daughter in various locations
up and down the China coast and in Japan. The broader context is that of the
decline of the Qing, the age of imperialism and the Russo-Japanese War, which
influenced geopolitical currents in East Asia for half a century afterwards.
Then there is the background of rapidly evolving views on women and sexuality,
not just in the Anglophone and European worlds but in China too as represented
by reformist intellectuals like Tan Sitong and Kang Youwei.
I see A Most Immoral Woman as the first of a number
of novels set mainly in China and during periods of great upheaval and friction.
My next novel will probably also be set in the Qing but unlike A Most
Immoral Woman, which is set in 1904, this next will have a narrative
span of about a century.
Q: What are your hopes for Asian studies in Australia?
A: I’ve noticed a difference between my generation and many
of the younger people who study Chinese these days – having come to
Asian studies during a time of great openness and opportunity, particularly
in business, they tend to be very practical and financially-minded. There’s
nothing wrong with this. But I hope that they also will study Chinese culture,
language and history for no other reason than that it is as exhilarating as
it is enriching.
Student of the month
It was a 23-hour train trip along the southeast coast of
mainland China that cemented Philippa Brant’s plbrant@gmail.com
interest in ‘China’. As one of the only ‘laowai’ (foreigners)
on the train, she had some fascinating experiences and interactions that prompted
her to examine her assumptions and existing knowledge (or lack thereof) about
this incredible country.
Her engagement with ‘Asia’ and Asian cultures
began much earlier though. Growing up in a family with parents enthusiastic
about the region through their jobs and who regularly hosted Japanese Assistant
Teachers not only improved her skill with chopsticks but also gave her an
understanding that cultural difference wasn’t an impediment to friendship.
Although she didn’t realise it at the time, this fostered an intense
desire to learn more about other people, countries and cultures.
Philippa never intended to specifically study China; she
enrolled in Political Science and Asian Studies as an undergraduate at the
University of Melbourne knowing only that she wanted to ‘learn more
about Asia’, having studied Japanese all though school. A timetable
clash meant that her first choice – Indonesian - wasn’t an option;
she instead struggled through three years of Chinese. It wasn’t until
she spent a month on a field class visiting an incredible array of places
in China, talking to people about their lives, that she realised she wanted
to try to understand this remarkable country better.
Philippa’s research interests span the fields of International
Relations, development studies and gender – with ‘Asia’,
and ‘China’ more specifically, as the common focus. After completing
an Honours thesis that examined the interaction between the Chinese state
and civil society, using the right to education for domestic migrant children
as a case study, and which included site visits and interviews in Shanghai,
Philippa decided to embark on a PhD, in the School of Social and Political
Sciences at the University of Melbourne.
Her thesis manages to combine her interest in China, international
politics, development and travel. She is investigating the way China gives
foreign aid and how other donors are responding to China’s presence
on the ‘aid scene’. Philippa’s thesis will examine the impact
China may have on the international aid regime and the dominant development/foreign
aid discourse. She plans to undertake fieldwork in parts of Southeast Asia
and the South Pacific later this year.
In the first year of her PhD, Philippa was lucky enough to
be awarded a scholarship to attend a two-week China summer school in Torino,
Italy where she relished the opportunity to engage with scholars and students
from around Europe. It really brought home to her though how important it
is for us, here in Australia, to make the most of our situation (and location)
and deepen our engagement with the people and countries of Asia.
Website of the month
http://www.the-democracy-project.org
The Democracy Project was founded to fill a gap in contemporary
political analysis and debate. It aims to collapse 'women's issues' into broader
societal discourse and debate, and show that a functioning democracy requires
that we re-negotiate the boundaries between gender and society.
Recent publication of interest
Chinese Foreign Direct Investment in Australia: Policy
Issues for the Resource Sector by Peter Drysdale, and Christopher Findlay.
This paper examines two issues posed by the prospect of a significant rise
in foreign direct investment (FDI) from China into the Australian resources
sector. Is the surge of FDI into Australian mining and energy consistent with
achieving the traditional gains from foreign investment? And are there any
particular problems associated with investment from foreign state-owned enterprises
or state managed sovereign wealth funds? The authors argue there are no issues
that cannot be dealt with under the umbrella of the established test of ‘national
interest’ in managing the growth of Chinese FDI into the Australian
minerals sector. They say that a confusion has been introduced into policy
over the questions of state-ownership and supplier-buyer relations in respect
of Chinese investments and that clarifying these issues is likely to be important
to Australia‘s capturing the full benefits from the growth of Chinese
resources demand and longer term economic and strategic interests in China.
http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2008/09/04/chinese-investment-in-australian-resources
Did you know?
Survey data released by the Australia-Indonesia Business
Council indicates that in December last year, despite the global financial
crisis, 45 per cent of respondents regarded Indonesia as a more valuable commercial
target compared with two years ago, while a further 50 per cent felt its attraction
had remained undiminished. And while the number of Indonesian-speaking graduates
and specialists declines, employment demand for them has grown strongly. Government
departments, agencies and private sector firms often are unable to fill vacancies.
Skilled applicants earn a premium, with staff in departments such as defence,
foreign affairs and AusAID paid a loading of $2000 to $4000 a year for appropriate
language proficiency. Source, article by David T. Hill, The Australian,
25 February, 2009 http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25101296-25192,00.html
Diary dates
KOREAN DREAMS: PAINTINGS AND SCREENS OF THE JOSEON
DYNASTY, Sydney, 5 March - 8 June 2009. This exhibition is the first
showing of traditional Korean painting at the Art Gallery of NSW. It will
comprise Korean screens, hanging scrolls and album leaves dating from the
17th to 19th centuries. It will be accompanied by a Korean Dreams study day
on 7 March 2009 (12pm - 5pm)
in the Centenary Auditorium, Art Gallery of NSW, The Domain, Sydney. See http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/coming/korean_dreams
MING WONG VAIN EFFORTS Exhibition, Sydney, 6 March
– 18 April 2009. This exhibition is at the Asia-Australia Arts
Centre, 181-187 Hay Street, Sydney. Ming Wong lives between his native Singapore
and Berlin, working mainly in video and photography. He creates irreverent
works that explore slippages in language, cross-cultural experiences and gender
stereotyping through appropriation of iconic 20th Century cinema such as the
work of Malay film maker P Ramlee and German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Open Tuesday – Saturday 11am - 6pm Admission Free, 02 9212 0380 http://www.4a.com.au/Current.html
THE GOLDEN JOURNEY: JAPANESE ART FROM AUSTRALIAN
COLLECTIONS, Adelaide 6 March - 31 May 2009. Exclusive to the Art
Gallery of South Australia, The Golden Journey reveals the rich heritage of
Japanese art held in Australia's major public and private collections. The
exhibition, the first comprehensive survey of its kind in Australia, tells
the story of Japanese art from prehistoric times until Japan opened its doors
to the West at the commencement of the Meiji era (1868-1912). http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/japan
THE WELFARE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: REGULATIONS
AND SOCIAL POLICY FOR NON-CITIZENS? Seminar, Sydney, 26 May. Cross-border
education is a global market and Australia’s third largest export. International
students are a vanguard mobile population. Yet little is known about their
wellbeing or their vulnerabilities in the host country. This presentation
reports on a study of international student welfare in Australia and New Zealand,
utilising 300 in-depth interviews across the two countries, 270 with students
and 30 with university service-providing staff and policymakers from government
departments. Presenters: Gaby Ramia, Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney.
12.30pm at Social Policy Research Centre, University of NSW http://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au
THE CHINA AUSTRALIA BUSINESS CONGRESS 2009, Sydney
19-20 May. This congress, supported by Austrade has been organised
to highlight opportunities for Australian businesses considering trading,
importing, exporting, manufacturing / outsourcing and investing in the greater
China region. It will cover issues such as protecting intellectual property;
mitigating risk; tax, legal and Government assistance; latest import / export
legislation The China Australia Business Congress 2009 is supported by Austrade.
Harbours Edge, Darling Harbour, Sydney See www.acevents.com.au/chinabusiness09
CONFERENCE ON SECURITY SECTOR REFORM IN INDONESIA,
Sydney, 12-13 June. This conference will consider current developments
in security sector reform (SSR) and the correlation between SSR and the democratisation
process in Indonesia. It is being organised by Indonesian Solidarity (IS)
a nonprofit human rights organisation at the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts,
280 Pitt Street. Contact: indonesian_solidarity@yahoo.com.au
TRANSMISSION OF ACADEMIC VALUES IN ASIAN STUDIES
workshop, Canberra, 25- 26 June 2009. See www.aust-neth.net/workshop.php
Contact helen.mcmartin@anu.edu.au
JIU: COMMEMORATION AND CELEBRATION IN THE CHINESE-SPEAKING
WORLD, conference, Sydney, 9-11 July 2009. The biennial China Studies
Association of Australia (CSAA) conference will be held at Women's College,
University of Sydney. It adopts the theme of ‘jiu’, taking up
the challenge of both celebrating and commemorating the achievements and hardships
of the past century in the Chinese-speaking world. The call for papers and
panels closes in March 2009. See http://www.conference.csaa.org.au/index.php?conference=CSAA&schedConf=2009&page=schedConf&op=cfp
The China Node of the Asia Pacific Futures Research
Network is offering 10 student accommodation scholarships for the conference.
The scholarship holders are expected to attend a Postgraduate Workshop on
9 July. Registrants who are enrolled in a PhD at an Australian university
and are not based in NSW should send 250 words explaining what they hope to
gain from the networking opportunity and from the conference itself. Please
send this and a supporting statement from a supervisor to both: Luigi.Tomba@anu.edu.au
and tsch9269@mail.usyd.edu.au
THE 18TH NEW ZEALAND ASIAN STUDIES SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE 2009, Wellington, 6-8 July, 2009. This will be an open,
multidisciplinary conference. Participants are invited to submit panel or
paper proposals presenting original research on any Asia-related topic. For
more information, please the see conference website: http://www.nzasia.org.nz/conference.html
JSAA-ICJLE 2009 Conference, Sydney, July 13-16, 2009.
The Japanese Studies Association of Australia (JSAA) is delighted to host
JSAA-ICJLE2009, a joint conference for the JSAA conference and the International
Conference on Japanese Language Education (ICJLE) in Sydney. The conference
will feature research and discussion in various disciplines of Japanese language
and studies. The main theme of the conference will be "Bridging the gap
between the Japanese language and Japanese studies". The conference aims
to provide a forum for Japanese language and studies academics and educators
from around the world to meet and share ideas beyond and across their disciplines.
See http://www.jsaa.info
MAJU BERSAMA The Australian Society of Indonesian
Language Educators (ASILE) Biennial Conference, Sydney, 14-15 July, 2009.
ASILE is now calling for expressions of interest for papers and workshops
at the 2009 conference. This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to
and participate in a conference with a national audience interested in directions
for the future of Indonesian language education. Small teams of presenters
working together on projects are also encouraged to register. Any queries,
please contact: Andrea Corston phone: (08) 8683 4751; acorston@internode.on.net
TRADE AND INDUSTRY IN ASIA PACIFIC: HISTORY, TRENDS
AND PROSPECTS, 19-20 November, Canberra. The ARC Asia Pacific Futures
Research Network is pleased to announce its signature event for 2009 supporting
the theme of Trade and Industry in the Asia Pacific. This year's event is
an exciting collaboration between the Arndt-Corden Division of Economics at
the Australian National University (ANU) and the School of Economics and Finance,
La Trobe University (LTU). The conference fee, which includes lunches, tea/coffee
and the conference dinner (19 November) is A$450, if the payment is received
by 15 July 2009. Please note the fee increases to $500 for registrations
after this date. Prospective contributors should submit a draft version
of the paper or a detailed abstract by e-mail no later than
31 May 2009. Contact: Karen.nulty@anu.edu.au.
You are welcome to advertise Asia-related events in this
space. Send details to: fbeddie@infinite.net.au.
Feedback
What would be useful for you? Human interest stories, profiles
of successful graduates of Asian studies, more news about what's on, moderated
discussions on topical issues? Send your ideas to fbeddie@infinite.net.au
About the ASAA
The Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) promotes
the study of Asian languages, societies, cultures, and politics in Australia;
supports teaching and research in Asian studies; and works towards an understanding
of Asia in the community at large. It publishes the Asia Studies Review
journal and holds a biennial conference.
The ASAA believes there is an urgent need to develop a strategy
to preserve, renew and extend Australian expertise about Asia. It has called
on the government to show national leadership in the promotion of Australia's
Asia knowledge and skills. See Maximizing Australia's Asia Knowledge Repositioning
and Renewal of a National Asset http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/ASAA/asia-knowledge-book-v70.pdf.
Asian Currents is published by the
Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA). It is edited by Francesca Beddie.
The editorial board consists of Kathryn Robinson, ASAA President; Michele
Ford, ASAA Secretary; Mina Roces, ASAA Publications officer; and Lenore Lyons,
ASAA Council member.
