SARG 2026

The South Asia Summer Reading Group (SARG) is an informal organization of individuals with an interest in the politics of South Asia. Over the course of this summer, we will be reading new books on South Asian politics. Each week, one member of the group will review a book, with the review to be posted on the Center for Contemporary India website.

We have six books lined up and reviews/discussions scheduled throughout July and August. Thank you in advance to everyone who signed up to review or discuss a book!

As a reminder, this is an informal discussion. Reviews will be posted in advance of the Thursday discussions and there is no expectation that you will have read the book in advance to participate in the discussion itself. A current graduate student will get the discussion started and things will go from there. If you are an author of one of the selected books and would like to participate in the discussion, please do!

All discussions will be held on Thursdays at 9:00 PDT/12 Noon EDT/16:00 GMT/21:00 PKT/21:30 IST and will run for approximately one hour. The discussion will be held at this Zoom Link and the meeting should be accessible without a host and for 15 minutes before and after the scheduled meeting.

We look forward to another summer of great reading on the politics of South Asia!

  1. Atul Kohli and Kanta Murali | Democracy and Inequality in India
    ONLINE DISCUSSION: ​July 9​, 2025

  2. Sam Dalrymple​ | Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia 
    ONLINE DISCUSSION: July 16, 2026

  3. Christophe Jaffrelot​ | Gujarat Under Modi
    ONLINE DISCUSSION: July 30, 2026

  4. Santhosh Mathew, Bhumi Purohit, Devesh Sharma | Public Financial Management, State Capacity, and Public Services in India​​
    ONLINE DISCUSSION: August 6, 2026​​

  5. Liza Weinstein​ | Logics of Dispossession
    ONLINE DISCUSSION: ​August 13, 2026

  6. Soledad Artiz Prillaman​ | Patriarchal Political Order
    ONLINE DISCUSSION: August 20, 2026​​

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