International Symposium on “History and Future of Indus Basin” Connecting Water to Culture, Economy and Technology
January 29, 2017. Ali Auditorium, Ali Institute of Education, Ferozpur Road Lahore, Pakistan
Come with us on a journey through the fascinating environmental history of water in the Indus Basin related developments in our historical past to contemporary problems in water resource governance, to be able to spell out opportunities for the future of the region. Starting from an analysis of early water systems in Pre-Mughal and Mughal periods, through the impact of colonial transformations of the Indus Basins irrigation work, to post independence chain of events shaping contemporary water resource governance in the Indus Basin - this symposium will allow participants to realize the connection between historical interventions in the Basin and contemporary issues. The symposium will be housed as a part of the Lahore Science Mela to be able to engage both technical and non-technical participants to appreciate the environmental history of water in the region. Existing water professionals, engineers, scientists, researchers will be able to draw connections between the science of water and the history of water, whereas non-technical audience will be able to appreciate the narrative on rich interplay and the central role of water in history, politics, economics and culture of the Indus Basin.
Details of Organizing Committee:
Program Committee
- Dr. Abubakr Muhammad, Center for Water Informatics & Technology, LUMS
- Dr. Hasan Karrar, Department of History, School of Humanities & Social Sciences, LUMS
- Dr. Adeel Malik, Lecturer in Development Economics, University of Oxford
- Dr. Sabieh Anwar, Khwarizmi Science Society / Department of Physics, LUMS
Local Organization Committee
- Dr. Abubakr Muhammad, Center for Water Informatics & Technology, LUMS
- Ms. Fazilda Nabeel, Center for Water Informatics & Technology, LUMS / University of Sussex
- Ms. Charisma Waffee, Lahore Science Mela Organizer / Khwarizmi Science Society
- Mr. Soban Hameed, Center for Water Informatics & Technology, LUMS
Session 1 - Indus in the Age of Large Irrigation Infrastructures
TIME | SPEAKER | TITLE | HANDOUTS OR SLIDES | VIDEOS |
| 8:30 to 9:00 | Registration | |||
| 9:00 to 9:10 | Welcome Remark | Video | ||
| 9:10 to 9:30 | Dr. Daanish Mustafa (King’s College London) | Ghadaar, Samraaj, Environment, Development: Co-Production of the Indus Basin through Conflict | Slides | Video |
| 9:30 to 9:50 | Dr. Adeel Malik (University of Oxford) | The geography of canal colonization: Implications for political economy | Slides | Video |
| 9:50 to 10:10 | Dr Rinchan Mirza (University of Namur, Belgium) | Irrigation, Green Revolution and Agricultural Development in India | Slides | Video |
| 10:10 to 10:30 | Q & A / Discussion | Video | ||
| 10:30 to 10:45 | Tea Break | |||
| 10:45 to 12:00 | Moderator: Dr Abubakr Muhammad Panelists: Dr Imran Ali (Karachi School of Business and Leadership) Mr. Khalid Mohtadullah (GWP) Dr James Wescoat (MIT) Dr Daanish Mustafa (King’s College) Dr David Gilmartin (NCSU) Dr Adeel Malik (Oxford) | Panel Discussion Water and the Legacy of British Raj: 30 years since Imran Ali’s “Punjab Under Imperialism.” | Video | |
| 12:00 to 12:10 | Tea Break |
Session 2 - Indus Waters: Contemporary Issues and the Way Forward
TIME | SPEAKER | TITLE | HANDOUTS OR SLIDES | VIDEOS |
| 12:10 to 13:00 | Professor Dr. James Wescoat (Massachusettes Institute of Technology) | The Indus Basin as a Garden: Further Explorations in Punjab | Slides |
Book Launch “Blood and Water: The Indus River in Modern History” University of California Press, 2015.
TIME | SPEAKER | TITLE | HANDOUTS OR SLIDES | VIDEOS |
| 13:00 to 14:00 | Professor Dr.David Gilmartin (North Carolina State University) | The River Basin as Sovereign Space: Partition and Nature | Slides | |
| 14:00 to 14:10 | Concluding remarks | |||
| 14:10 to 15:30 | Lunch Break and Sampling of Lahore Science Mela |
