About the talk:
The Rohingya issue has been reduced to a single-issue debate fixated on the security dimension largely concerned with issues of illegal migration, religious radicalisation and terrorism. Despite being intensely debated, the underlying causes and the potential consequences of the crisis are dimly understood
Join us as we unpack and interrogate the multiple and contradictory narratives of the Rohingya issue in the wake of the UN Security Council delegation’s visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh earlier this week. These will be debated in a conversation between Khin Zaw Win and Nimmi Kurian that will delve deeper into the historical narrative, the complexities of the issue, the challenges it poses, and the possible solutions going forward.
About the speakers:
Khin Zaw Win has decades-long experience as one of the most respected and independent political commentators from Myanmar. He has had a ringside view of Myanmar’s transitions from authoritarianism to democracy including the contested debate on devolution of power and recognition of ethnic aspirations. He is currently the Director of the Yangon-based Tampadipa Institute and works on policy advocacy and capacity building issues. He has previously served in the government health services of Myanmar, and Sabah, Malaysia. He is a former Fellow of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, New York, a UK FCO Chevening Fellow, University of Birmingham and holds a degree in Public Policy programme from the National University of Singapore. He is currently closely involved in addressing the ongoing Rohingya crisis.
Nimmi Kurian is an Associate Professor at Centre for Policy Research and Academic Advisor at the India China Institute, The New School, New York. Her research interests include Asian borderlands, comparative regionalism, transborder mobilities and Indian foreign policy. She is one of the contributors to the India Country Report as part of the Bangladesh China India Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM EC) Joint Study Group, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Her recent publications include: India and China: Rethinking Borders and Security (co-author) University of Michigan Press, 2016; ‘Why the ‘Good’ Refugee is a Bad Idea’, Open Democracy, 30 April 2018; ‘An Uneven Flow? Navigating Downstream Concerns Over China’s Water Policy’ in K. J. Joy et al, Water Conflicts in Northeast India, Routledge, 2017. ‘How Suu Kyi can Change the Rohingya Narrative’, Diplomatist, November 2017; ‘Footnotes of a Forgotten Text: Turning the Page on Myanmar’s Federal Debate’, CPR Policy Brief, June 2018, forthcoming; ‘Addressing the Drought of Ideas on the Brahmaputra’, China-India Brief, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, October 2017.
Please RSVP at president.cpr@cprindia.org
