Navras J. Aafreedi
Dr. Navras J. Aafreedi is an Assistant Professor in the department of History, Presidency University, Kolkata, where he teaches several self-designed courses in Jewish Studies, Genocide Studies and Interfaith Studies. His numerous publications include his book Jews, Judaizing Movements and the Traditions of Israelite Descent in South Asia (2016). He received his tertiary education at the University of Lucknow. He has been a Visiting Fellow at Tel Aviv University, the Woolf Institute, Cambridge, UK, and the University of Sydney, and has been an ISGAP Scholar-in-Residence at St. John’s College, Oxford. He has spoken at scholarly forums in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. Dr. Aafreedi has to his credit the first ever Holocaust films retrospective in South Asia, which he held in 2009 at the universities in Lucknow, a major centre of Muslim scholarship, a couple of international multidisciplinary conferences in Genocide Studies, one of which he organised with a couple of colleagues and the other singularly, and several Holocaust photographic exhibitions. He sits on the editorial board of the peer reviewed Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies and on the advisory board of Asian Jewish Life. Contemporary Indian Jewish literature is of great interest to him and he is a serious student of antisemitism in South Asia, about which he writes frequently. He can be followed on Academia.edu, ResearchGate and Twitter.
Kausik Bandyopadhyay
Kausik Bandyopadhyay teaches History at the West Bengal State University, Barasat, India. He was a Fellow of the International Olympic Museum, Lausanne in 2010. A former Fellow of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata, he is an Editor of Soccer and Society (London: Routledge). His areas of research interest include Social and Cultural History of Modern India, Popular Culture in South Asia, History of Sport, and Contemporary South Asia. Bandyopadhyay has authored and edited a large number of books. His most important recent authored works include Sport, Culture and Nation: Perspectives from Indian Football and South Asian Cricket (LA & New Delhi: Sage, 2015); Bangladesh Playing: Sport, Culture, Nation (Dhaka: Subarna/ICBS, 2012); and Scoring Off the Field: Football Culture in Bengal, 1911-80 (New Delhi/London: Routledge, 2011). Among edited works, mention may be made of Heroes, Icons, Legends: Legacies of Great Men in World Soccer (London: Routledge, 2016); Why Minorities Play or Don’t Play Soccer: A Global Exploration (London: Routledge, 2010); and Fringe Nations in World Soccer (co-edited with Sabyasachi Mallick) (London: Routledge, 2008). He has also published a large number of articles in national and international journals.
Aftab Kamal Pasha
Aftab Kamal Pasha teaches at the Gulf Studies, Centre for West Asian Studies (CWAS), School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, where he has served as Chairperson and is now Director, Gulf Studies Programme (an UGC Area Studies Program), at CWAS, SIS, JNU. He is holding this post for fifth time since 1997. He is currently Associate Dean, SIS, JNU. He has also been Director, Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, Cairo, Egypt. He is associated with the Gulf Research Centre, Dubai, UAE. He was Fulbright Professor at St Cloud State University, Minnesota, USA. His research, teaching and writing focuses on international studies especially on West Asia and North Africa. He has authored, edited and co-edited and contributed chapters to over ninety books published in India and abroad on India, Gulf, West Asia and North Africa. His most recent books are India and the Gulf Region: Maritime History, Trade, Security and Political Reforms; India and the GCC States: Historical, Geopolitical and Strategic Perspectives; and India’s Political and Foreign Relations with the Gulf Region [2014]. Professor Pasha was born at Mysore [29-12-1956] and holds BA, [1976] M.A. Degrees [1978] in Middle Eastern Studies and Political Science from Mysore University, Karnataka, India; M.Phil [1981] and PhD [1992] in International Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. His research articles have been published in numerous national and international journals. He has successfully supervised over forty five M.Phil/PhD dissertations/Theses at JNU. He has previously taught at the Centre of West Asian Studies, Aligarh Muslim University, India. He had been a Research Fellow at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, Egypt. He is on the editorial board of several national and international journals. He is a frequent commentator/analyst on international affairs especially on West Asian and North African issues for Radio and TV in India and abroad. Apart from being Professor and Director, Gulf Studies Program, University Grants Commission, Area Studies Program, Centre for West Asian and African Studies, SIS, JNU, he is also Member, Board of Studies, School of International Studies [SIS], JNU, New Delhi; Member, Academic Council and University Court, JNU, New Delhi; Member, International Advisory Board, Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relation, Istanbul, Turkey; Editorial Board Member, Journal of Arabian Studies, University of Exeter, UK; Executive Committee Member, Indian Association for Central and West Asian Studies, Academy of Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia [JMI], New Delhi; Editorial Board Member, Gulf Research Center, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Member, Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.
