PHILADELPHIA -– The Center for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania will hold a 20th Anniversary Symposium on “India: Two Decades of Transformation.”

The Sept. 27 event will be in the Michael A. Fitts Auditorium of the Penn Law School’s Golkin Hall from 2 to 6:45 p.m.

CASI was founded in 1992, by Francine Frankel, a political science professor at Penn, one year after India launched its historic economic reforms. Today, it is recognized as a national resource, addressing the urgent need for objective knowledge of India’s rapidly changing society, politics and economy and the forces and processes behind them.

“Penn’s Center for the Advanced Study of India is a star in the firmament of our international outreach,” Penn President Amy Gutmann said. “It is among the major reasons Penn is so perfectly positioned for collaborative global scholarship."                                                                                                                      

“As the only research institution in the U.S. dedicated to studying contemporary India, CASI is a thought leader in providing in-depth, policy-relevant scholarship related to this important nation. The Center’s interdisciplinary approach reflects the very best of Penn.”                                       

Rebecca Bushnell, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, calls CASI “a vitally important catalyst for scholarship on Indian domestic and foreign policy, political economy and media and communications issues” and noted that under the leadership of Devesh Kapur, director of CASI and the Madan Lal Associate Professor for the Study of Contemporary India,  “it has become an increasingly important voice in the dialogue among the academic, business and policy communities. We are very proud of CASI’s accomplishments.” 

“Our anniversary symposium will bring the largest number of Government of India officials to Penn for one event for the first time,” Kapur said.

 Guest speakers from New Delhi will include senior representatives and advisors to the Indian government as well as leaders from India’s business community. In addition to providing perspectives on the rapidly changing Indian economy and the challenges of building a more inclusive nation, the symposium will reflect upon the evolution of India’s external relations, including the Indo-U.S. relationship during the last two decades. Penn President Amy Gutmann will conclude the symposium.

More information regarding the symposium schedule and speaker profiles is available at CASI Celebrates 20 Years.

A video of the symposium will be posted on CASI’s Web site by Oct. 1: http://casi.ssc.upenn.edu/casi20thanniversary.