Globalisation in relation to India has been a two way process. Global forces have had a considerable impact on India at all levels of its life. They are penetrating its economy and reshaping its structure and mode of operation. They are forcing India to redefine its place in the world and its relation to its neighbours and the west. India's educational and cultural life, TV and print media, and its perception of itself and the world are also undergoing profound changes. Not surprisingly, India today is quite different from what it was barely ten years ago, and it is not easy to predict how it will progress during the next few years.

India has not been a passive recipient of global impact. Both directly and through its diaspora, it has increasingly become a significant global presence. India's literature, arts, films, religions, food, textiles, fashions and music are now an integral part of life in the west. Its doctors, IT specialists, computer scientists, small and large industrialists, managers and engineers are present in the west in large numbers and have made a very considerable impact. Indeed, they are admired for their skills and hard work and are much sought after.

So far very little systematic work has been done on the complimentary processes of the globalisation of India and the Indianisation of the globe. This conference will for the first time bring together scholars who have worked on different aspects of these processes and will provide an occasion for a much needed exchange of ideas and perspectives. It should serve as a model for similar studies in relation to other countries.

Organised by - Professor Bhikhu Parekh (LSE) and Dr Steven Vertovec (Oxford)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Emma Newcombe, ESRC Transnational Communities Programme,
University of Oxford, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology,
51 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6PE, UK tel. +44/0 1865 274711 fax +44/0 1865 274718
email: emma.newcombe@anthropology.ox.ac.uk