South Asia is of great geopolitical significance. Home to nearly a quarter of humanity and comprising states such as Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, it is marked by enduring regional antagonisms and hosts three nuclear powers.

For years, our understanding of South Asia’s long history of international relations and connections remained patchy, hampering scholarly debate along with our capacity to envision the region’s future. This is changing. New questions are being asked, archives previously unavailable are opening up, and scholars are exchanging across disciplinary boundaries—revealing multi-faceted interactions between South Asia and the rest of the world.

What is NIHSA?

NIHSA was founded in 2019. Our members come from universities and research institutes in South Asia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe. They research and publish cutting-edge work within multiple fields including History, International Relations, Anthropology, and International Development.

Objectives

Our network has three aims:

1. To act as a hub for the dissemination of cutting-edge research on the international past of South Asia as widely as possible;
2. To expand the momentum in the field through workshops, conference panels, and public events;
3. To develop international and interdisciplinary research collaborations.

This comes with a twin commitment:

1. To foster greater dialogue between scholars and the wider public, from policy interlocutors to anyone interested in History and South Asia.
2. To create and share accessible content about South Asia in its historical and international context.
3. To establish stronger, more equal connections between the global south and global north.