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As voted by our global audiences: This week we invite Professor Adam Habib, academic, researcher, activist and now director of SOAS university to our virtual studios.  We discuss his own journey and controversies as well as tackle the ideas of identity, nostalgia, and our need to belong.

Themes include his Memon routes, his take on the inequality in South Africa and the true cost of social change.

A special thank you to SOAS University in supporting this voyage.

About Adam Habib:

Adam Habib is an academic, researcher, activist, administrator, and well-known public intellectual. A Professor of Political Science, Habib has over 30 years of academic, research and administration expertise, spanning five universities and multiple local and international institutions.

Prior to his appointment as Director of SOAS, he was Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa since 2013. Under his leadership, Wits has done incredibly well – research output has increased, it has expanded its footprint in international journals and it has graduated more students than ever before. The university’s finances are stable and it has strong, independent governance structures in place. Habib’s commitment to excellence and transformation has left Wits in a far stronger position, and one of the best universities in Africa at which to study and conduct world-class research.

He joined the University of Johannesburg as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation, Advancement and Library in 2007, during which time he oversaw a doubling of research output, and the dramatic expansion in the training of a new generation of scholars.

He is one of the co-founders of the African Research Universities Alliance, an affiliation of research-intensive universities on the continent.

Habib has published numerous edited books, book chapters and journal articles over the last three decades in the thematic areas of democratisation and its consolidation in South Africa, contemporary social movements, philanthropy, inequality, giving and its impact on poverty alleviation and development, institutional reform, changing identities and their evolution in the post-apartheid era, and South Africa's role in Africa and beyond. He is a well-known public figure in South Africa whose opinions are often sought by the media.

Habib’s academic contributions resulted in his election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in addition to serving as a fellow of both the African Academy of Science and the Academy of Science of South Africa. He also serves on the Council of the United Nations University.

Habib holds qualifications in Political Science from three universities, including the University of Natal and Wits. He earned his masters and doctoral qualifications from the Graduate School of the City University of New York.

Professor Adam Habib | Staff | SOAS University of London

About the Global Indian Series:

My name is Rajan Nazran Chief Explorer for the Global Indian Series, the official platform for people of Indian origin (PIO), because let’s face it, we are everywhere!

For almost 15 years we have travelled across the globe covering 58 countries to date whilst exploring the kaleidoscope of our remarkable 50 shades of brown community.

Voyaging to the edges of the Amazon, facing Ebola in West Africa, being held hostage in Eastern Europe, tapping rubber in Malaysia, drinking chai with Heads of State and sharing laughter with local fishermen – I have been there, looking for us!

Our purpose is simple, to build a living encyclopaedia of the human experience of the community and a safe mooring ground for open discussions, whether you are an NRI, Indian Diaspora, person of Indian origin (PIO) or a fan of South Asian anthropology, what we do is bring people and communities together.

We do this by plunging into the human experience of being a person of Indian origin (PIO), taking a second look at the countries we now call home and tackling the conversations we need to know more about.

Through our range of award-winning original content (print, podcasts, events and TV) and fascinating discussions, our impactful stories and platforms have spearheaded national and international conversations that have brought people together.  Our work is featured in global brands including The Indian Express through to the CNBC network.

How to get involved:

Interested in getting involved in building the world’s largest living encyclopaedia on the community? Whether you want to become a patron, buy us a chai in a new location or have your story shown, simply get in touch via our website, we would love to hear from you. www.globalindianseries.com

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Special thank you to TAIZU for the music

Episode: 99

Presenter – Rajan Nazran

Producer –Global Indian Series/NazranRoth

Guests: in order of appearance

Adam Habib

 

Other podcasts you may like:

If you liked this podcast, you may enjoy the following:

HISTORY OF INDIANNESS | IRAN – DEEP DIVE INTO RELIGION (globalindianseries.com)

THE HISTORY OF INDIANNESS | THE SUGAR WAR (globalindianseries.com)

HISTORY OF INDIANNESS | THE CASTE SYSTEM AND URDU (globalindianseries.com)

HISTORY OF INDIANNESS – VOYAGE THROUGH THE AGES – FINAL LEG (globalindianseries.com)

Are you a Global Indian that needs to go global?  You may be interested in our articles on citizenship by investment and global residency options, including Golden Visas. It’s a definitive guide for all global Indians to read on what you need to know and what you must avoid when looking to participate in investment migration and golden visa planning.

We produce content that inspires purpose, passion, and community. If you like what we do, please do share, like, subscribe and comment. It helps massively with online algorithms.

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