‘Literatures of Resistance: Words as Actions’

IPS, in collaboration with the Department of Public Administration, Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi, organized a lecture on the topic of ‘Literatures of Resistance: Words as Actions’ on February 20, 2019.

The lecture was delivered by Dr Nitasha Kaul, a multidisciplinary academic and novelist of British-Kashmiri descent who is also an associate professor of politics and international relations at the University of Westminster, London. She was visiting Islamabad to attend an international seminar which was organized by IPS the preceding day.

Dr Kaul, in her lecture, talked about the importance and role of resistance literature in modern times, stating that we are living in the world of narratives where the strength of words must never be underestimated. She revealed that even the people of Kashmir had begun using literature as a tool of their resistance off late. She said that a good number of Kashmiris were now writing about their struggles which was a positive sign. A lot of that literature however was not written in English and hence unfortunately was not reaching an international audience as it should.

The session was chaired by Ambassador (r) Tajammul Altaf, moderated by Awais bin Wasi, acting dean for social sciences at the Riphah International University (RIU), and attended by the University’s faculty and students alongside the members of IPS research team.