Asia 21 Young Leader Anam Zakaria will be in conversation with Marsha Vande Berg (RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy Advisory Board) to discuss her latest book. Anam is an author, development professional and educationist with a special interest in oral histories, identity politics and narratives of conflict. Her first book, The Footprints of Partition: Narratives of Four Generations of Pakistanis and Indians (HarperCollins 2015) explores the shifting inter-generational perceptions of the 1947 Partition and won the German Peace Prize 2017. Her second book, Between the Great Divide: A Journey into Pakistan-administered Kashmir (HarperCollins 2018) investigates the impact of the Kashmir conflict in Pakistan Administered Kashmir through the narratives of people on ground. Anam has an academic background in International Development from McGill University and has previously worked as a director at The Citizens Archive of Pakistan, collecting oral histories from the Partition generation and religious minorities of Pakistan and connecting thousands of school children in India, Pakistan and the US through a cultural exchange program. Anam continues this line of work as an independent oral historian and cultural facilitator. 

About her book: Seventy years ago, as India and Pakistan gained their independence, the region of Jammu & Kashmir also found itself divided, with parts of the territory administered by Pakistan ever since. Located by the volatile Line of Control and caught in the middle of artillery barrages from both ends, Pakistan-administered Kashmir was until over a decade ago one of the most closed-off territories of the world. In a first book of its kind, award-winning Pakistani writer Anam Zakaria travels through Pakistan-administered Kashmir to hear its people – their sufferings, hopes and aspirations. She talks to women and children living near the Line of Control, bearing the brunt of ceasefire violations; journalists and writers braving all odds to document events in remote areas; political and military representatives championing the cause of Kashmir; former militants still committed to the cause; nationalists struggling for a united independent Kashmir; and refugees yearning to reunite with their families on the other side. In the process, Zakaria breaks the silence surrounding a people who are often ignored in discussions on the present and future of Jammu & Kashmir even though they are important stakeholders in what happens in the region. What she unearths during her deeply empathetic journeys is critical to understanding the Kashmir conflict and will surprise and enlighten Indians and Pakistanis alike.

About Marsha Vande Berg: Marsha is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Pension Institute, an international membership organization that serves as educational resource on the Asia Pacific for global asset owners and managers. She is an independent director of Quantum Advisors, a privately held mutual fund sponsor registered in the United States, India and Canada (pending). She serves on the advisory boards of the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy and the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. She is an independent director for Tata Capital Private Limited, Singapore.

Agenda

4:00 - 4:30 PM     Registration
4:30 - 5:30 PM     Discussion
5:30 - 6:00 PM     Reception 

If you are a member and interested to attend, please email Melissa La Bouff at [email protected]. Space is limited on a first come, first served basis - limited one ticket per Asia Society Northern California member.