About the Conference
The Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal and the Himalaya has been hosted by Social Science Baha since 2012 in collaboration with the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, Britain–Nepal Academic Council, Centre for South Asian and Himalayan Studies (CESAH) & Japanese Association for South Asian Studies (JASAS).
The objective of the conference is to provide a scholarly platform in Kathmandu to scholars working on various aspects of social life in Nepal and the Himalaya from the perspective of social science as well as the arts and the humanities.
Conference 2024
Panel A1 | Borders of Hopes with India and China 9:00 -11:00
Opening Remarks and Chair
Nirmal Man Tuladhar, Chair, Social Science Baha
Discussant
Sanjay Sharma, Independent Scholar
Break 11–11:30 am
Panel A2 | Livelihood at the Bottom of the Pyramid 11:30 am–1:30 pm
Chair
Sanjaya Aryal, Lecturer, University of Essex
Discussant
Sadikshya Bhattarai, Research Coordinator, Social Science Baha
Lunch Break 1:30–2:30 pm
Panel A3 | Learning and Growing up Experiences of Disabled and Youth 2:30–4:30 pm
Chair
Shiva Rijal, Lecturer in English, Central Department of English, Tribhuvan University
Discussant
Prem Phyak, Associate Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University
Panel B1 | Rising despite the System 9:00 -11:00
Opening Remarks
Mahendra Lawoti, Member, ANHS
Chair and Discussant
Seira Tamang, Editor-at-large, SINHAS
Break 11–11:30 am
Panel B2 | Negotiating Socio-Political Structures in a New Republic 11:30 am–1:30 pm
Chair
Lokranjan Parajuli, Senior Researcher, Martin Chautari
Discussant
Sabin Ninglekhu, Principal Investigator, Heritage as Placemaking, Social Science Baha
Lunch Break 1:30–2:30 pm
Panel B3 | Refugees and the Journey of Making a Home 2:30–4:30 pm
Chair
Ramawatar Yadav, Former Vice-Chancellor, Purbanchal University, Nepal
Discussant
Ranu Sherpa, Research Scholar, Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi
Panel A4 | Folk Music as Expression and Memories 9:00 -11:00
Chair and Discussant
Hari Sharma, Executive Director, Purak Asia
Break 11–11:30 am
Panel A5 | Women Stepping Out of the Shadows 11:30 am–1:30 pm
Chair
Sanjay Sharma, Independent Scholar
Discussant
Claire Willey-Sthapit, Assistant Professor, University of Kansas
Lunch Break 1:30–2:30 pm
Panel A6 | (Un)Neighbourly Influences in Nepal 2:30–3:45 pm
Chair
Jacob Rinck, Postdoctoral Fellow, Asia Research Institute, NUS, Singapore
Discussant
Pranab Kharel, Member, Martin Chautari
Break 3:45–4:15 pm
Panel A7 | Extremes of Digital Access 4:15–5:30 pm
Chair and Discussant
Sudeshna Thapa, Research Coordinator, Social Science Baha
Panel B4 | Precarity and Possibility: Transnational Migrant Labour, Life-Making & Legalities in Malaya/Sia 9:00 -11:00
Chair
Hema Kiruppalini, Research Fellow, Asia Research Institute, NUS, Singapore
Discussant
Slesh Shrestha, Independent Researcher
Break 11–11:30 am
Panel B5 | Histories of Education in the Nepali Cultural World 11:30 am–1:30 pm
Chair and Discussant
Pramod Bhatta, Member, Martin Chautari
Lunch Break 1:30–2:30 pm
Panel B6 | Impacts of Constructing and Practising Beliefs
Chair
Sondra Hausner, Professor, University of Oxford
Discussant
Richard Bownas, Professor, University of Northern Colorado
Break 3:45–4:15 pm
Panel B7 | Identity in Political and Literary Representations 4:15–5:30 pm
Panel A8 | Gurkhas in a New Light 9:00 -11:00
Chair
Pratyoush Onta, Research Director, Martin Chautari
Discussant
Hema Kiruppalini, Research Fellow, Asia Research Institute, NUS, Singapore
Break 11–11:30 am
Panel A9 | Labour Regimes and Policy Change
Chair
Lopita Nath, Professor and Chair of History, University of the Incarnate Word
Discussant
Chaaru Jain, Project Manager and Art Educator, Srijanalaya
Lunch Break 1:30–2:30 pm
Panel A10 | Of Journeys and Worldviews: Formation of Early Modern Consciousness in Nepal 2:30–4:30 pm
Chair
Komal Phuyal, Lecturer in English, Central Department of English, Tribhuvan University
Discussant
Abhi Subedi, Professor Emeritus, Central Department of English, Tribhuvan University
Panel B8 | Sajag-Nepal: Preparedness and Planning for the Mountain Hazard and Risk Chain
Chair
Alex Densmore, Professor, Durham University
Discussant
Janak Rai, Professor, Anthropology, Tribhuvan University
Break 11–11:30 am
Panel B9 | Sajag-Nepal: Preparedness and Planning for the Mountain Hazard and Risk Chain
Chair
Amy Johnson, Assistant Professor, Georgia College and State University
Discussant
Katsuo Nawa, Professor of Cultural Anthropology, University of Tokyo
Lunch Break 1:30–2:30 pm
Panel B10 | Sajag-Nepal: Preparedness and Planning for the Mountain Hazard and Risk Chain 2:30–4:30 pm
Chair
Jeevan Baniya, Assistant Director, Social Science Baha
Discussant
Sumit Dugar, Resilience Adviser, UK FCDO
Selected Presentation 2025
| SN | Presenter/Affiliation | Abstract |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Xinyue Yang
PhD Student, Center for Tibetan Studies, Sichuan University
|
“福运”: The Cultural Symbols of Tibetan Collectibles of Used Items |
| 2 |
Paulina Stanik
University of Warsaw
|
Gurkhas and the Great War Effort in the Suburb of Europe |
| 3 |
Rojita Sharma
Architect/ Lecturer/ Independent Researcher
Sadichchha Shrestha
Lecturer, Himalaya College of Engineering
Krija Bajracharya
Kathmandu University School of Arts
|
Documenting Traditional Games for Revitalization of Public Spaces of Bhaktapur, Nepal |
| 4 |
Anjali Sharma
Professor, Department of Education, Central University of Rajasthan
Divyanshu Mishra
PhD Scholar, Department of Education, Central University of Rajasthan
|
Indigenous Wisdom for Climate Resilience: Climate Change Adaptation in Indo-Nepal Himalayas |
| 5 |
Anjali Sharma
Professor, Department of Education, Central University of Rajasthan
Usha Chaudhary
Research Scholar
|
Role of Procedural Fluency in Community Life of Indo – Nepal Himalayan Perspective |
| 6 |
Anjali Sharma
Professor, Department of Education, Central University of Rajasthan
Megha Aggarwal
PhD Scholar, Department of Education, Central University of Rajasthan
|
Legal and Constitutional Advancements for Transgender Rights: A Comparative Study of India and Nepal |
| 7 |
Leena Sharma
Centre for Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, School for Language, Literature and Cultural Studies, Central University of Gujarat
|
Rethinking Regions: Hip-Hop Narratives of Migration and Identity in Nepal Since 1980 |
| 8 |
Kumud Rana
Assistant Professor, Lancaster University
|
Transitioning Into the Third Gender in Nepal: The Politics of Recognition and Redistribution Within Trans/National Human Rights Regimes |
| 9 |
Mitra Pariyar
Chair, Caste Watch Network (CWN)
|
Can Untouchability Be Eradicated from Nepal? |
| 10 |
Lokranjan Parajuli
Senior Researcher, Martin Chautari
|
Electoral Process and the Activities of the First Local Government of Nepal |
| 11 |
Xuzi Pan
Yunnan University
|
Business Across the Himalayas: Traditional Trade Networks and Modern Shifts in Nepal-Tibet Commerce |
| 12 |
Gita Neupane
Assistant Professor, University of Idaho
Claire Willey-Sthapit
Assistant Professor, University of Kansas
|
The Paradox of Men’s Perceptions of Sisters and Other Women in the Context of Sexual Harassments in Public Spaces in Nepal |
| 13 |
Gita Neupane
Assistant Professor, University of Idaho
|
Gender Policing, Everyday Resistance and Women Motorcycle Riders in Kathmandu |
| 14 |
Bidhyalaxmi Maharjan
Student, The Open Institute
|
Intergenerational Tensions and Tactics of Mediation in Single, College-Educated Nepali Women’s Leisure Travel and Tourism |
| 15 |
Xing Li
PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
|
A Difficult Translation: Decoding Legal Inscriptions to Govern Entangled Kinship in Nepal’s Civil Registration Practices |
| 16 |
Marie Lecomte-Tilouine
Director of Research, CNRS, France
|
Questions Raised by the Visual Anthropology of the Invisible |
| 17 |
Mahendra Lawoti
Professor, Western Michigan University
|
Comparing Executive Systems in Nepal, and Beyond |
| 18 |
Niraj Lawoju
PhD Student, Sichuan University
|
Study of Depiction and Understandings of Chinese Netizens About Nepal on Wechat Short Videos |
| 19 |
Anne Kukuczka
Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, University of Zurich
|
Working Towards the Dream: Hopeful Labour and Young Women’s Quest for Mobility in Urban Nepal |
| 20 |
Shubha Kayastha
PhD Candidate, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)
|
Perception and Understanding of Privacy Among Queer People in Nepal: How Do They See and Express Themselves in Digital Spaces? |
| 21 |
Neha Gauchan
Project Manager, Udeshya Girls in STEM
|
Narratives from Thakali Women Living in Kathmandu: Exploring Self, Indigeneity, and Identity |
| 22 |
Gaurav C Garg
Assistant Professor, History, Ashoka University
|
Claiming Everest, Sharing Tenzing: Early Postcolonial Indians and First Successful Ascent of the World’s Highest Peak |
| 23 |
Andreas Føllesdal
Professor, Political Philosophy, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo
Kåre Vollan
Managing Director, Quality AS
|
The Nepali Federation – A Comparative Study |
| 24 |
Wu Di
Assistant Researcher/ Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Ethnology and Sociology, Yunnan University
|
The Trans-Himalayan Flow of Tibetan Salt: Salt-Grain Exchange Among Northern Tibetan Nomads from a Regional Perspective |
| 25 |
Richard Bownas
Professor, Political Science, University of Northern Colorado
|
The ‘Particization’ of Society: Nepal in Comparative Perspective |
| 26 |
Amar B K
Chair, Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies - Kathmandu Center
Binita Nepali
Graduate Teaching Faculty, Department of International Relations and Diplomacy, Tribhuvan University
|
Caste in Nepali Cinema: Questions of Dalit Representation, Consciousness, and Agency |