Hotel Shanker, Lazimpat
23-25 July, 2025
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 2025
Panel A1 | Caste and Inclusion in Federal Nepal 9:00-11:00 am
Opening Remarks
Marie Lecomte-Tilouine, Centre for South Asian and Himalayan Studies
Chair and Discussant
Richard Bownas, Professor, Political Science, University of Northern Colorado
Mitra Pariyar
Chair, Caste Watch Network (CWN)
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
Andreas Føllesdal
Professor, Political Philosophy, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo
Kåre Vollan
Managing Director, Quality AS
Break 11:00–11:30 am
Panel A2 | Being and Belonging in Nepal’s Queer and Trans Communities 11:30 –1:30 pm
Chair and Discussant
Leena Sharma, Centre for Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, School for Language, Literature and Cultural Studies, Central University of Gujarat
Shubha Kayastha
PhD Candidate, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)
Kumud Rana
Assistant Professor, Lancaster University
Legal and Constitutional Advancements for Transgender Rights: A Comparative Study of India and Nepal
Anjali Sharma
Professor, Department of Education, Central University of Rajasthan
Megha Aggarwal
PhD Scholar, Department of Education, Central University of Rajasthan
Lunch Break 1:30–2:30 pm
Panel A3 | Breaking Gender Boundaries: Mobility, Resistance, and Empowerment 2:30–4:30 pm
Chair and Discussant
Seira Tamang, Martin Chautari
Gita Neupane
Assistant Professor, University of Idaho
Claire Willey-Sthapit
Assistant Professor, University of Kansas
Anne Kukuczka
Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, University of Zurich
Bidhyalaxmi Maharjan
Student, The Open Institute
Panel A4 | Symbols of Identity in Culture, Games and Artifacts 9:00–11:00 am
Chair and Discussant
David Gellner, Professor Emeritus of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford
Rojita Sharma
Architect/ Lecturer/ Independent Researcher
Sadichchha Shrestha
Lecturer, Himalaya College of Engineering
Krija Bajracharya
Kathmandu University School of Arts
Marie Lecomte-Tilouine
Director of Research, CNRS, France
Xinyue Yang
PhD Student, Center for Tibetan Studies, Sichuan University
Break 11:00–11:30 am
Panel A5 | Indo-Nepal Connections: Heritage, Resilience, and Shared Wisdom 11:30–1:30 pm
Chair and Discussant
Michael Hutt, Professor Emeritus, SOAS University of London
Anjali Sharma
Professor, Department of Education, Central University of Rajasthan
Divyanshu Mishra
PhD Scholar, Department of Education, Central University of Rajasthan
Gaurav C Garg
Assistant Professor, History, Ashoka University
Anjali Sharma
Professor, Department of Education, Central University of Rajasthan
Usha Chaudhary
Research Scholar
Lunch Break 1:30–2:30 pm
Panel A6 | Identity Through Migration, Tradition and Modernity 2:30–4:30 pm
Chair and Discussant
Amar BK, Chair, Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies – Kathmandu Center
Leena Sharma
Centre for Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, School for Language, Literature and Cultural Studies, Central University of Gujarat
Neha Gauchan
Project Manager, Udeshya Girls in STEM
Gita Neupane
Assistant Professor, University of Idaho
Panel A7 | Trade, Technology and Trans- Himalayan Relations 9:00–10:20 am
Chair and Discussant
Anna Sehnalova, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Niraj Lawoju
PhD Student, Sichuan University
Wu Di
Assistant Researcher/ Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Ethnology and Sociology, Yunnan University
Routledge International Handbook of Himalayan Environments, Development and Wellbeing 10:30–11:00 am
Short introduction to Routledge International Handbook of Himalayan Environments, Development and Wellbeing
edited by
Ben Campbell, Mary Cameron and Tanka Subba
Speakers
Sara Baumann, Michael Hutt, Anna Stirr & Ben Campbell
Break 11:00–11:30 am
Panel A8 | Navigating Federalism and Local Governance in Nepal 11:30–1:30 pm
Chair and Discussant
Andreas Follesdol, Professor, Political Philosophy, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo
Lokranjan Parajuli
Senior Researcher, Martin Chautari
Richard Bownas
Professor, Political Science, University of Northern Colorado
Mahendra Lawoti
Professor, Western Michigan University
Lunch Break 1:30–2:30 pm
Panel A9 | Nationalism, War and the Shaping of Identity 2:30–3:50 pm
Chair and Discussant
Mitra Pariyar, Chair, Caste Watch Network
Paulina Stanik
University of Warsaw
Xing Li
PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Launch of 'The Commons' 4:00–4:30 pm
Launch of ‘The Commons’ with a presentation by
Sabin Ninglekhu & Rabin Giri
Closing Remarks
Closing Remarks
Michael Hutt, Britain-Nepal Academic Council
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 |
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 |
| 12 |
Gita Neupane
Assistant Professor, University of Idaho
|
Gender Policing, Everyday Resistance and Women Motorcycle Riders in Kathmandu |
| 13 |
Bidhyalaxmi Maharjan
Student, The Open Institute
|
Intergenerational Tensions and Tactics of Mediation in Single, College-Educated Nepali Women’s Leisure Travel and Tourism |
| 14 |
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 |
| 15 |
Marie Lecomte-Tilouine
Director of Research, CNRS, France
|
Questions Raised by the Visual Anthropology of the Invisible |
| 16 |
Mahendra Lawoti
Professor, Western Michigan University
|
Comparing Executive Systems in Nepal, and Beyond |
| 17 |
Niraj Lawoju
PhD Student, Sichuan University
|
Study of Depiction and Understandings of Chinese Netizens About Nepal on Wechat Short Videos |
| 18 |
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 |
| 19 |
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? |
| 20 |
Neha Gauchan
Project Manager, Udeshya Girls in STEM
|
Narratives from Thakali Women Living in Kathmandu: Exploring Self, Indigeneity, and Identity |
| 21 |
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 |
| 22 |
Andreas Føllesdal
Professor, Political Philosophy, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo
Kåre Vollan
Managing Director, Quality AS
|
The Nepali Federation – A Comparative Study |
| 23 |
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 |
| 24 |
Richard Bownas
Professor, Political Science, University of Northern Colorado
|
The ‘Particization’ of Society: Nepal in Comparative Perspective |
| 25 |
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 |