South Asia Forum and K.R. Narayanan Oration 2026

The South Asia Forum and K.R. Narayanan Oration 2026, organised by the Australia South Asia Research Centre (ASARC) at The Australian National University, will bring together leading academics, policymakers and practitioners from Australia and South Asia for a full day of research, policy discussion and dialogue on some of the major economic, social and political issues shaping the region. The Forum will feature sessions on migration and its economic impacts; trade and Australia–South Asia economic relations; democratic change and institutions in South Asia; and environment and development, among other topics. A dedicated session on caste in the South Asian diaspora will be jointly organised by ASARC and the South Asia Research Institute (SARI). Across these sessions, speakers will examine both emerging challenges within South Asia and the region’s growing connections with Australia. The Forum will be followed by the K.R. Narayanan Oration, ASARC’s flagship public lecture. This year’s Oration will be delivered by Professor Amitabh Mattoo, Dean of the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.