Cultural and personal flows across the Bay of Bengal

Devleena Ghosh's article about cultural and personal flows across the Bay of Bengal in pre-independence India has been awarded the prestigious Wang Gungwu Prize.

Devleena Ghosh Source: Devleena Ghosh

University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) based academic Assoc. Prof. Devleena Ghosh has won the 2016 Wang Gungwu Prize.

Her article, published in the journal Asian Studies Review in 2016, about cultural and personal flows across the Bay of Bengal in pre-independence India has been awarded this prestigious prize.

Assoc. Prod. Devleena Ghosh, UTS Source: Devleena Ghosh

Devleena says “the article explores cultural and personal flows across the Bay of Bengal and the modern states of Burma, West Bengal and Bangladesh.”

“I uncover how cultural perceptions and class markers were far more important than state borders during colinialism,” adds Devleena.

The essay offers an innovative look at how cartography intersects with personal histories.

The $1,500 award is named in honour of the distinguished historian, Prof. Wang Gungwu.

He has contributed enormously to scholarship in Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

To know more about Devleena’s research and migration issue in Australia, listen to her conversation with Amit Sarwal.