Prof. M.H. Ilias Officiating Director India-Arab Cultural Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi-25 Email:mhilias@gmail.com milias@jmi.ac.in (Official) Phone: +91 9717039874 Brief Bionote M.H. Ilias is Professor and Officiating Director at India-Arab Cultural Centre. Dr. Ilias completed his doctoral research in West Asian Studies form the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Areas of his research interest include: Society and Culture in the Gulf States, Government and Politics in the Arab World, Hadrami migration on the Malabar Coast, film and popular culture in West Asia and Muslims and new media. Dr. Ilias recent publications include India-West Asia Relations: Understanding Cultural Interplays (co-edited); Space Memory and Jewish National Identity, Society and Change in the Contemporary Gulf (co-edited) and Off-Campus Orientalism: Western University Branch Campuses in the Gulf. Dr. Ilias had been the recipient of Ford Foundation Fellowship for Postdoctoral Research (2007) at Oxford University and Postdoctoral Visiting Research Fellowship (2008) at the Centre for Modern Orient, Berlin. His articles and chapters have appeared in many collections as well as internationally reputed journals. Personal Data Age & Date of Birth : 37, 01-06-1974 Marital Status : Married, two children Languages Known : Malayalam, English, Hindi, Arabic and French 1
Degrees and Education 2005 PhD in West Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. 1999 M.A in Politics and International Relations, School of International Relations, Mahatma Gandhi University. 2007-8 Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, University of Oxford, the UK Employment/ Research History 2016- Professor & Officiating Director, India Arab Cultural Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. 2014-2016 Professor, India Arab Cultural Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. 2011-2014 Associate Professor, India Arab Cultural Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. 2008-2011, Reader India Arab Cultural Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. 2008 Visiting Research Fellow, Centre for Modern Orient (ZMO), Berlin. 2007-8 Ford Foundation Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, University of Oxford, UK 2006-7 Assistant Professor, Kunjali Marakkar Centre for West Asian Studies, University of Calicut, India. 2006 Part-time Research Fellow, Gulf Research Centre, Dubai, UAE 2003 Assistant Professor, Kunjali Marakkar Centre for West Asian Studies, University of Calicut, India. Awards, Grants and Fellowships 2008 Visiting Research Fellowship, Centre for Modern Orient (ZMO), Berlin. 2
2007-08 Ford Foundation Fellowship for post-doctoral Research at Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies 2007 Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Fellowship for a study visit in Egypt. 2009 Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) Travel Grant for a trip to Russia. 2010 Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) Major Research Grant. 2017 Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSS) Research Programme. Area(s) of Research Interest 1. State and Politics in the GCC States 2. Arab/Islamic Political Thought 3. Society and Culture in the Gulf States 4. Hadhrami Diaspora in the Gulf 5. Film and Popular Culture in West Asia Papers Taught 1. Politics and Governance in the Arab Gulf States 2. Introduction to the Gulf Studies 3. Ideologies and Conflicts in West Asia 4. Film and Popular Culture in West Asia 5. Introduction to the Theories of Cultural Studies 6. Society and Culture in the Arab World Publications Books/ Monograph Off-Campus Orientalism: Western University Branch Campuses in the Gulf (New Delhi: Aakar Books, 2015) 3
Society and Change in Contemporary Gulf (Co-edited with Prof. A. K.Ramakrishnan, New Delhi: New Century Publications, 2011) Re-conceptualizing Political : Translocal Malayalee Organizations in the Gulf (Monograph, New Delhi: Gulf Studies Programme, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2011) India-West Asia Relations: Understanding Cultural Interplays (Co-Editor, New Delhi: New Century Publications, 2007) Space, Memory and Jewish National Identity, (New Delhi: New Centaury Publications, 2007) Forthcoming: Travel and Transformation: The Life History of Saiyyid Fadl bin Alawi (Leiden: Brill) Recent Journal Articles and Chapters Narrations of Travel and Nations Past: Oral Accounts of Early Migrants from Kerala to the Gulf in the Post-Oil Era in Oral Histories in the Arab Context, (Beirut: Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies, 2015) De-Romanticizing Secular: Political Theology of Dawla Madaneyya in the Post-Spring Arab World, Indian Journal of Politics and International Relations, Vol 5-8, pp.177-192, 2015. Re-conceptualizing political : Translocal Indian Politics in the Gulf in Anthony Gorman and Sossie Kasbarian (ed.) Contextualizing the Modern Middle Eastern Diaspora (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015) Popular Culture in West Asia: Streams and Contents, in Anisur Rahma (ed.), West Asia in Transition: Issues, Perspectives and Global Concerns, (New Delhi, Academic Excellence, 2015). Neoliberalism and the New Means of Art of Government in the Gulf, in Mazhar al-zo oby & Birol Baskan, State-Society Relations in the Arab Gulf, (Berlin: Gerlach Press, 2014) Political Theology of Morsi State in Egypt, in Anwar Alam, Arab Spring: Reflections on Political Changes in the Arab World and its Future, ( New Delhi: New Century Publications, 2014) Labour Exchange and Indian Foreign Policy in the Gulf, in India-GCC Strategic Relations (Dubai: Gulf Research Centre, 2013) 4
India-GCC Relations: Contemporary Dynamics, World Focus, July, 2013 Western Universities and Off-Campus Orientalism in the Gulf Journal of International Politics, Vol.8, No. II, 2013. Malabar s Omani Connection with Special Reference to the Life Histories of Cheraman Perumal and Saiyyid Fadl bin Alawi in Oman- India: Civilizations and Prospectus ( Muscat: Sulatan Qaboos University Press, 2011) Dubai: The City and Sacredness in A.K.Ramakrishnan and M.H.Ilias (eds.), Society and Change in the Contemporary Gulf, (New Century Publication, New Delhi, 2011). Iranians and the Bombay Cinema, in Anwar Alam, Indo-Iranian Relations: Understanding New Dynamics, ( New Century Publications, New Delhi, 2011) South Asian Labour Crisis in Dubai and the Scanty Prospects of Indian Policy in the Arab Gulf Region, Indian Journal of Politics and International Relations, I Vol.4, No. 1& 2, 2011. Cosmopolitan Continuum in the Persian Gulf History (Review Essay), International Studies, vol. 48, no. 3-4, 2011, pp. 367-372. Internet and Public Sphere in Saudi Arabia in Sujata Cheema Aiswarya (ed.), Civil Society and Democracy in West Asia ( New Delhi: New Century Publications, 2010) New Market Spaces and Challenges to the State Sovereignty in the Arab Gulf Region, in Gulshan Dietl (ed.), Democratization in the Gulf: Challenges Ahead (New Delhi: Shipra Publications, 2010) Cultural Contours of India-West Asia Relations, in M.H.Ilias (ed.), India-West Asia Relations: Understanding Cultural Interplays ( New Delhi : New century Publications, 2007) Arabic-Malayalam and the Parallel Process of Knowledge Building Among Kerala Muslims, published in The Journal of Languages and Translation, Vol. 3, No.1, April, 2007. Mappila Muslims and the Cultural Content of Trading Arabia Diaspora on the Malabar Coast, Asian Journal of social science, 35, 4-5, pp. 434-456, 2007. 5
Articles Published on Websites Indian Associations in the Gulf: Pushing Boundaries of Political Imagination in the Gulf,www.Jadaliyya.com, May, 2012. Between Surprise and Worry: The Problematique of Intellectual Positions on the Arab Spring, www.utharakalam.com, March, 2012. Ulema and the Internet: A Case Study of Muslim Scholars Engagement with New Media, https://iaww.huberlin.de/medialisieurng/ilias/file/view Palestine: History Revisiting, www.asianlite.com (a UK based website) Documentaries/Screen Plays 1. Qatar: A Nation on the Move, shooting script for a documentary on the State of Qatar. 2. Arabic-Malayalam, a documentary on Arabic-Malayalam Language and Linguistic orientation of Mappila Muslims of Kerala funded by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. Memberships 1. Member, Association of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies Scholars (AGAPS). 2. Member, Governing Council, Kerala Council for Social Science Research (KCSSR). 3. Member Committee of Studies, Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women s Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. 4. Member, Committee of Studies, Gulf Studies Programme, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. 5. Member, The Islamic Manuscript Association (TIMA), the UK 6. Member, Board of Management, India-Arab Cultural Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 7. Member, Committee of Studies, West Asian Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi (2008-2010). Projects Undertaken 2006 Undertaken a project on GCC-Australia Relations funded by the Gulf Research Centre (UAE). 6
2010 Lead Researcher, in a project on India-GCC Relations carried out jointly by Gulf Research Centre and Public Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. 2018 Principal Investigator in a project on Documentation of Arabi- Malayalam and the Linguistic-Cultural Linguistic Traditions of Mappila Muslims of Kerala funded by Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi. 2011 Principal Investigator in a project on the Documentation of Historical Documents on India-Oman historical Relations, funded by Omani National Archives, Muscat. 2017 Co-Director ICSSR funded Research Project on A Study of Muslim Question in Malayalam and Bengali Cinema of the Sub-Continent. Recent Paper Presentations and Invited Lectures 2017 Spatial Segregation and Production of Ethnic Enclaves A Case study of Indian Migrants in the GCC Countries, Third Conference of Arab Social Science Council on State, Sovereignty and Social Space in the Arab Region: Emerging Historical and Theoretical Approaches, 10-12, March, 2017, Beirut. 2016 Cinema as a Foreign Policy Tool in Promoting Iran s Soft Power Image: Experiences from South Asia, Third International Conference on International System, Regional Developments and the Foreign Policy of Iran at Faculty of Law and Political Science, 21-22 November, 2016, Allameh Tabataba i University, Tehran, Iran Marginality and the Production of Vernacular Politics among the Indian Migrants in the Arab Gulf, Third Annual Social Science Conference on Inequality, Marginality in Local, Regional and Global Contexts, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Al-Akhawayn University, Ifrane, Morocco, 21-22 May 2016. Omani Press in Diaspora in the Indian Sub-Continent, Omani Press in Diaspora, Cultural Club, Muscat, Oman, 25 April, 2016. 2015 Arab Architecture and Urban Voids, International Building and Life Conference, Association of Architects, Bursa (Turkey), 1-2, October, 2015. 7
Arab Settlements in South India, Muslims in India: Socio-Cultural Imprints, Department of History, University of Calicut & Jamia Salafiya, 6 th February, 2016. Delivered a lecture on Equality to Rights and Beyond: Changing Vocabularies of Democracy, 3-Week Refresher Course in Human Rights & Social Inclusion, New Delhi, Human Resource Development Centre, JMI, 6 th August, 2015. Delivered a lecture on Film and Popular Culture, 4-Week Orientation Programme, New Delhi, Human Resource Development Centre, JMI, 5 th August, 2015. 2014 Memories and Narrations of Nations Past: Accounts of the mid Early Migrants from Kerala to the Gulf in the post-oil Era, presented in International conference on Oral History in the Arab Context, organized by Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies, Beirut 21 23 Feb. 2013 Researching the Islamic World: Epistemological and Methodological Issues, Kerala Muslim History Congress held on 22-24, December, Calicut, Kerala. Chaired a session on the theme Understanding the Assertions of Islamists: Perspectives from the South in Annual International Studies Convention 2013, New Delhi from 10-12 December Muscat and Malabar: Trade Induced Political Ties in the Symposium on Muscat: History and Civilization, held in Sultan Qaboos University, on 27-28 October. 2012 Presented a paper on Off-Campus Orientalism: Western Universities in the Gulf at Gulf Studies Conference-2012 held in Exeter University, the UK, July 16-20, 2012. 2011 Diasporas in Formation: Contextualizng Modern Diasporas in the Arab Gulf in an international symposium on Contextualising Community - Diasporas of the Modern Middle East (27-28 October 2011), Edinburgh University, the UK. Neoliberalism and the New Means of Art of Government in the Gulf Monarchies in the Annual Gulf Conference organized by the Gulf Studies Programme, Exeter University (the UK) 29 June to 2 July. 8
Indian Diaspora in the Gulf: changing Idioms of Identity in the Annual Gulf Research Meeting organized by the Gulf Research Centre, Cambridge University (the UK) from 6-12 July. Presented a paper on Re-conceptualizing political : Translocal Indian Politics in the Gulf in the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies Annual Middle Eastern Studies conference held in Exeter University (the UK) 27-29 June. Presented a paper on Fatwas and Counter-Fatwas: Manuscripts to Legitimate Theological claims in 19th and 20th Centuries in the International Islamic Manuscript conference in the University of Cambridge (the UK) 12-14 July. Oman s Malabar connection through the Life Histories of Cheraman Perumal and Saiyyid Fadl bin Alawi in the international seminar on India-Oman Relations organized by Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, 27February to 3 March. 2019 Experiences Beyond Remittances: Changing Pattern of Indian Diaspora in the Gulf in an international seminar on India and the Gulf, Iran and Iraq: Emerging Strategic Concerns organized by Indian Council for World Affairs, New Delhi ( November 26-27) Prepared a position Paper on India-GCC Labour Exchange for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)-Gulf Research Centre (GRC) India-GCC Joint Working Group Meeting held on 16th October, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Sacred Geographies of Special Economic Zones in the Arab Gulf Region Presentation in the international workshop on Under Construction: Material and Symbolic Meaning of Architecture and Infrastructure in the Gulf region being organized by the Centre for Modern Orient (ZMO) on 6-10th October, Berlin, Germany. Presented a paper on Arabs and the Bombay Cinema in international Seminar on Arab Popular Culture, held by the Institute of Media Training and Research, Lebanese American University, Beirut ( Lebanon, 20-23 April. Presented a paper on Ulema and the Internet: The Religious Scholars Engagement with the New Media, in the International Seminar on Time for Medialization: Integrating Media and Transcultural 9
Communication Research Within Islamic and Areas Studies held on April (8-10), at Humboldt University, (Germany) Presented a paper on Hadrami Arabs and Change in Pattern of Religious Consumption in International Seminar on People, Culture and Goods in Motion: India-Arab Maritime Historical Relations, Organized jointly by the Gulf Studies Programme, Jawaharlal Nehru University and India-Arab Cultural Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, ( New Delhi, March 3-4) 2009 Presented a paper on Unprofanble Spaces of Market and the State Sovereignty in the Arab Gulf region in International Seminar on Arabian Peninsula in International Relatiuons organized by Faculty of Politics and International Relations, Lodz University, (Poland) Presented a paper on Hadrami Diaspora and its Religious Consequences in South Asia in International Seminar on History and Historiography of Asia and Africa organized by the Faculty of Asian and African Studies, St. Peters burg State University, (Russia) Presented a paper on New Social Spaces, Culture and Representation: Case Study of Saudi Blogosphere in International Conference on Gulf and Emerging Asia, organized by the Centre for West Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, (New Delhi) Presented a paper on Hadrami Diaspora and the Normative Changes in Pattern of Religious Consumption in Pacific Worlds in Motion II: Inter-disciplinary conference on Asian Migrations, Organized by the Migration Cluster, National University of Singapore, ( Singapore) Presented a paper on Scared Spaces of Capitalism and Challenges to the State Sovereignty and Democracy in the Arabian Gulf Region in National Conference on Democratization in the Gulf: Challenges Ahead, organized by the Centre for West Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, (New Delhi) 2008 Presented a paper on Special Economic Zones and the Question of Sovereignty in the Arab World, at Gulf Conference Exeter University, 2-4July (UK) Presented a paper on Arabic Malayalam and the Parallel Process of Knowledge Construction among Mappila Muslims of Kerala, as a part of Fellow Seminar in Oxford Centre of Islamic Studies (UK) 31 st January, 2008. 10
2007 Delivered a lecture on the Gulf Media and Globalization at Faculty of Mass Communication, University of Cairo (Egypt), 27 th April, 2007 Presented a paper on Arabic Malayalam and the Parallel Process of Knowledge Construction among Mappila Muslims of Kerala, at 4 th International Conference of Faculty of Al-Alsun, Al-Minia University (Egypt) on Preserving Cultural Identity in the Age of Globalization 23-25 April, 2007. Doctoral/Post-Doctoral Researches under Supervision Doctoral Research 1. Sexuality and Public/Private Dichotomy in Iranian Society-Siva Keerthi (Centre for West Asian Studies, JMI) (completed) 2. Women s Empowerment in the GCC States: A Comparative Study of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain- Maheep P (Gulf Studies Programme, JMI). 3. Changing Pattern of Governance in Saudi Arabia since King Faisal- Ashia Khan (Gulf Studies Programme, JMI). 4. Islamic Dimensions of Political Assertion: Case studies of Saudi Arabia and Turkey -Saifuddin Kunju (Gulf Studies Programme, JMI). 5. Dynamics of Political Reform in Saudi Arabia and Qatar: Implicationd of Indian Foreign Policy-Rhea Abraham (Gulf Studies Programme, JMI). 6. Gulf Migration from India under British Dominion. Mohammed Mansoor. P.K. (Gulf Studies Programme, JMI). Post-Doctoral Research 1. Women Empowerment Measuring the Gender Gap in India and Israel (Seema Ahuja, ICSSR Post-Doctoral Fellow) ( Completed) 2. Interplay of Domestic Politics and Foreign-Security Policy of Iran (Shah Alam, ICSSR Post-Doctoral Fellow) ( Completed). 11