Simanti Lahiri

Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Kellogg Institute Visiting Fellow

"Consumed by Commitment: Suicide Protest in the Contentious Politics of South Asia"

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
12:30 pm - C103 Hesburgh Center

Abstract

The continued and increasing use of suicide as a form of political protest remains puzzling to scholars. Due to the extreme nature of the tactic itself, it is logical to ask if the costs outweigh the benefits for movements that choose to engage in this particular form of political expression. This talk examines the use of suicide protest in the South Asian context through a comparison of four movements in India and Sri Lanka that use different types of suicide. I discuss the conditions under which suicide protest can result in long or short-term policy shifts in favor of the movement. I also map possible effects of suicide protest on states and state systems.

Biography

Simanti Lahiri, who has been a Kellogg Institute visiting fellow for the 2008 spring semester, will be an assistant professor at the University of Alabama in the fall. She is working on a book, based on several months of fieldwork in India and Sri Lanka, which brings together her research interests in comparative politics, the politics of South Asia, political violence, social movements, terrorism, protest, and democratization. Her manuscript examines the motivations for and the successful use of suicide protest in South Asia. Lahiri holds an MSc in the politics of Asia and Africa from the University of London, and a PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.