The Centre for Indian Studies in Africa (CISA) was established at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg towards the end of 2007: the first in Africa to focus on India. In 2009, the Centre received major funding from the Mellon Foundation to establish a Chair in Indian Studies and fellowships for graduate students. CISA promotes teaching, research and public activities concerning the Indian sub-continent, its links to Africa and the Indian Ocean, and builds on the multi-faceted networks developed with Indian universities, research institutions and public agencies. Over the past two years the intellectual remit of the Centre has expanded to include the histories of the Global South: that affective geography between Latin America and Asia. The Centre’s public activities are part of its mandate to contribute to the consolidation of economic, political and cultural relations between India and countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.
