Kizuna India-Japan Study Forum to Explore Japan’s Influence on 20th-Century Bengali Thought

New Delhi/Kolkata, September 2026: The Kizuna India Japan Study Forum is set to host its upcoming monthly lecture on September 19, focusing on Japan’s influence on Bengali intellectual thought and the development of Asian consciousness during the 20th century.

Titled “Inspiring ‘Asian’ Consciousness and Solidarity: Japan in 20th Century Bengali Thought and Writing,” the lecture will examine how Japan’s rapid modernisation and its victory over Russia in the 1904–05 Russo-Japanese War influenced Indian perceptions of the country.

According to the forum, Japan’s emergence as a major Asian power prompted extensive writing in Indian vernacular periodicals and encouraged intellectuals and travellers to explore the country and understand the values behind its success. The idea of Pan-Asianism also contributed to discussions around Asian identity, solidarity and Japan’s changing role in the region.

The session will feature Sarvani Gooptu, former Professor and present Fellow at the Netaji Institute for Asian Studies, Kolkata, as the speaker. Gooptu is the author of several works examining Asian thought, nationalism, cosmopolitanism, Bengali periodicals and cultural history.

Jayati Gupta, an academic based in Kolkata and former Tagore National Fellow for Cultural Research, will chair the session. Her research includes travel culture and Bengali women’s travel writing, including accounts of Bengali women travellers in Japan.

The Kizuna India Japan Study Forum aims to promote research into relatively under-explored dimensions of India-Japan historical and cultural relations. Through its monthly lectures, the forum provides a platform for scholars and researchers to exchange perspectives on the two countries’ shared history and interactions across trade, business, economics, culture and philosophy.

The lecture will take place online via Zoom on Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 3 pm to 4 pm IST.