Thahir Jamal Kiliyamannil, a PhD research scholar at the Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Hyderabad (UoH), was recently selected to participate in the Max Planck Summer Academy for Legal History 2024 on “The Mediality and Materiality of Law” organized by the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory, Frankfurt, Germany. The Summer Academy, held from July 8-19, 2024, aims to develop and enhance the ability of its participants to transfer legal terminologies and theories across linguistic and cultural contexts, thus providing a basis to build and consolidate international research networks.
Thahir Jamal Kiliyamannil
Thahir presented a paper on “Law and Sovereignty in Malabar,” addressing the changes in the legal regime and practice of government introduced by the British in Malabar. The paper analysed the changes in the authority and functions of qadi after the implementation of British colonial laws.
Thahir’s PhD work, under the supervision of Prof. M.T Ansari, titled “Islam, State and Sovereignty: Genealogy of Muslim Subject Formation in Malabar” focuses on Muslim engagements with the State in the colonial and post-colonial contexts in South India and the underlying changes in the question of sovereignty. Thahir has previously been an Erasmus fellow (2021) at the Berlin Graduate School of Muslim Culture and Societies, Freie University, and a DAAD PhD Visiting fellow at the Centre for Modern Indian Studies, University of Göttingen (2022).
This remarkable achievement is further highlighted by Thahir being the only participant selected from India, with all travel and associated expenses generously covered by the Max Planck Institute.