Cosmos Foundation welcomes Asad-ul Iqbal Latif as principal research fellow

The Cosmos Foundation has announced the appointment of Asad-ul Iqbal Latif, a distinguished Singaporean freelance journalist, as principal research fellow.

Latif, born in Kolkata, West Bengal, India in 1957, has an impressive academic and professional background. He graduated with honours in English from Presidency College, Kolkata, and earned a Master of Letters degree in History from Cambridge University as a Chevening scholar. His academic pursuits also include being a Fulbright visiting scholar at Harvard University and a Jefferson Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu.

Latif's journalism career began with five years at The Statesman in Kolkata before he moved to Singapore in 1984. There, he worked for The Business Times and The Straits Times. He later served as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Co-General Editor of the 50-volume Singapore Chronicles series produced by the Institute of Policy Studies.

Latif is the author of several notable books on international relations, including "Between Rising Powers: China, Singapore and India," "Three Sides in Search of a Triangle: Singapore-America-India Relations," and "India in the Making of Singapore." His cultural works include "Celebrating Europe: An Asian Journey" and "Eros: Ruminations on Love in Prose and Verse."

He has recently completed the manuscript of a book on the cultural integrity of "Dupaar Bangla," which explores the shared legacy in contemporary Bengali lives on both sides of the international border. The book draws on influences from the Bengal Renaissance, Jasimuddin's love ballads, the Bengal Famine, the institutionalized Bangalitta of Kolkata's Presidency College, the Bengali culture of the city's Statesman House, and Amartya Sen's Bengal.

The Cosmos Foundation looks forward to the valuable insights and contributions Latif will bring to the organization in his new role.