The Fifth Session of the SAARC Special Lecture (Virtual Mode) titled ‘Early Historic Urbanization and Urban-Rural Landscapes in South Asia’ was held on (Monday), 25th November 2024,3:00 pm (Sri Lanka Standard Time) at the SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Sri Lanka. The speaker of the SAARC Special Lecture Series was Dr. Selvakumar Veerasamy, Department of Maritime History and Marine Archaeology at Tamil University, Thanjavur, India. He is currently a Coordinator at the Centre for Indian Ocean Studies, at Tamil University. His lecture provided a holistic understanding of the complex process of urbanization in the region, delving into its historical, social and economic dimensions. It also shed light on the intricate and enduring nature of urbanization in South Asia and the impact of ideologies and how they shaped urbanization in South Asia.