Revisiting the Southern Territory of Asoka: Solving a Few Puzzles

Illustrated lecture by Prof. Susmita Basu Majumdar, Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta

Chair: Prof. B.P.Sahu, University of Delhi

 

 

Theatre Beyond Borders

Adil Hussain, well-known Indian stage, television and film actor from Assam in conversation with Kishalay Bhattacherjee
Introduction: Dr. Monica Banerjee, Director, NFI

 

South Asia and South East Asia between themselves comprise two of the most populous regions of the world. The region is fractious and studies on it are primarily driven by disasters and conflict. India’s Northeast is one such area until not long back marginal to Indian history, that has been caught in the throes of imperial expansion, nationalism, partition, isolation and dependence in the 20th century. Second in the series organised in collaboration with the National Foundation for India (NFI) and curated by journalist and author, Kishalay Bhattacharjee, hopes to shed light on the people and places that are caught in these larger forces and bridge at least some gaps in understanding between and within the two regions

 

 

By Pompi Paul from Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, disciple of Guru Poushali Mukherjee

 

 

Speaker: Dr. Kishore Singh, Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education

 

Chair: Dr. Geetha  B. Nambissan, Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies Jawaharlal Nehru University

 

Collaboration in education being forged among BRICS through Ministerial Declarations is promising. BRICS Network University established by the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2015 has far-reaching implications as it creates new avenues for BRICS academic community to collaborate. BRICS leaders also remain committed to 2030 Education Agenda and to collective action for ensuring basic education of good quality, especially vocational and technical education and training for skills development, with common strategies and innovative approaches. These developments call for critical reflections on potential and challenges. Creating greater awareness about education system among BRICS countries is crucial. They also need to look at their education laws and policies in a comparative perspective. Shared position and collective voice of BRICS on education can have huge impact on shaping global developments in this field

 

 

 

Speaker: Professor Ramin Jahanbegloo, Vice Dean and Executive Director, Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Peace Studies, Jindal Global Law School

 

Discussant and Moderator: Dr. Come Carpentier

 

In his famous essay Notes Towards the Definition of Culture, T.S. Eliot asks the central question on “the essential conditions for the growth and for the survival of culture.” This question is today ours and we need to ask it in relation with the Persian culture.  We need to ask if there are any standards by which we can compare Persian civilization with another, and by which we can make some guess at the improvement or decline of it. The ancient Greeks feared the Persians but looked upon them as a great civilization. Where does the Persian civilization stand today? How does it differ from the Persian culture? What is the most profound element of the Persian civilization? This is a question that every Iranian should be able to answer. But in order to answer these questions, we need to have a better understanding of the two concepts of “culture” and “civilization”

 

(Collaboration: Parzor Foundation)

 

 

 

Sarod Recital 

By the Maharaj Trio: Pandit Vikash Maharaj on sarod, accompanied by Shri Abhishek Maharaj on sitar and Shri Prabhash Maharaj on tabla

 

 

Directed by Param Tomanec who will introduce the film

 

Rasa Yatra evokes the beauty of pilgrimage through non-linear narrative. Photographed over a period of four years, the film takes the viewer on a meditative journey from the majestic Himalaya into Vrindavan

 

 

 

Speakers: Dr. Srinivasu Bathula, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Jamia Millia Islamia; Dr. Pradeep Shinde, Assistant Professor, Centre for Informal Sector & Labour Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Dr. Smita M. Patil, Assistant Professor, School of Gender and Development Studies, IGNOU; and Prof. Y.S. Alone, Professor, School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University

 

Introduction: Shri Vijay Naik, Consulting Editor, Sakal

Moderator: Shri Suhas Borker, Editor, Citizens First TV (CFTV)

 

(Collaboration: Maharashtra Sanskritik ani Rannaniti Adhyayan Samiti; and Working Group on Alternative Strategies)