Army and Nation: How India’s Founders Made its Army Safe for Democracy

Speaker: Prof. Steven I. Wilkinson, Nilekani Professor of India and South Asian Studies, Chair, Department of Political Science, Yale University and author of the forthcoming book Army and Nation – The Military and Indian Democracy  Since Independence (Permanent Black, 2015)

 

Chair: Dr. Srinath Raghavan

 

At Indian Independence in 1947, the country’s founders worried that the army India inherited – conservative and dominated by officers and troops drawn disproportionately from a few “martial” groups posed a threat to democracy. Steven Wilkinson draws on uniquely comprehensive data to explore how and why India has succeeded in keeping the military out of politics, when so many other countries have failed

The B.G. Verghese Memorial Lecture by Gopalkrishna Gandhi, civil servant, diplomat, former governor

 

 Followed by a  panel discussion 

Panelists: Shubha Mudgal, classical singer; Nilanjana Roy, literary critic and columnist; and Ashok Malik, columnist and TV commentator

 

Moderator: Siddharth Varadarajan, Senior Fellow, Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory

 

The lecture will be preceded by presentation of Chameli Devi Awards 2015 

The B.G. Verghese Memorial Lecture by Gopalkrishna Gandhi, civil servant, diplomat, former governor

 

 Followed by a  panel discussion 

Panelists: Shubha Mudgal, classical singer; Nilanjana Roy, literary critic and columnist; and Ashok Malik, columnist and TV commentator

 

Moderator: Siddharth Varadarajan, Senior Fellow, Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory

 

The lecture will be preceded by presentation of Chameli Devi Awards 2015 

The B.G. Verghese Memorial Lecture by Gopalkrishna Gandhi, civil servant, diplomat, former governor

 

 Followed by a  panel discussion 

Panelists: Shubha Mudgal, classical singer; Nilanjana Roy, literary critic and columnist; and Ashok Malik, columnist and TV commentator

 

Moderator: Siddharth Varadarajan, Senior Fellow, Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory

 

The lecture will be preceded by presentation of Chameli Devi Awards 2015 

The B.G. Verghese Memorial Lecture by Gopalkrishna Gandhi, civil servant, diplomat, former governor

 

 Followed by a  panel discussion 

Panelists: Shubha Mudgal, classical singer; Nilanjana Roy, literary critic and columnist; and Ashok Malik, columnist and TV commentator

 

Moderator: Siddharth Varadarajan, Senior Fellow, Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory

 

The lecture will be preceded by presentation of Chameli Devi Awards 2015 

The B.G. Verghese Memorial Lecture by Gopalkrishna Gandhi, civil servant, diplomat, former governor

 

 Followed by a  panel discussion 

Panelists: Shubha Mudgal, classical singer; Nilanjana Roy, literary critic and columnist; and Ashok Malik, columnist and TV commentator

 

Moderator: Siddharth Varadarajan, Senior Fellow, Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory

 

The lecture will be preceded by presentation of Chameli Devi Awards 2015 

The B.G. Verghese Memorial Lecture by Gopalkrishna Gandhi, civil servant, diplomat, former governor

 

 Followed by a  panel discussion 

Panelists: Shubha Mudgal, classical singer; Nilanjana Roy, literary critic and columnist; and Ashok Malik, columnist and TV commentator

 

Moderator: Siddharth Varadarajan, Senior Fellow, Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory

 

The lecture will be preceded by presentation of Chameli Devi Awards 2015 

Speaker: Ms Pallavi Aiyar, award-winning journalist and author, who has spent over a decade reporting from Beijing, Brussels and Jakarta, often as the only resident Indian foreign correspondent

 

Chair: Ms Suhasini Haider

 

What accounts for the dearth of Indian journalists abroad and why does this matter? Drawing upon her books on China (Smoke and Mirrors) and Europe (Punjabi Parmesan), Pallavi will address these issues with examples that range from Beijing’s toilets to Antwerp’s diamond merchant

Concert in honour of Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, one of the senior most and distinguished members of the IIC

 

Shri Soli J. Sorabjee, President IIC will felicitate Air Marshal Arjan Singh

 

Concert presented by Air Warrior Symphony Orchestra of the Indian Air Force. The 70-member Air Warrior Symphony Orchestra (AWSO) is based in Bangalore and was formed in 2002 with hand-picked musicians from various Air Force bands. In the past decade, the AWSO has won wide acclaim for its performances in India and abroad. The orchestra’s repertoire includes overtures, waltzes, light classical, film music, a Carnatic classical number, a hymn and a patriotic song

 

Led by Squadron Leader G. Jayachandran, Director of Music, IAF

 

Concept: Suhas Borker