PANELISTS: Mohan Guruswamy, strategic analyst; Vikram Sood, former head of RAW; T.C.A. Rangachari, former Indian Ambassador and Claude Arpi, Tibet expert

Moderated by Vijay Kranti, senior journalist

Theme: China is India's biggest trading partner, but it's also the biggest security threat. India has been arming herself to the teeth in the Himalayas since the emergence of the new assertive China. But the plateau from where the dragon breathes down the Indian Himalayas was a country which played the buffer zone for centuries – Tibet. Running the military occupation of Tibet China has the advantage of controlling the numerous Tibet rivers that feed more than two billion people in Asia. But the key to Tibet's security - His Holiness the Dalai Lama lives in India.
 
 

Panel: Prof Ashish Nandy, Shri Rajiv Vora and Geshe Pema Dorjee

Theme: More than China, Tibet is tested of its cultural and spiritual resilience by globalization, everybody is. The homogenizing factor that has levelled cultures and countries world wide to a single narrative is feared and at the same time celebrated by some. The pastoral and nomadic Tibet, it's enduring Buddhist culture has survived China's cultural revolution, how will the younger generation balance between tradition and modernization?

By Vivian Doskow

Admiral Premvir Das; Shri Jayadeva Ranade; and Shri Shakti Sinha will discuss Andaman and Nicobar Islands: India’s Untapped Strategic Assets by Sanat Kaul (New Delhi: IDSA, 2015)
 
Chair: Prof. C. Raja Mohan, Head, Strategic Studies and Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation

Concert presented by Eduardo Tami (flautist and leader of the group); Emiliano Ferrer (guitar); and Leandro Marquesano (piano)
 
With tango dancers - Facundo Barrionuevo and Maria Claudia Marciano
 
The artists will present a journey through the greatest exponents of Argentine tango. Beginning with the well-known Carlos Gardel to Francisco de Caro, Julian Plaza, Juan Caldarella, Horacio Salgán, Osvaldo Pugliese and the great Astor Piazzolla who revolutionized traditional tango into a new style known as “neuvo tango”. The artist will also present Argentine folk music

Thirty Years of SAARC: Society, Culture and Development
Edited by Omita Goyal
 
Dr. Karan Singh, MP will release the special issue of the IIC Quarterly (Winter 2014-Spring 2015)
 
Followed by a panel discussion
Panelists: H.E. Prof. Sudarshan Seneviratne, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka; H.E. Mr. Syed Muazzem Ali, High Commissioner of Bangladesh; and H.E. Mr. Abdul Basit, High Commisioner of Pakistan

Media, Mad Tales, and Mental Health
Speakers: Shri Ziya Us Salam, film critique, author; and Ms Anusha Rizvi, Film and Theatre personality (Director of Peepli Live)
 
Moderator Dr. S. K.  Khandelwal
 
There are many striking similarities between cultural and temporal parallels between cinema, theatre and mental health. Over the years, the depiction of psychiatrists, or a mentally ill person has been treated simplistically or sensationally. Although print media now regularly publishes articles on mental health the approach is to sensationalise. Of all the stigmatized conditions in society today, mental illness is nearly at the top of the list and should remain at the forefront to help the cause of mental health

The Factory (India; 132 min; 2015)
Directed by Rahul Roy who will introduce the film
 
 147 workers of India’s biggest automobile manufacturing company Maruti Suzuki are on trial for the murder of a senior manager and 2500 workers dismissed. It has been two and a half years and the case drags on. The film follows the fate of the under trial workers, families and dismissed workers to investigate the underbelly of industrial conflict and the elusive nature of justice

A Walnut Tree (Pakistan; 92 min; 2015)
Directed by Ammar Aziz who will introduce the film
 
 An old man reminisces about a distant homeland. He wants to return. Internally displaced from Swat as a result of the ongoing conflict between the Pakistan army and the Taliban and forced to live in a camp, the family is caught between memories of what life was, an insecure present and a bleak future

Silence in the Courts (Sri Lanka; 57 min; 2015)
Directed by Prasanna Vithanage who will introduce the film
 
Two women from rural Sri Lanka, raped by a Judge nearly two decades ago, try in vain to seek justice. As their plea is turned down and subverted by the country’s highest authorities, noted journalist Victor Ivan begins to write investigative stories highlighting their plight. The film is an investigation into the familiar state of impunity that marks almost the entire region of South Asia