Conducted by Qamar Dagar

By Rajat Prasanna from Delhi, disciple of Late Pt. Raghunath Prasanna and Shri Ravi Shankar Prasanna

Speakers: Maj. Gen. (retd.) Ashok Mehta; Shri Khadga Nath Adhikari, Charge' d' Affaires, Embassy of Nepal; Shri Deb Mukharji, former Ambassador to Nepal

Chair: Dr Sangeeta Thapliyal, Professor of South Asian Studies, JNU

Speaker: Ms Madeleine K. Albright, Chair, Albright Stonebridge Group and former U.S. Secretary of State

Moderator: Shri Shankkar Aiyar, political economist and former Managing Editor, India Today

With democratic elections scheduled in the U.S., France, Egypt, Mexico and a leadership transition in China, Ms Albright will discuss the potential impact of these political changes and how they contribute to the overarching climate of uncertainty.  The discussion will also analyse the continuing unrest across the Middle East and its implications for relations with the U.S. and the rest of the world.

On Monday, 25th June 2012 at 6 pm in Seminar Halls 1,2 and 3, Conference Block of the India International Centre, 40 Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi 110003

Panelists: Prof. Surinder S. Jodhka, Centre for the Study of Social Systems, JNU; Prof. S.K. Thorat, Chairperson, ICSSR; Prof. Mary John, CWDS; and Dr. Ravi Srivastava, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, JNU

Speaker: Prof A.K. Ghatak, Professor Emeritus, IIT Delhi

Chair: Prof Bimal Buti, Director, Centre for Science and Society

An account of Einstein's life as governed by his credo"”contempt for affluence and luxury, a passion for social justice which often led him into conflict, and the perception of privileges of position and property as pernicious. The speaker will also describe the impact of his remarkable contributions in 1905, his year of miracles

Freedom of Expression and Communication: Challenges in the Age of the Internet

Speaker: Dr Shashi Tharoor, M.P.

FRIDAY 27

18:00

Bharatanatyam Recital

by Seshadri Iyengar from Bengaluru, disciple of Guru Smt. Padmini Ravi

Odissi Recital                                               

By Sharmila Mukerjee from Delhi, disciple of Late Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra
 

MONSOON FESTIVAL     THURSDAY 26 - FRIDAY 27

18:00

Mohan Veena Recital 

By Poly Verghese from Chennai, disciple of Pt. Viswa Mohan Bhatt

19:00
Hindustani Vocal Recital                                
By Lakshmi Sreeram from Chennai, disciple of Pt Vasantrao Kulkarni and Pt Srikrishna Babanrao Haldankar
                                                                                                             

Speaker: Prof Subhadra Mitra Channa, Dept. of Social Anthropology, University of Delhi, specialist on gender, religion and ecology with anthropological theory and methodology

Chair: Dr A.K. Merchant, General Secretary, the Temple of Understanding, India

Ecology as a concept originated in the West and defined a relationship between humans and nature which assumes that the two are on different axes and explicitly states that humans are superior. However, for many other worldviews including the ancient wisdom of the East there is no such essential difference: all of nature encompasses the human, soul as well as body. As depicted in the Jataka tales and for Hindus, who believe in the atman and paramatman, the soul or spirit that inhabits every life form is essentially the same. There thus is no ecology as such, it is only various forms taken by one spirit