Voices from the Hills: Re-centring People in the Story of the Himalayas  
 

Speakers: Lalit and Anuradha Pande, Uttarakhand Seva Nidhi Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan, Almora.

Chair: Shyam Saran, President IIC. 

For nearly four decades, Lalit and Anuradha Pande have worked across the Kumaon and Garhwal regions, engaging with education, gender, livelihoods, environment learning in government schools and balwadis, and research rooted in local concerns. They will reflect on their experiences drawn from the lived realities of people in rural Himalayan communities. The speakers invite participants to an open, interactive dialogue that goes beyond a pleasant evening, with the hope that it inspires meaningful engagement with the issues raised.
 

IIC ANNUAL DAY 2026
CONCERT

Nirgun – The Confluence of Sufi and Bhakti 
 

Presented by Sonam Kalra, singer and composer, member of the Grammy Recording Academy. She is the creator of The Sufi Gospel, a critically celebrated musical project foregrounding inclusion and equality.

Accompanists: Ahsan Ali on Sarangi; Amaan Ali on Tabla; Faizan Ali Khan on Keyboard; Amman on Dholak; and Kiran Kumar on flute.

CANCELLED

Still Exceptional? India's Democracy in Comparative and Historical Perspective

Speaker: Ashutosh Varshney, leading political scientist and Sol Goldman Professor of International Studies and the Social Sciences, Professor of Political Science, Watson School of International and Public Affairs and Department of Political Science at Brown University

Moderator: Ms Yamini Aiyar, former President and Chief Executive of the Centre for Policy Research and the founder of the Accountability Initiative at CPR.

India’s democratic experiment has historically defied conventional theories by sustaining robust electoral, institutional, and civic practices despite deep diversity, economic challenges, and periodic stress. Does that democratic exceptionalism still exist? This talk situates India’s democratic evolution in global comparative history, examining its exceptional resilience and emerging fragilities
 

Commemoration of the 97th Birthday of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. 
and the 56th anniversary of the Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza 
 
Celebration of the Power of Non-Violent Action
& the Life of Martin Luther King Jr, [15 January 1929 – 4 April 1968]
& Commemoration of the 55th anniversary of the Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza

Assembly and Briefing from 10:15 am to 10:30 am at the Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza

Commemoration Service from 10: 30 am to 11:00 am at the Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza
Songs by Choirs of Schools from Delhi NCR

Interactive Session from 11:15 am to 12.15 pm at the C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium

Interactive Session Theme:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." - Matin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.

During the Interactive Session a short film on Martin Luther King's Life shall be screened.

Moderators: Suhas Borker (Working Group on Alternative Strategies); Ramesh Sharma (Gandhi Yuva Biradari)

Students from Schools of Delhi NCR to participate.

This programme is part of the Taking Children to Gandhi series, launched in 2008, that brings children closer to the enduring legacy of Gandhi’s non-violent struggle for equity, justice, pluralism and sustainable development.

Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza was inaugurated on 21 January 1970 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and commemorates two iconic figures of our times: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

(Collaboration: Gandhi Yuva Biradari and Working Group on Alternative Strategies)
 

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP 
Seeds of Hate: Bangladesh's extremist surge
Edited by Shahriar Kabir and Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury (Grin Media, 2025)

Discussants: SH M J Akbar, Former MOS External Affairs, Author & Senior Journalist; Amb Pankaj Saran, Member NSAB, Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh & Ambassador to Russia & Deputy NSA; Dr. Anirban Ganguly, Chairman, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Research Foundation; Ms Smruti Patnaik, Research Fellow IDSA & Noted Bangladesh Expert; Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, Editor of the book

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP 
Sita’s Yoga: The Yoga of Awakening
By Dena Merriam (Motilal Banarsidass, 2025)

Chair: Dena Merriam, International Advisory Council of the Auroville Foundation in India & Author of the Book

Discussants:  Dr. A. K. Merchant, General Secretary, Temple of Understanding India Foundation; Major General (Retd.) G. D. Bakshi, Strategic Expert & Writer

Moderator: Soniya Sharma, Founder, Phoenix Health Academy

Stories on Scroll: Patachitra by Sahajan Chitrakar
 

This exhibition presents traditional Patachitra scroll paintings by Sahajan Chitrakar of Naya, Pingla, created using natural pigments and handmade materials. His works narrate epics, folk legends, and contemporary social themes rooted in Bengal’s living scroll tradition.

Sahajan Chitrakar is a traditional Patachitra artist and scroll narrator from Naya, Pingla, West Bengal, practising the art from the age of ten under familial lineage. His works employ natural pigments and depict mythological, folk, historical, and contemporary themes.

The exhibition will be inaugurated on 16th January’26 at 18:00 hrs.

Broadway, Bars, and Fortune
(39 min; Documentary; English)
 

Director/Producer: Shuvendu Sen, an award-winning physician, author, and filmmaker.
Co-Producer/Consultant: Karl Bardosh
Official Selection at the New York Lift-Off Film Festival and the International Hispanic Film Festival
The documentary revolves on four formerly incarcerated individuals and a Broadway personality. Through interviews and poignant personal interactions, the film highlights the immense healing effects of arts and theatres in the redemption of former inmates. 
The screening will be followed by an interactive discussion with the director, Shuvendu Sen, and the Guests of Honour and moderators: Narayanan Hariharan, Senior Advocate and President, Delhi High Court Bar Association; and Sanjay Upadhyay, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, and Founder of the country’s first environmental law firm, Enviro Legal Defence Firm.

One Fire: A Documentary Film about Theosophy
(2025;103 min; Documentary; English)
Director: Terhi Ahava
A new documentary celebrating 150 years of the Theosophical Society. From Blavatsky and Olcott’s bold beginnings in 1875 to its global influence across philosophy, education, science, and the arts, the film traces a movement that has inspired seekers around the world. Journey from New York to Chennai and beyond as ONE FIRE rekindles a timeless truth—that we are all sparks of the same eternal flame.

(Collaboration: Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama)
 

Nehru’s Bandung: Non-Alignment and Regional Order in Indian Cold War Strategy
Andrea Benvenuti (Speaking Tiger, 2024)

Chair: Shyam Saran, President IIC

Discussants: Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, Dean, School of International Studies, Professor and Chair, Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD), School of International Studies, JNU; Prof Ajay K Mehra, Political Scientist, and Former Atal Bihari Vajpayee Senior Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library; Prof Pallavi Raghavan, Assistant Professor, Ashoka University; and Dr. Andrea Benvenuti, Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations, University of New South Wales, Kensington & Author of the book