The Forgotten History of French Imperialism in India 

Speaker: Prof. Robert Ivermee, historian of British and wider European colonialism in South Asia, an Associate Professor at Sciences Po Grenoble – UGA, France. He is the author of Glorious Failure: The Forgotten History of French Imperialism in India (Context, 2026) and a wide range of other publications.

Chair: K.N.Shrivasatava, Director, IIC

Moderator: Zohra Chatterji, IAS (retd.) Former Secretary, Govt of India, scholar, writer and Vice-President, Alliance francaise de Delhi 
For 150 years, from the reign of Louis XIV to the downfall of Napoleon, France was an aggressive imperial power in South Asia. Through their East India company and state, the French established a far-reaching empire in India.This talk will recover and reflect on the largely forgotten history of French imperialism in India. In doing so, it tackles topics like great power rivalry and entrenched inequalities that remain vital and urgent today.
(Collaboration: Alliance Française de Delhi)
 

The Bibek Debroy Memorial Lecture
 

Speaker: Shaktikanta Das, Principal Secretary-2 to the Prime Minister of India. Previously, he was a noted policy maker, has served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He was also a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and India's Sherpa to the G20.

The inaugural Bibek Debroy Memorial Lecture honours the life, work, and legacy of one of India's foremost intellectuals, the Sanskrit scholar, economist, and policy expert, the late Dr. Bibek Debroy (1955-2024).  Awarded the Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri for his work, Bibek Debroy's last held position was chair of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council. Dr. Debroy wrote and translated more than 100 books including the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. 
 

Salsabil: Photographs and Videos by Saba Hasan 
 

Salsabil presents a meditative selection of photographs and videos by acclaimed artist Saba Hasan, drawn from an international project shaped by her travels and walks through cities, rivers, lakes, and natural landscapes. Through abstract photography and award-winning videos, Hasan explores the ephemeral nature of time, the quiet power of the natural world.

Saba Hasan is a leading contemporary multimedia artist whose works have been exhibited internationally, including at the 55th Venice Biennale, Bilbao Arte Foundation, National Gallery of Art Colombo, and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi.

The exhibition will be inaugurated on 8th January 2026 at 18:30 hrs.

India-Brazil-South Africa: Strengthening Global South Agenda
 

It is not always cliched to say that “you cannot stop an idea whose time has come”. The time for IBSA (India-Brazil-South America) has arrived to strengthen the multipolar world order. The emerging economies including India, Brazil and South Africa are making their presence felt globally but without dictating the agenda and rather being consultative. The recently concluded IBSA Summit in South Africa could not have been timed. The discussion will lay out an agenda for IBSA in the coming years.

Chair: Prof. Sanjay Bhattacharyya, former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, and currently Professor of Diplomatic Practice at JSIA and Director, Jindal Global Centre for G20 Studies

Introductory Remarks: Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, Senior Assistant Editor (Foreign Affairs), The Economic Times 
Discussants: Amb Kenneth H. da Nobrega, Ambassador of Brazil to India; and Amb Dr. Anil Sooklal, South African High Commissioner
 

THE IIC DOUBLE BILL: MUSIC AND DANCE RECITALS

Kathak Recital
By Neelakshi Khandker-Saxena from Delhi, disciple of Pt. Rajendra Gangani    

At 18:30

Odissi Recital
By Krishnendu Saha from Udaipur, disciple of Sharmila Biswas   
 

Remembering the forest: An exhibition of Himalayan Natural Art
 

Curated by Tejal Shah and coordinated by Ritu-Ngapnon Varuni
This exhibition presents artworks by women artists from Mountainwind Himalayan Ecoversity, created using forest-sourced pigments and handmade tools, highlighting natural art practices, ecological learning, and sustainable creativity.

The exhibition will be Inaugurated on 6th January 2026 at 18:30 hrs. 
 

(Collaboration: The Himalayan Rilung Foundation (THRILF)

Faulad ka Aakash: Performative Readings of Mohan Rakesh’s Short Stories
Script: Purwa Bharadwaj 
Presented by Alka Rajan, Apoorvanand, Purwa Bharadwaj and Raza Haider

Mohan Rakesh is one of the leading names of Hindi fiction and Indian theatre. Generations of Hindi readers have grown on the writings of Mohan Rakesh. His keen observation of the dilemmas of the emerging individual in the post-independence India shaped his fiction. We try to bring out the subtlety of his writing in this presentation
 

What Women Want: Understanding The Female Voter in Modern India
by Ruhi Tewari (Juggernaut, 2025)

Discussants Dr. Shamika Ravi, Member, Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister, India; Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha & Assam PCC President; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Rajya Sabha MP, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray); Ram Madhav, President, India Foundation & Senior RSS Leader; Ruhi Tewari, Author of the Book

Moderator: Nidhi Razdan, Senior Journalist
 

Looking Back: Writing Women’s History 
 

As the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) branches approaches its centenary in 2027, this symposium highlights pioneering women writers and reformers from the 1920s to the 1970s. Focusing on multilingual narratives. The discussions will foreground contributions to health, education, social reform and women’s rights across India, celebrating voices that shaped and chronicled women’s lives and histories.

Moderator: Manju Kak, Secretary General, AIWC

Panellists: Prof. B. Mangalam. Aryabhatta College, published widely on Dalit literature, theatre studies; Prof. (Dr.) Meenakshi Malhotra, Department of English, Hansraj College, DU; Prof Rekha Sethi, Department of Hindi, Indraprastha College; Dr. Sanju Thomas. Associate Professor, School of Letters, Ambedkar University; Dr. Usha Mudiganti., Associate Professor, School of Letters, Ambedkar University; Dr. Saba Mahmood Bashir Assistant Professor, Department of English Assistant Professor In-charge, RCA, Jamia Millia Islamia. 
 

Photojournalism in the times of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Speaker: Dheeraj Paul, distinguished photographer and mentor

This is as part of the exhibition, The Big Picture 2025, an exhibition of works of PhotoJournalists , on display in the Main Art Gallery from 20th to 30th December 2025

(Collaboration: All India Working News Cameramen’s Association (WNCA)