Introduction: Col. (Dr.) D.P. K. Pillay, Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses

Panelists: Shri Yaduveer Wadiyar, MP; Lt. Gen. Raja Subramani, Vice Chief of Army Staff; Dr. Kazem Samandari, Founder-Chairman, L’Opera and Senior Member, Baha’i community; and Brig. M.S. Jodha, third-generation army officer, author and grandson on Col. Aman Singh Jodha

Chair: Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC

The Battle of Haifa (1918) is a pivotal event in military annals as it marked the last major cavalry charge in history. The Battle saw the Jodhpur, Mysore, and Hyderabad Lancers (part of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade) overcome Ottoman, Austrian, and German forces, liberating Haifa as well as Abdul Baha. This daring victory defied expectations, echoing the famous Charge of the Light Brigade but with a triumphant outcome.

The Great Conciliator: Lal Bahadur Shastri and the Transformation of India
By Sanjeev Chopra (Bloomsbury India: 2025)

Chief Guest: Dr. Arif Mohammed Khan, Hon’ble Governor of Bihar

Discussants: Shri Adarsh Shastri, former Legislator and social entrepreneur; Shri Shekhar Gupta, journalist, author, founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Print; Dr. Aishwarya Pandit, Associate Professor, Jindal Global Law School; and Dr. Sanjeev Chopra, former Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration and author of the book

ART MATTERS

Discussion on Cinema and Time
 

Panelists: Anupama Srinivasan; Gurvinder Singh; and Sashikanth Ananthachary

Moderator: Udayan Vajpeyi

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)
 

Antarnaad – The Voice Within
(39 min; 2024; Hindi)
Directed by Parthaa Akerkar who will introduce the film

Recipient of the Best Film Award, The Blue Bird Film Festival; Jury Award for Best Film, Mumbai Independent Film Festival; and Dadasaheb Phalke Film Puraskar Award

Screening will be followed by a talk on
Women’s Health 
Speaker: Dr. Manjari Tripathi, Head of the Neurology Dept., All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), In-charge, Centre of Excellence of Epilepsy, Min. of Health & Department of Biotechnology and President, Alzheimer’s Related Disorder Society of India

Film on mental health and how it affects both the patient, the care givers and the family as well. Parthaa Akerkar tackles this sensitive subject with aplomb and ease without victimising the patient and imparting a unique perspective into the plight of the caregiver.

(Collaboration: Alzheimer’s Related Disorder Society of India)
 

Curated by Rajiv Mehrotra

America’s First Guru (USA)
(89 min; 2024; English)
Director: Raja Choudhury

Screening will be followed by a conversation with the filmmaker, Raja Choudhury

This film, which premiered on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) in USA is the compelling story of how Yoga and Indian wisdom first entered the American mainstream in 1893, with the arrival of the Indian Saint Swami Vivekananda at the first Parliament of Religions in Chicago

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

Talk by Rahul Mehrotra, founder principal of RMA Architects; Professor of Urban Design and Planning, and the John T. Dunlop Professor in Housing and &Urbanization, Graduate School of Design,  Harvard University; and Naman P. Ahuja, curator and Professor, School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University

A recent volume Marg provides fascinating documentation of the kumbh mela, the largest human habitational space erected every twelve years, alongside grand qanats and shamianas of the Mughals, Deccani sultans and Rajputs. The speakers will focus on how India’s rich history of tents can be positioned within a global context. In fact the characteristics of tents – their lightness, agility, adjustability, reversibility, and ephemerality – can inspire designers, academics, planners and policy makers in crafting an urban future which is more adaptable to negotiate the immense flux we face on the planet

(Collaboration: MARG)
 

Vasna Ek Nadi ka Naam Hai
By Savita Singh (Vani Prakashan: 2024)

Discussant: Prof. Rohini Agrawal, poet and author; Prof. Sudha Singh, Professor of Hindi, University of Delhi; Ms Aditi Maheshwari, Executive Director, Vani Prakashan; and Prof. Savita Singh, Professor and founding Director, School of Gender and Development Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University (Delhi) and author of the book

Chair: Prof. Sukrita Paul Kumar , Guest Editor, Indian Literature, poet and academic 

(Collaboration: The Poetry Society, India)
 

For an Outstanding Woman Mediaperson of the Year

The Vishwa Nath-Delhi Press Award for Fearless Journalism, and the Kamla Mankekar Award for Journalism on Gender

will also be presented

Followed by

B.G. Verghese Memorial Lecture

Media, Courts and Freedom of Expresssion

To be delivered by Justice S. Muralidhar, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India and former Chief Justice, Orissa High Court and Judge, Panjab and Haryana High Court

(Collaboration: The Media Foundation)

Trump’s America First Trade Policy: Implications and Options

Speaker: Prof. Abhijit Das, expert on international trade and former Head, Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

Discussant: Shri Anup Wadhawan, former Union Commerce Secretary

Chair: Shri Siraj Hussain, former Union Secretary Agriculture, Govt. of India and Advisor, Food Processing, FICCI

Speaker: Prabha Sankaranarayan, President and CEO of Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI). Drawing on her extensive mediation experience across the USA, Africa, and Asia, her lecture will delve into mediation as a transformative experience, emphasizing compassionate interaction over transactional settlement

The fourth edition of IIC-WISCOMP Dialogues: Conversations on Mediation, will present a compelling case for placing compassion at the heart of peace mediation. Drawing on her extensive experience working in Ukraine, Gaza, Colombia and Syria, internationally acclaimed mediator Prabha Sankaranarayan will explore the mediation as a transformative process beyond transactional settlement.