Speakers: Amb. Chinmaya R. Gharekhan, former Permanent Representative of India to the UN; Shri Sudhir T. Devare, former Secretary Economic Relations, Ministry of External Affairs; Shri K.P. Fabian, former Ambassador to Italy and Qatar; Shri Ronen Sen, former Ambassador to USA and Russia; and Prof. Anuradha Chenoy, former Dean, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Moderator: Suhas Borker, Editor, Citizen’s First TV (CFTV) and Trustee, IIC

This is the tenth annual seminar in the series 'Keys to Governance'; the earlier nine seminars in the series were on 'Compliance and Delivery'(2016), 'Political Will'(2017), Constitution as Ideology' (2018), 'Education as Empowerment' (2019), 'Steel Frame' (2020), Independence of Judiciary (2021), Constitutional Morality (2022), Social and Communal Harmony (2023) and 'Free, Pluralistic and Independent Media'(2024).

The annual seminar is organised in remembrance of Shekhar Borker, 'Banana Boy' on the Indian postage stamp, private sector administrator, citizen environmentalist, and advocate of empowerment of persons of disabilities, who passed away in 2015 on 7 January.

(Collaboration: D. S. Borker Memorial Foundation)   
 

Speaker: H.E. Dr. Ali Achoui, Ambassador of Algeria to India

Chair: Amb. K.P. Fabian, Professor, Indian Society of International Law, New Delhi and Symbiosis University, Pune

Border Crossers: A Novel
By Bhaskar Roy (Hachette India: 2024)

Discussants: Amb. Meera Shankar, former Indian Ambassador to USA; Dr. Sanjeev Chopra, former Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration; and Shri Bhaskar Roy, author of the book

Moidams – the Mound-Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty

An illustrated lecture by Smt Dipi Kouli, Director, Assam State Archaeology

The Charaideo Moidams, a unique 700-year old mound-burial system of then Ahom dynasty of Assam has been recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Similar to the pyramids of Egypt, the Moidams are earthen burial mounds of the members of the Ahom royalty whose 600-year rule ended with the British takeover of the region. They enshrine the remains of kings and other royals together with grave goods such as food, horses and elephants, and sometimes queens and servants.

First programme in a new series ‘The Fabric of Narratives: The Many Facets of North East India’ will focus on different aspects of the region and apart from talks and discussions, include seminars, exhibitions, performances and cuisine. Organised in collaboration with Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) 

Curator: Prof. Himanshu Prabha Ray

Reading Monuments, Reading Buddhist Monuments

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Shashank Shekhar Sinha, independent researcher who has been working as Publishing Director, Routledge (South Asia) since 2012. He is the author of Casting the Buddha: A Monumental History of Buddhism in India (Pan Macmillan 2021), Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri: Monuments, Cities and Connected Histories (Pan Macmillan 2021), and co-edited, Gender in Modern India: History, Culture, Marginality (Oxford University Press, 2024)

Chair: Ms Junhi Han, Cheif of Culture, UNESCO Office, New Delhi

Why are monuments so important in history and the reception of the discipline in the public domain. Do we study or understand them adequately? The will highlight how a more inclusive study of monuments (and related artefacts) could lead to a more nuanced understanding of history while also making the discipline more interesting for the non-history public.

Genetically Modified Democracy: Transgenic Crops in Contemporary India
By Aniket Aga ( Yale University Press ;Orient Blackswan: 2022)

Winner of the 2022 Ludwik Fleck Prize from the international Society for the Social Studies of Science 

Discussants: Shri Siraj Hussain, former Secretary Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Ministry of Agriculture & CMD, FCI; Dr. Suman Sahai, Founder of Gene Campaign; and Prof. Aniket Aga, Anthropologist, Academic and Author of the book

Moderator: Dr. Richa Kumar, Associate Professor of Sociology and Science & Technology Studies, IIT Delhi

Speaker: Amb. A. Gitesh Sarma, former Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs and former Ambassador to Uzbekistan and High Commissioner to Australia

Chair: Amb. K.P. Fabian, Professor, Indian Society of International Law, New Delhi and Symbiosis University, Pune

This lecture is based and prepared as part of the IIC Sectoral Policy Group on International Relations under the Convenorship of Amb. K.P. Fabian
 

I Want a Boy
By Aruna Kalra (Vitasta Publishing Pvt. Ltd.: 2024)

Discussants: Ms Ranjana Kumari, social activist, writer, academic and Director, Centre for Social Research; Ms Narayani Ganesh, Editor, The Speaking Tree and former Associate Editor, The Times of India; Ms Subuhi Khan, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Founder & National Coordinator, Rashtra Jagran Abhiyan; and Dr. Aruna Kalra, eminent obstetrician, gynaecologist, laparoscopic & robotic surgeon and author of the book

Moderator: Ms Lipika Bhushan, Head, MarketMyBook
 

Evoking the Sounds and Scents of Monsoon in the Gardens of Rajasthan

Illustrated lecture by Prof. Priyaleen Singh, Dept. of Architectural Conservation, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

Followed by a panel discussion
Panelists: Prof. Narayani Gupta, historian and author; and Dr. Rima Hooja, Managing Trustee, Jaipur Virasat Foundation

Coordinator and Moderato: Anuj Srivastava, architect, writer and photographer

The Rajput gardens of the 17th and 18th centuries, in capturing the spirit of the monsoon, through sound, scents and visual displays have much to inform and instruct design today. In enhancing the imagery of the monsoon, they convey a valuable message on ecology. Water was harnessed and displayed in a manner where with a small amount of water, all the waters of the world could be brought to mind. The presentation will expand on the above and through a few conservation projects illustrate how it is still possible to evoke the sounds and scents of monsoon in these neglected historic gardens 

Illustrated lecture and discussion by Prof. Siobhan Lambert-Hurley, cultural historian, Professor of Global History, University of Sheffield, UK

Prof. Lambert-Hurley will speak about the intrepid Muslim women travellers, especially of the last centuries who travelled the world for adventure, exploration, pilgrimage and more 

(Collaboration: Zubaan Publishers)