Adding life to years: Building care systems for life of dignity and quality
Paper presentation by Pallavi Gupta and Sonali Randhawa

Discussants: Rama V. Baru, Professor, Jindal School of Public Health and Human Development, Jindal Global University and Former Professor, Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, JNU; Dr Ravinder Mohan,  Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Advisor, CanSupport

India’s rapidly ageing population urgently needs accessible, affordable, and regulated home-based care. The paper maps current gaps in services, workforce training, and policy frameworks, and argues for integrated medical, functional, and social support. A public discussion is invited to shape a national approach that ensures dignity, safety, and quality care for older persons.

The session is in association with Jindal School of Public Health and Human Development, OP Jindal Global University, Sonepat, Haryana

(Organised by the IIC’s Sectoral Policy Group on Health under the Convenorship of Rama V. Baru)
 

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.
 

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
 

SAMHiTA-Bharat ki Soch Public Lecture Series 
On Tracing the Footprints of Indian Scientific Heritage

Speaker: Dr Vijaya Jayant Deshpande, Independent Researcher, scholar of history of science, technology and medicine, with a focus on Sino-Indian scientific contacts through Buddhism. A Life Member of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) Pune.

The lecture will give an overview of scholarship on early scientific development (through archaeology, the study of Adivasi practices, and literary sources), focusing on the chemical-metallurgical insights to be found in the Rasopanishad, a medieval work of alchemy in Sanskrit. The speaker will demonstrate how texts help to trace the transmission of scientific ideas and techniques, by tracing the relationship between Chinese ophthalmic works attributed to Nagarjuna and Ayurvedic texts like Susrutasamhita and Ashtanghridaya.

Inaugural lecture of the series on “Health, Wellness and Nutrition”, organised by IIC- International Research Division and Bharat ki Soch Foundation
 

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.

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)
 

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)

The talk explores how institutions of higher education in Asia, the US, and Europe have shaped the development of Asian Studies and enabled cross-cultural understanding during periods of geopolitical tension. Highlighting influential centres such as the Royal Asiatic Society, EFEO, and the Harvard-Yenching Institute. The session will also consider current challenges, including shrinking international funding and how the future of Asian Studies can be re-imagined.

By Prof. James Robson is the James C. Kralik and Yunli Lou Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University and Director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, he has conducted extensive research across China, Taiwan, and Japan, and is the award-winning author of The Power of Place.

Chair: Sabaree Mitra, Professor Centre for Chinese and South East Asian Studies, JNU, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi.

(Collaboration: Institute of Chinese Studies)

Beyond the Ballot - Paradoxes of Democracy

By T. S. Krishna Murthy (White Falcon Publishing, 2025)

Discussants: Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India; Shri Prabhat Kumar, former Cabinet Secretary and Governor of Jharkhand; Prof Asha Sarangi, Professor, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Justice Madan Lokur, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India; Shri T. S. Krishna Murthy, former Chief Election Commissioner of India & Author of the book

Moderator: Suhas Borker, Editor Citizens First TV (CFTV)

Ink Over Algorithms: Why the Soul of Storytelling Transcends AI

POSTPONED

by Manjima Misra (New Delhi: Highbrow Scribes Publications, 2025)

Discussants: Prof. Subhashis Banerjee, Head of the Department and Professor of Computer Science, Ashoka University; Prasanto Kumar Roy, Senior Advisor and Former Managing Director, FTI Consulting; Neha Dixit, Award-winning Journalist; Namrita Mahindro, Global AI and Digital Transformation Leader; Ayush Garg, Founder, Delhi School of Artificial Intelligence

Moderator: Manjima Misra, Author of the book

Heritage Threads - Tapestry of Indian and Indonesian Textiles

By Bhimanto Suwastoyo & Ritu Sethi

Guest of Honour: Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Parliamentarian, Member of INC and Ms. Erny Wahyuni, First Secretary, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia & Head of Cultural and Social Affairs

Discussants: Dr Ritu Sethi, Co-author of the book and Trustee of Crafts Revival Trust; Ms Namrata Dalela, Renowned Textile Researcher & Conservator; Ms Aparna Bhatnagar Saxena, Co-Editor & CEO - TORAJAMELO foundation.

Moderator: Col. D.P.K Pillay, Nominated as Brand Ambassador for War disabled by COAS, Formerly Korea Foundation Visiting Fellow