Speaker: Prof. H.M. Desarda, Professor Emeritus, MGM University, Aurangabad, former Member, Maharashtra State Planning Board. Prof. Desarda is a well-known researcher, thinker, and writer on the issues of land, water, ecology, employment, and environment

Chair: Prof. Alakh N. Sharma, Director, Institute for Human Development

 
Although the third-largest economy in purchasing power parity, India is besieged by pervasive poverty, chronic malnutrition, and mass deprivation. Although well-endowed with natural resources, India ranks 131 in the Human Development Index among 189 countries, 94th among 107 in the Global Hunger Index. While radical redistribution of land and other means of production is not possible, Prof. Desarda argues for a feasible option through guaranteed employment to create income support for vulnerable people

A Democracy in Retreat: Revisiting the ends of Power
By Ashwani Kumar (Har Anand Publications: 2023)
 
Discussants: Justice Arjan Sikri, eminent jurist and former Judge of the Supreme Court of India; Ms Neerja Chowdhury, journalist, columnist and political commentator; Amb. Pavan K. Varma, diplomat, politician, and author; and Dr. Ashwani Kumar, eminent lawyer, thinker, veteran parliamentarian and former Minister for Law and Justice and author of the book
 
Chair: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC
 

The Roma Exodus and Reconnection with a Forgotten Diaspora

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Punita G. Singh, acoustician, musicologist, linguist, editor and educator based in Delhi. She has taught at Washington University in the US, McGill University, Canada and is currently, Visiting Faculty at Ashoka University, Sonipat

India is regarded as the original homeland of the Roma, yet most history books in schools omit mention of a Roma exodus and research and scholarship on the subject has been sparse. If the emigration of Roma out of India dates back to a millennium or earlier as posited by some scholars, the parallel influx of traders, invaders and colonizers over the intervening period seems to have overwritten their story. This presentation reviews the story of the Roma and their connection, disconnection and reconnection with India.

The Roma Exodus and Reconnection with a Forgotten Diaspora

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Punita G. Singh, acoustician, musicologist, linguist, editor and educator based in Delhi. She has taught at Washington University in the US, McGill University, Canada and is currently, Visiting Faculty at Ashoka University, Sonipat

India is regarded as the original homeland of the Roma, yet most history books in schools omit mention of a Roma exodus and research and scholarship on the subject has been sparse. If the emigration of Roma out of India dates back to a millennium or earlier as posited by some scholars, the parallel influx of traders, invaders and colonizers over the intervening period seems to have overwritten their story. This presentation reviews the story of the Roma and their connection, disconnection and reconnection with India.

Speaker: Dr. Amit Mallick, Inspector General, National Tiger Conservation Authority

Moderator: Dr. Asani Bhaduri, Assistant Professor, Molecular and Computational Biology, Cluster Innovation Centre, University of Delhi

It has been a year and half since the first batch of Cheetahs were introduced in India in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh. These cheetahs represent a big feather in India’s cap for restoring natural treasures. Dr. Amit Mallick was intricately involved with the Project since its inception and will speak about the successful Cheetah Reintroduction in India

The Great Game in Afghanistan: Rajiv Gandhi, General Zia and the Unending War

By Kallol Bhattacherjee (Harper Collins: 2017)

Discussants: Amb. Vivek Katju, former Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs; Amb. Rajiv Dogra, former Consul General of India in Karachi and author; and Shri Kallol Bhattacherjee, Senior Assistant Editor, Foreign Affairs, The Hindu and author of the book

Chair: Amb. K.P. Fabian, Professor, Symbiosis University, Pune

A conversation between Indivar Kamtekar, Associate Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Kaushik Sinha Deb, All India Institute of Medical Sciences;  Sanjeev Jain, Emeritus Professor, NIMHANS; and Alok Sarin, Consultant Psychiatrist, Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research

Moderator: Ananya Mahapatra, Baba Saheb Ambedkar College and Hospital

The panel will explore the intersections between history and psychiatry, and also mark the formal launch of the website The Canvas Askew which is a compilation of the writings of Sanjeev and Alok about the intersections of mental health and history

Speakers: Dr. Samir Parikh, Chairperson, Fortis National Mental Health Program, Fortis Healthcare; Karthika V.K. Publisher, Westland Books; Alpana Chaturvedi, Chief Executive Officer, MyLogistics Gurukul; Sujit Panigrahi, Founder and CEO, Sequoia Fitness and Sports Technology Pvt. Ltd.; and Jayshree Misra Tripathi, Concept Coordinator

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

Speaker: Prof. Nihal Perera, Emeritus Professor of Urban Planning, Ball State University, USA. An original contributor to the field of postcolonial urban studies, and a leading scholar of Colombo, his research focuses on how ordinary people produce (lived) spaces for daily activities and cultural practices within the larger field of social production of space. His books include Decolonizing Ceylon, Transforming Asian Cities, and People’s Spaces

Discussant: Dr. Aveivey D. , Assistant Professor, Dept. of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi

Chair: Dr. Rajiv Ranjan, Associate Professor of Chinese Studies, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi