Saving the World? Reflections on UNESCO’s Mid Century Mission in Conflict

Illustrated lecture by Prof. Lynn Meskell, Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) Professor, University of Pennsylvania and Richard D. Green Professor of Anthropology, School of Arts and Sciences, Professor, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, Weitzman School of Design, and Curator, Middle East and Asia sections, Penn Museum. Employing archival and ethnographic analysis, her award-winning book A Future in Ruins: UNESCO, World Heritage, and the Dream of Peace (OUP, 2018) reveals UNESCO’s early forays into a one-world archaeology and its later commitments to global heritage

Chair: Prof. Madhavan K. Palat

At the 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, UNESCO finds itself at an impasse, faced with the impossibility of calling powerful nations to account. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is the most recent example. Yet earlier instances of inertia include international conflicts in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Crimea. More able to publicly repudiate non-state actors, such as Ansar Dine or Islamic State, than some of its own high-profile member states, UNESCO has increasingly walked a diplomatic tightrope and prioritized geopolitical alliances, financial considerations, and tactical relationships.
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

The Fort at Bhatinda: From a Desert Outpost to an Inner City Landmark

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Vikas Rathee who teaches History at Central University of Punjab, Ghudda (distt. Bhatinda)

Chair: Prof. Yogesh Snehi

Architecturally and strategically, the Bathinda Fort is unremarkable. However, as an ASI protected site located in the centre of the crowded Old City of Bathinda, the Fort has acquired a new kind of life of its own over the last century or so. The transition of Bathinda Fort from a symbol of governance and authority in the region to a space accessible by the citizenry and public for spiritual and leisure purposes. The presentation documents this transition and showcases the relationship that various stakeholders of the Bathinda Fort have with each other and with the site.

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Speaker: Dr. Manpreet Sethi, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies and Head of Nuclear Security Project and author of Nuclear Strategy: India’s March towards Credible Deterrence (2009)

Chair: Amb. Shivshankar Menon, former National Security Adviser of India and former Foreign Secretary of India

(Collaboration: Society for Policy Studies)

Registration link
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Gottiprolu - An Early Trade Centre in Andhra Pradesh

Illustrated lecture by Dr. T. Sree Lakshmi, Director, Archaeological Survey of India

Chair: Shri B.M. Pande

Excavations by Archaeological Survey India at Gottiprolu, near Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh has uncovered the remains of a huge settlement. A fortified Satavahana urban trade centre on the South-east coast of India, the excavations have revealed literary, inscriptional and etymological evidences. 
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Speaker: Prof. T.V. Paul, James McGill Professor of International Relations, Dept. of Political Science, McGill University, Canada; Fellow, Royal Society of Canada; and former President, International Studies Association

Chair: Amb. K.P. Fabian
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME 

Coordinator: Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Ashok K. Mehta

Recent Developments in South Asia: How they affect India’s Neighbourhood First Policy

Panelists: Amb. K.V. Rajan, former Indian Ambassador to Nepal; Amb. Vivek Katju, former Indian Ambassador to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Myanmar; and Dr. Gulbin Sultana, Associate Fellow, South Asia Centre, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi

Chair: Maj. Gen. Ashok K. Mehta
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Recent Explorations/Excavations and New Discoveries of Megalithic Settlements in and Around Vangchhia, Mizoram
Illustrated lecture by Dr. Sujeet Nayan, Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, Institute of Archaeology, Archaeological Survey of India

Chair: Shri B.M. Pande

The recent archaeological explorations/excavations at Vangchhia, a small village in Champhai District of Mizoram has yielded pictographs etched on large stone slabs, over 170 menhirs and a necropolis among other artifacts. The ancient people of Vangchchia carved terraces for their settlements and the main excavated site consists of 15 such carved terraces. Decoding Vangchhia’s ancient art of expressing its culture through material remains is hitherto unknown in the context of megalithic burial traditions 
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Dr. M. Shah Hussain and Dr. Faiyaz A. Khudsar in conversation with Suhas Borker

The second edition of Green Conversation will cover the entire gamut of green issues specifically related to Delhi NCR: from biodiversity parks, protection of the ridge, to the vilayati kikar menace, encouraging native variety of trees especially of the Aravalli ranges, Delhi tree census, bird count, butterfly survey and developing butterfly conservatories/habitats, recharging of groundwater, proposed tree ambulance network, integration of hands on green/environmental activity in school curriculum and involving college students in environmental conservation.

Dr. M. Shah Hussain and Dr. Faiyaz A. Khudsar, are both scientists at University of Delhi’s Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE) – recognized as a Centre of Excellence by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Dr. Hussain is the Scientist-in-charge, Aravalli Biodiversity Park; and Dr. Khudsar is Scientist-in-charge, Yamuna Biodiversity Park. Suhas Borker is the Founder Member of the Green Circle of Delhi

This conversation marks the 30th Anniversary of the Green Circle of Delhi (1992-2022) and the 86th Anniversary of Lodhi Garden.

A sapling will be presented to each participant by NDMC Horticulture Department; please bring a cloth/jute carry bag

(Collaboration: Green Circle of Delhi)

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

‘And all this is True because it Rhymes’: A short history of Global Encounters through Popular Culture 

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Paroma Ghose, postdoctoral researcher based at the International History and Politics Department, Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland

Chair: Shri Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, journalist, author, educationist, teacher, documentary filmmaker and publisher

In an increasingly interconnected and globalizing world, encounters between countries and their representations seem to occur on a more level plain. This lecture will deconstruct this illusion and look at how contemporary encounters can unravel long histories of prejudice through just a word or a moment. It will demonstrate how a history told through cultural sources can provide a very different narrative on the state of the world than one narrated through political polemic.
 

PHYSICAL PROGRAMME

Hong Kong Conundrums: Pangs of Transition

By Rup Narayan Das (KW Publishers, 2022)

Discussants: Prof. Srikanth Kondapalli, Dean, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Prof. S.D. Muni, Professor Emeritus, International Relations and South Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Member Executive Council MP-IDSA; Dr. Raviprasad Narayanan, Associate Professor, Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University & Associate Research Fellow, Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University, Taiwan; and Dr. Rup Narayan Das, author of the book and Senior Fellow, Indian Council of Social Science Research, Indian Institute of Public Administration

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