BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

Kapila Jnanagarbha: Knowledge Unfolding Wisdom – Offerings in Memory of Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan
edited by Advaitavadini Kaul (Dev Publishers, 2026)

Discussants: N N Vohra, Former Governor of Jammu & Kashmir & Life Trustee, IIC; Shyam Saran, President, IIC; Prof Radhavallabha Tripathi, scholar of natyasastra & sahityasasrta, former, Vice Chancellor, Central Sanskrit University, Delhi; Prof. Bettina Sharda Bäumer, scholar of non-dualistic Kashmir saivism, Indian aesthetics & comparative mysticism; Prof. Shashi Prabha Kumar, scholar of classical Indian philosophy (Vaisesika) and Chairperson, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla; Prof Aditya Malik, scholar of anthropology, history, religious studies and professor, Plaksha University; Dr. Advaitavadini Kaul, editor of the book
 

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

Asterkali: 101 poems
by Roopali Sircar Gaur (Sabre and Quill Publishers, 2025)

Discussants: Prof Swati Pal, Principal and Professor, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi; Nibedita Sen, Poet, Author & Artist; Mandira Ghosh, Poet, Author and Researcher; Satbir Chadha 
Poet & Author, Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur, Author of the book

Chair: Dr Amarendra Khatua, Poet & Former Secretary, MEA & DG, ICCR
 

India’s Bioethanol Pathway to 2047: Aligning Energy Transition, Sustainability, and System Realities

Moderator: Siraj Hussain, Former Union Agriculture Secretary

Presentation on ‘India’s Bioethanol Programme Progress and Emerging Issues’ by Pulkit Khatri, Lead-Capabilities & Strategy, Arcus Policy Research

Discussants: Vijendra Singh, President – All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA) and Executive Director & Dy CEO, Shree Renuka Sugars; P.S. Ravi, Director – Downstream, Federation of Indian Petroleum Industries; Shweta Saini, Agri-Economist and CEO, Arcus Policy Research

This policy dialogue will examine the future of India’s ethanol programme through a 2047 lens, moving beyond past achievements to assess its long-term role in an evolving energy landscape.

(Collaboration: Arcus Policy Research)
 

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

General Brasstacks: The Sundarji Story
by Probal DasGupta (Penguin Viking, 2025)

Moderator: Barkha Dutt, Journalist and Founder-Editor, Mojo Story
 

Discussants: Amb. T C A Raghavan, Former High Commissioner to Pakistan; Lt. Gen Rakesh Sharma, Distinguished Fellow at VIF; Probal DasGupta, Author of the book

 

India and the Kurdish People: Re-Starting a Civilizational Dialogue

Chair: K.N Shrivastava, Director, IIC

Moderator: Kallol Bhattacherjee, Journalist at The Hindu

Discussants: Miloon Kothari, Visiting Professor, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva; Arif Rhein, Kurdistan National Congress (KNK)

The cultures of India and West Asia are deeply interwoven. The millennia-old values and customs of the 60 million Kurds in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria resemble those of the Indian subcontinent in many ways. How can this historical bond be transformed into practical relations today? What opportunities for cultural exchange exist?
 

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

Footsteps on the sands of Time
by Anil Golani (Notion Press, 2025)

Discussants: Dr. Usha Mujoo Munshi, Chief Librarian, IIC; Prof. Payal Nagpal, Poet & Professor, Dept of English Literature, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi; AVM Anil Golani, Director General, Centre for Aerospace Power and Strategic Studies and Author of the book

Chair: Amb Dinkar P. Srivastava, Former Ambassador to Iran and Distinguished Fellow, Vivekanand International Foundation

(Collaboration: Poetry Society of India)
 

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

The Alphabets of Africa
by Abhay K. (Vintage Classics, 2026)

Discussants: Author, Abhay K will be in conversation with Prof. Siddharth Mallavarapu, Professor at the Department of International Relations and Governance Studies at Shiv Nadar University.
 

How do we annihilate caste?
 

Moderator:  Suhas Borker, Convener, Working Group on Alternative Strategies
 

Discussants: Prof N. Sukumar, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi; Prof  Y. S. Alone, Professor of Visual Studies, School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU; Prof  Sumeet  Mhaskar, Fulbright-Nehru Fellow, Department of Anthropology, University of Stanford (Online); Prof Ram Chandra, Professor of Hindi,  Centre of Indian Languages, JNU; Dr Rehnamol P. R., Associate Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O. P. Jindal Global University; Disha Wadekar, Advocate, Supreme Court of India  and member of CEDE (Community for the Eradication of Discrimination in Education and Employment)

The discussion is part of the series on Social Justice and Empowerment started in 2010 and held every year on 1 May to commemorate the life and work of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
 

(Collaboration:  Maharashtra Sanskritik ani Rannaniti Adhyayan Samiti and Working Group on Alternative Strategies) 

The Iran War: Geopolitics at the Edge of a New World Order

The ongoing tensions surrounding Iran signal a critical inflection point in global geopolitics, with far-reaching implications for regional stability, energy security, and shifting power alignments. The discussion will explore how these developments may reshape the contours of an emerging world order.

Chair:  Amb Saurabh Kumar, Former Ambassador of India to EU and Iran  

Discussants: Prof. (Dr.) C. Raja Mohan, Visiting Research Professor, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore;  ; U.K. Sinha, Diplomat and Former Chairperson, SEBI; Happymon Jacob,  Distinguished Visiting Professor, Shiv Nadar University, Founder & Director, Council for Strategic and Defence Research, Editor, INDIA’S WORLD magazine.

Book Discussion Group

Morning Twilight: Poems
By Jayshree Misra Tripathi (Speaking Tiger, 2026)

Chair: Dr. Amarendra Khatua, Former Diplomat, Author and Poet

Discussants:  Prof Kalyani Dutta, Translator and Academic; Dr. Sanjeev Chopra, Historian, Columnist and Festival Director; Mandira Ghosh, Poet, Author and Researcher and Jayshree Misra Tripathi, Writer, Former Educationist & Author of the book