Book Discussion Group

Rising Ambition: Carving New Pathways- India’s Energy Transition

By Ajay Shankar (The Energy and Resources Institute, TERI, 2024)

Discussants:Amitabh Kant, Former sherpa G20 and CEO,Niti Ayog;Dr Sanjaya Baru, Former Media Advisor to PMO,Commentary and Policy Analyst; Ajay Shankar, Distinguished fellow, TERI and Author of the book.

Chair: Shyam Saran,President, IIC

Moderator: Dr Ipshita Mitra, Manager, Communication and Stakeholder Engagement

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

In Your Eyes a River: Poems 
by Radha Chakravarty (Hawakal Publishers, 2025)
(In collaboration with Poetry Society of India)

Discussants: Prof. Sukrita Paul Kumar, Eminent Poet, Critic, Academic & Guest Editor Indian Literature; Dr. Amarendra Khatua, Former Secretary, MEA & DG, ICCR & Poet; Mandira Ghosh, Poet, Researcher, Educator & Writer; Dr. Rita Malhotra, Former Principal, Kamla Nehru college, Delhi; Prof. Radha Chakravarty, Writer, Critic; Translator & Author of the book

Chair: K. Jayakumar, President, Poetry Society (India) & Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Kerala

Recalibrating Partition

Discussants: Yogesh Snehi, Associate Professor of History, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi. He is the author of Spatializing Popular Sufi Shrines in Punjab: Dreams, Memories, Territoriality; Debjani Sengupta, Professor at Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. She is the author of The Partition of Bengal: Fragile Borders and New Identities (2016); Anindita Ghoshal, Associate Professor of History at Diamond Harbour Women’s University, Kolkata. She is the author of Refugee, Borders, and Identities: Rights and Habitat in East and Northeast India (2021)

Moderator: Dr Shashank Shekhar Sinha, an independent author, historian and Publishing Director, South Asia, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group

This panel discussion brings together new perspectives from Punjab, Bengal and Northeast India to rethink Partition through themes like borderlands, locality, displacement, rehabilitation, belonging and lived experiences. Focusing on marginalised and other communities, and empathy amidst violence, it interrogates questions of citizenship, caste, gender and ethnicity—showing how 1947 continues to shape contemporary South Asia.

(Collaboration: @Crossroads)
 

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

From Death to Immortality: The Great War of the Mahabharata
by Kavita A. Sharma and Indu Ramchandani (BlueOne Ink, 2025)

Discussants:  Prof. Sukrita Paul Kumar, Eminent Poet, Critic & Academic, Guest Editor Indian Literature; 
Dr. Sarvchetan Katoch, Associate Professor of English. Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, DU; Dr. A. K. Merchant, General Secretary of Temple of Understanding India Foundation; Kausalya Srinivasan, Bharatanatyam Dancer; Dr. Kavita A. Sharma, Educationist, former Director IIC, Former Vice Chancellor, South Asia University & Author of the book; Indu Ramchandani, Editor, Transcriber, Compiler and Author of the book
 

India at the Trade Crossroads: Strategic Engagements with the EU and United States 
Discussants: Ajay Srivastava, Founder, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) New Delhi; Prof Abhijit Das, former Head of the Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi.

Chair: Rajeev Kher, Former Secretary to Govt of India, Ministry of Commerce 
Moderator: Siraj Hussain, Former Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture.

This discussion will examine India’s recent trade engagements with the European Union and the United States, focusing on emerging opportunities, strategic priorities, and areas of negotiation. Exploring the economic, geopolitical, and policy implications of these agreements.

The programme will be available live at  https://www.youtube.com/live/HmhYB8Bi3mE?si=y8Bzr7GUX4LysdNz
 

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

Between Earth and Soul: Poems of Love, Healing, and Faith
by Sangeeta Gupta  

Discussants: Amb. Amarendra Khatua, Former Secretary, MEA & Former DG, ICCR & Poet; Prof. Sukrita Paul Kumar, Eminent Poet, Critic & Academic, Guest Editor Indian Literature; Prof. Swati Pal, Principal and Professor, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi; Sangeeta Gupta, Retd. Chief Commissioner of Income Tax & Artist, Poet, Film Maker & Author of the Book

Poetry reading by Sunit Tandon
 

India and Japan: Lived Seasons and Intercultural Encounters
A three-day interdisciplinary conference with 30 speakers from across the world shall explore the lesser-studied dimensions of India-Japan cultural encounters in the 19th and early 20th centuries, seeking to revisit and illuminate the overlooked narratives.

For participation, kindly register at www.kizunamosai.in

Organized by Kizuna India-Japan Study Forum (KIJSF), an academic research wing of Mombusho Scholars Association of India (MOSAI)

(Collaboration: ICCR and The Japan Foundation)
 

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP 

Qawwali: The Call of Hearts In Love
by Manjari Chaturvedi (Om Books International, 2025)

 Discussants:  Saba Naqvi, Senior Journalist & Writer; Yousuf Saeed, Scholar and Filmmaker; Salil Mishra, Professor,Department of History, BML Munjal University; Dinesh Khanna, Photographer ;  Manjari Chaturvedi, Classical Dancer and Author of the book

Chair : Muzaffar Ali, Filmmaker and Director Jahan-e-Khusrau World Sufi Festival

Moderator : Pragya Tiwari, Writer and Cultural Consultant

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

A Journey Towards Light
by Sushmindar Jeet Kaur (Penprints, 2025)

Discussants: Kavita Singhal , writer, poet, social worker & educationist; Satbir Chada, Author & Poet ;Seema Jain, Bilingual Poet, Translator and Editor; Mandira Ghosh, Poet, Author & Researcher; Sushmindar Jeet Kaur, Associate Professor and Head, PG Department of English, G. Gn. N. Khalsa College, Ludhiana & Author of the book

Chair : Dr. Sukrita Paul Kumar,  Indian poet, critic and academic
 

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

The Trial That Shook Britain: How a Court Martial Hastened Acceptance of Indian Independence
by Ashis Ray  (Routledge, 2024)

Discussants: Dr Abhishek Singhvi ,Eminent Lawyer and Member Rajya Sabha; Subhashini Ali,CPI(M ) Leader and Former Member, Lok Sabha ; Ashis Ray, Academic Visitor at Oxford and Author of the book

Chair : Shyam Saran, President, IIC