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The Sacred Altai

Presentations by Prof. K. Warikoo, formerly Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Hon’y Secretary General, Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation; Prof. Shashibala, Head, Indology Centre, Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi; Prof. Rajnish Mishra, School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; and Dr. Mahesh Ranjan Debata, Centre for Inner Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Gornyi Altai (part of Russian Siberia in mountainous Altai) is treated as sacred territory by its indigenous people since old times. The famed Sumeru Parvat is also located here. There are commonalities between the traditions and practices prevalent in Altai and in India. The discussion will outline some of these commonalities, highlighting the importance of these traditions and practices for the preservation of the eco-system and biodiversity

(Collaboration: Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation)

SHARED CULTURAL HERITAGE ACROSS THE INDIAN OCEAN

Workshop Session III: Culture and Heritage: Temples in Context
To be conducted in hybrid mode

Chairperson: Dr. Neeru Misra, Academic Advisor, BL Institute of Indology, New Delhi

Presentations:
The Multiple Lives of Temples
By Dr. Emma Stein, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, Washington DC

Reception History, Nautical Iconography and Local Agency in Angkor
By Dr. Veronica Walker Vadillo, University of Helsinki

At 16:00
Workshop Session IV: Culture and Heritage: Monuments in Context (contd.)
To be conducted in hybrid mode

Chairperson: Dr. Gouri Parimoo Krishna, PM Museum, New Delhi

Presentations:
Deciphering the 9th century Dông Du’o’ng vihara in Vietnam
By Dr. Tran Ky Phuong and Nguyên, Independent researchers, Vietnam

‘Amoghapasa’ Manifestation of Avalokitesvara: South Bihar and the Malay-Javanese World
By Dr. Elora Tribedy, Nalanda University, Rajgir

Saiva Kaula Rituals, Tantric Buddhism and Royalty: Parallels between Bhaumakaras of Odisha and Singhasari of Java
By Umakant Mishra, Assistant Professor, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack
 

SHARED CULTURAL HERITAGE ACROSS THE INDIAN OCEAN

Workshop Session I: Re-examining the ‘Indianization’ Legacy in History and Archaeology
To be conducted in hybrid mode

Chair: Prof. Anjana Sharma, University of Delhi

Presentations:

The Diversity of Cultural Sharing Between Indonesia and South Asia
Presentation by Dr. Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan, Research Fellow, École Française d’Extrême-Orient (Paris) at present in Jakarta

Colonising the El dorado: The Vo-Canh inscription, R.C. Majumdar, and the Making of Greater India
Presentation by Dr. Ashish Kumar, Assistant Professor, Punjab University, Chandigarh

At 16:00
Workshop Session II: Of Continuities and Ruptures

To be conducted in hybrid mode

Chair: Prof. Kishor K. Basa, Chairperson, National Monuments Authority

Presentations:
Indianization, Indigenization and Maritime Archaeology: What can shipwrecks tell us?
Presentation by Dr. Stephen Murphy, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

A Continuity of Rupture: The Periods of ‘Hindu-Buddha’ and ‘Islam’ in Indonesia’s Art History and Archaeology and Their Epistemic Implications
Presentation by Mr. Panggah Ardiyansyah, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

Musical Exchanges between India and Southeast Asia: A Reappraisal
Presentation by Dr. Arsenio Nicolas, College of Music, Mahasarakham University, Thailand

 

Webinar on 9 February 2023 at 18:30
 

Indian Sailors on Socotra – The Inscriptions and Drawings of Cave HOQ

Speaker: Prof. Ingo Strauch, Professor for Sanskrit and Buddhist Studies, University of Lausanne who is the Editor of Foreign Sailors on Socotra. The inscriptions and drawings from the Cave Hoq, 2012. His current research focusses on early Buddhist manuscripts from Gandhara and Buddhist epigraphy in Brahmi and Kharosthi script

Chair: Mr. Ajay Yadav, former Additional Director General, Archaeological Survey of India

 

MAPPING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Coordinated by Shri Siraj Hussain

Sustainability of Palm Oil 
Speaker: Shri Ashwin Selvaraj, Deputy Director Market Transformation, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)

Chair: Shri Siraj Hussain, former Union Agriculture Secretary

The talk will highlight the challenges and opportunities in mainstreaming sustainability in the oil palm sector and what the experience has been on this subject so far. India has a critical role to play in the oil palm sector and such opportunities help in creating awareness and provide one with inspiration to continue the engagement with the relevant public sector and private sector stakeholders
 

IIC/PCI - CONVERSATIONS WITH MEDIA # 6

Challenges Before the Indian Judiciary and Overcoming Them

Speaker: Justice Madan Lokur, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India

Moderator of the series: Suhas Borker
Introduction: Vinay Kumar, Secretary General, Press Club of India

The series of Conversations with Media is jointly presented by IIC and PCI and is hosted by them alternatively every month
 

NEIGHBOURHOOD FIRST

Coordinated by Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Ashok K. Mehta

Whither Afghanistan?

Panelists: Amb. Gautam Mukhopadhyay, former Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan; Lt. Gen. Ravi Sawhney, Senior Fellow, Vivekananda Foundation; Ms Maya Mirchandani, Counter Terrorism Specialist, Observer Research Foundation; Shri Kabir Taneja, Fellow, Strategic Studies Programme, Observer Research Foundation; and Mr. David Loyn, former BBC correspondent and author of The Long War: The Inside Story of America and Afghanistan since 9/11

Chair: Maj. Gen. Ashok K. Mehta

It is 18 months since the Taliban re-conquered Afghanistan and rolled back the two-decade old experiment with democracy. Unlike 1996, not a single country has recognized the Emirate. The humanitarian crisis has worsened as ISIS and the National Resistance Front led by Ahmed Massoud continue to challenge the Taliban. The panel will discussed the charmed future of the Taliban government
 

IIC/I-HOUSE DISTINGUISHED VISITING SCHOLARS

Economic Security in Indo-Pacific: Gradation of Regional Responses

Lead presentations by IIC and International House of Japan (I-House) Distinguished Visiting Scholars

- Prof. Ken Jimbo, Managing Director (Representative Director), President, Asia-Pacific Initiative and Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University, Tokyo; and Prof. Kazuto Suzuki, Director, Institute of Geoeconomics, and Professor of Science and Technology Policy, Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo, Japan

Speakers: Prof Manoj Pant, former Dean, SIS, JNU and  Ms Indrani Bagchi, CEO, Ananta Centre 

Chair: Dr. Shankar Acharya, former Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India and currently Professor at the ICRIER 
 

(Collaboration: International House of Japan, Tokyo)
 

Book Discussion Group

Energy Efficiency Matters

By Ajay Mathur and Leher V. Thadani (Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation; & Teri Alumni Association: 2022)

Discussants: Amb. Shyam Saran, President IIC and former Foreign Secretary of India; Ms Namita Vikas, Founder & Managing Director, Auctus ESG; Shri Ajay Shankar, Distinguished Fellow, TERI and former Secretary, Dept. of Industrial Planning & Policy, Govt. of India; and Dr, Ajau Mathur, Director General, International Solar Alliance and author of the book

Moderator: Shri Amitabh Sinha, Resident Editor, The Indian Express, Pune

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

Two books from the “Routledge Focus on Modern Subjects” will be discussed:

Disciplines of Modernity: Archives, Histories, Anthropologies

By Saurabh Dube (Routledge Taylor & Francis: 2022)

 

The Dazzle of the Digital: Unbundling India Online

By Meghna Bal and Vivan Sharan (Routledge Taylor & Francis: 2022)

 

Discussants: Dr. Mahesh Uppal, Director, ComFirst India; Prof. Prathama Banerjee, Professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi; Prof. Projit B. Mukharji, Professor, History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania and Ashoka University; Prof. Vibodh Parathasarathi, Associate Professor, Centre for Culture, Media and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia University; Ms Meghna Bal, Fellow, Esya Centre and co-author of the book; Shri Vivan Sharan, Partner, Koan Advisory Group and co-author of the book; and Dr. Saurabh Dube, Distinguished Professor of History, El Colegio de Mexico, Mexico City and author of the book
 

Japan – India Synergy: Vision 2052

Japan – India Synergy: Vision 2052
An International Symposium
Conceptualised by Dr. Anu Jindal, artist, scholar and curator

PROGRAMME


Opening remarks:         Dr Anu Jindal, New Delhi
Welcome Address:         Mr K. N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC
Invocation:                     Ms Yoko Matshushita, Osaka, Japan

Session I:                    10.10 - 11.20 am

Chair: Mr Kojiro Morikawa, Historian, Member of Osaka Foreign Business Network Club & Investor, Kyoto, Japan. 

A brief introduction of the Mithila Museum at the Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama
Mr Tokio Hasegawa, Founder-Director, Mithila Museum, Tokamachi, Niigata, Japan. (Yuka-san - Amagasaki, Osaka, interpreter) 

My Journey of Dance, Kalari, Yoga, Geeta and Situation of Indian Culture in Japan
Ms Yoko Matsushita, Bharat Natyam Dancer, Founder-Director, Studio Prachee, Osaka, Japan

India-Japan Economic Relations: Select Aspects
Dr H.S. Prabhakar, former Prof, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi 


Tea break:             11:20 – 11:40 hours

Session II:             11:40 – 13:00 hours
Chair: Dr Anu Jindal, Artist, Scholar, Arts Administrator


Special Address:     Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director-General, The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi 

India as a fountain in the Japanese popular culture context: Focusing on the 1970s children's action TV drama Rainbow Man
Dr Hajime Hasegawa, Prof of Media Studies, Gaku-in University, Tokyo 


Dr Nisha Taneja, ICRIER, New Delhi 

Three Similarities of China’s Territorial Expansion: How does QUAD work?
Dr Satoru Nagao, Fellow (non-resident), Hudson Institute (Washington DC), will join from Tokyo


Lunch Break:         13:00 – 14:00 hours

Session III:             14:00 – 15:20 hours

Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Japan-India 
Dr Sreeram Chaulia, Prof & Dean, Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA), O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), Sonipat, Haryana, India 
 

Mr Anuj Dayal, Principal Executive Director (CC), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, New Delhi

Mr Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, Head of India Practice, Eurasia Group, New Delhi 

Indo-Japanese bilateral and multilateral relations till 2047
Mr Gautam Mukherjee, Senior Journalist & TV Panelist, New Delhi 

Strategic Partnership/Africa Corridor
Mr. Manish Chand, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, India Writes Network, Centre for Global India Insights (CGII), India 

Tea break:             15:20 – 15:40 hours

Session IV:             15:40 – 17:00 hours

Chair: Dr Anita Sharma, former Prof, Dept of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi, New Delhi

Japan-India Trade and Soft Power Exchanges
Mr Amarendra Khatua, former Secretary and Director-General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi

City Planning in Japan: Historic City of Nagahama
Dr Prafulla Parlekar, Prof in Dept of Urban Planning, School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi 

Environment Friendly Design for Sustainable Living-Japanese Role Model
Dr Anu Jindal, Artist Scholar Arts Administrator, New Delhi 

Summation by Dr Anu Jindal


The Symposium takes off from the Embassy of Japan in India’s declaration of “Building a future for our centenary” – looking ahead to the year 2052, when the celebration to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and India will take place. 

Organised to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and India

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