Celebration of the Power of Non-Violent Action & the Life of Martin Luther King Jr (15 January 1929 – 4 April 1968) & Commemoration of the 54th Anniversary of the Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza

10:30 to 11:00 at Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza
Commemoration Service 
Songs by Choirs of Schools from Delhi NCR

11:15 to 12:15 at C. D. Deshmukh Auditorium
Interactive Session 
Theme of the Interactive Session: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy".
- Martin Luther King, Jr., (Strength to Love, Harper & Row edition, published June,1963)

During the Interactive Session a short film on Martin Luther King's Life shall be screened 
Address by H.E. Eric Garcetti, U.S. Ambassador to India

Moderators: Shri Suhas Borker, Convener, Working Group on Alternative Strategies
Shri Ramesh Sharma, Gandhi Yuva Biradari

Students from Schools of Delhi NCR to participate 

This programme is part of the Taking Children to Gandhi series that brings children closer to the enduring legacy of Gandhi’s non-violent struggle for equity, justice, pluralism and sustainable development

Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza was inaugurated on 21 January 1970 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and commemorates two iconic figures of our times: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
 
(Collaboration: Gandhi Yuva Biradari; and Working Group on Alternative Strategies)
 

A Dastangoi performance on the great Thumri singer, Naina Devi
Scripted and performed by Mahmood Farooqui

Presented by the Naina Devi Foundation and Dastangoi Collective

Known to the world as the doyen of Thumri, the life of Naina Devi, Padma Shri, traversed many worlds - Thumri, Dadra and Ghazal singer, Institution builder, indefatigable benefactor of artistes and a Sufi at heart. This Dastangoi performance begins with Wajid Ali Shah and his exile to Matiya Burj and ends with her demise in 1993, by which time Delhi had become an established centre for Hindustani Classical Music substantially thanks to Naina Devi’s efforts and tireless activities 
 

Odissi Recital

By Supriya Chatterjee from Kolkata, disciple of Guru Giridhari Nayak

At 19:00
Bharatnatyam Recital

By Gayathri Ravikumar from Delhi, daughter and disciple of Guru Supriya Ravikumar
 

Climate Change, Public Health and Equity

Speaker: Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chairperson, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. A pediatrician and a globally recognised researcher on tuberculosis and HIV, Dr. Swaminathan is the former Chief Scientist of World Health Organisation (WHO) where she played a key role during the pandemic in coordinating scientific efforts at the WHO, as well as in setting up Covax, with a focus on equitable vaccine distribution to LMICs.

Chair: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC

A Concert by Vidya Shah, well-known vocalist, disciple of Smt. Shubha Mudgal and Smt. Shanti Hiranand

Script and Narration by Chandrasekhar Tampi

Accompanists: Kamal Ahmed Khan(Sarangi);Shanti Bhushan Jha(Tabla) and Ashique Kumar(Harmonium).

(Collaboration: Women on Record) 

(75 min; 2023; Marathi, Hindi, Pali with English Subtitles)
A film by Somnath Waghmare who will introduce the film

Screening will be followed by a discussion

The documentary explores the lesser-known history of Mumbai and the Dalit community's long history of social struggle in the city. The heart of the film is Chaityabhumi, a sacred site where Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution, was laid to rest. Every year, from December 1 to 6, millions of Dalit-Bahujans make a pilgrimage to Chaityabhumi to pay homage to their revolutionary leader.

Through interviews, personal stories, music, and evocative visuals, the documentary explores the tensions and complexities of caste dynamics in contemporary India.
 

Hindustani Vocal Recital
By Anisha Ray from Delhi, disciple of the late Pandit Manas Chakraborty & late Guru Sarathi Chatterji 
 
 

At 19:00 
Kathak Duet Recital
By Anjali Munjal and Muskaan from Delhi, disciples of Guru Vidha Lal 
 

Resurrecting Lost Memories and Linguistic Archaeology of Ancient Cultures

Speaker: Prof. Anvita Abbi, Distinguished linguist and scholar of tribal and other minority languages of South Asia; B.B. Borkar, Chair Professor of Comparative Literature, Goa University and formerly Professor of Linguistics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Chair: Ashok Vajpeyi, poet, essayist, literary-cultural critic and eminent cultural and arts administrator

Opening Remarks: Suhas Borker, Convenor, Dr Kapila Vatsyayan Memorial Committee and Trustee, IIC

Closing Remarks: Dr Subhash Malik, Renowned Anthropologist

(Collaboration: Kapila Vatsyayan Memorial Committee)

Lead presentation by Prof. Manu Bhagavan, specialist on modern India, Professor of History, Human Rights, and Public Policy at Hunter College and the Graduate Center-The City University of New York, and Senior Fellow at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies.  He is the author or editor of eight books, including the critically-acclaimed The Peacemakers: India and the Quest for One World and, most recently, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit: A Biography.  

Introductory Remarks: Smt Nayantara Sahgal

Chair: Dr. Usha Ramanathan,  independent law researcher

Professor Manu Bhagavan will speak on women in leadership, with a focus on Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit's contributions to India and the world.  He will draw on his extensive experience of India's foreign policy and contributions to the United Nations, and his deeply researched biography of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit.

Organised in collaboration with Assam Association, Delhi – Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

Keynote Address: Dr. Samudragupta Kashyap, eminent writer, journalist and Information Commissioner, Assam and Chancellor, Nagaland University

Presentations by Dr. Ankita Dutta, Assistant Professor, University of Delhi; and Shri Ambrish B. Kishore, Editor, Publication Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India

Chair: Shri M.P. Bezbaruah, IAS (retd.) former Secretary, Govt. of India