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Buddhism Beyond Boundaries: Recent Archaeological Discoveries in Punjab, Pakistan 

Speaker: Dr. Muhammad Hameed, Chairman, Department of Archaeology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Chair: Shri K.N. Srivastava, Director, IIC

In recent years, the Directorate of Archaeology, Government of Punjab, and Department of Archaeology, University of the Punjab, have explored, documented, excavated several sites which have yielded exciting evidence of the dominant presence of Buddhism in the plains of Punjab, Pakistan. The lecture will highlight evidence from sites such as Nihang, Sargodha, Jhelum, Mianwali, Sui Vihar, Dillu Roye and Dera Ghazi Khan, which have added a new chapter in the history of Buddhism in Pakistan
   
(Collaboration: Ashoka University)

Infrastructure and Chinese Influence in Southeast Asia 

Speaker: Selina Ho, Assistant Professor in International Affairs and Co-Director, Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. She researches Chinese politics and foreign policy, with a focus on how China wields power and influence via infrastructure and water disputes in Southeast Asia and South Asia.

Chair: Amb. Shivshankar Menon, former Foreign Secretary and Visiting Fellow, Ashoka University

China’s increasing material capabilities stand at the heart of the US-China power transition. The focus on material power reflects a realist definition of power based on the possession of resources. However, material capabilities alone do not necessarily translate into influence and do not always determine outcomes. Non-material power matters at least as much as material capabilities. China under President Xi Jinping views power differently from previous generations of Chinese leaders. While material power remains important, Xi has paid greater attention to strengthening Chinese non-material power, specifically structural power and discursive power. Drawing from the findings of her book, Rivers of Iron: Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia, Selina Ho discusses how China wields infrastructure as a source of power in Southeast Asia. To what extent has China been successful in converting infrastructure power into influence? How have Southeast Asian states responded to China's infrastructure initiatives?

(Collaboration: Centre for Chinese Studies, Ashoka University; and NYU Shanghai)
 

Burning Pyres, Mass Graves and a State that Failed its People 

By Harsh Mander (Speaking Tiger: 2023)

The author, Harsh Mander will be in conversation with Natasha Badhwar, writer and filmmaker

Introductory Remarks: Shri Shyam Saran, President, IIC
 
About the Conference: Prof. Ajit Kembhavi, Professor Emeritus and former Director, IUSCAA, Pune and Chair, Conference – International Advisory Committee
 
Keynote Address: Dr. Simon Hodson, Executive Director, CODATA – Committee on Data of the International Science Council (ISC), Paris
 
Chief Guest: Prof. Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Govt. of India
 
Concluding Remarks: Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC

Speakers: Prof. Suchandra Ghosh, Dept. of History, University of Hyderabad; Prof. Dr. R. Mahalakshmi, Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Professor K.M. Shrimali, former Professor, Department of History, University of Delhi; Prof. Ranabir Chakravarti, former Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; and Dr Abhimanyu Kumar

Chair: Prof. Romila Thapar

The talk is based on a project by Prof. Ghosh and Prof.Mahalakshmi that brings together the latest research using new sources such as the Genizah Records to draw attention to the vast and unexplored terrain of the economic history of early India. A rich and diverse area of study covering agricultural developments, trade, markets, occupational and professional groups, urbanisation and the institutions that govern economy. The project discusses material culture and provides insights into the lived experience of early Indians, the kinds of activities they were engaged in and their production activities within and outside domestic spaces
 

Kashmir under the Dogras
Transition to Peace, Progress & Modernity

by S. N. Pandita

Speakers: Shri Alok Mehta, Senior Journalist & Author; Shri Deepak Dwivedi, Chief editor, Blitz; Prof Nandini Sinha Kapur, Professor, School of Inter-Disciplinary and Trans-Disciplinary Studies, IGNOU; Dr S. N. Pandita, Author of the Book

Chair:  Dr Karan Singh 
  

Welcome Remarks: Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC
Introduction of the Conference: Dr. Anindita Balslev, Founder, Forum for Cross Cultural Conversation

Opening Remarks: Dr. Karan Singh

Speakers: Amb. Jorge Heine, Research Professor, Pardee School of Global Studies, Interim Director, Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, Boston University; Ms Lalitha Kumaramangalam, Member, Bharatiya Janata Party and former Chairperson, the National Commission for Women; Amb. Syed Akbaruddin, Dean, Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad and former Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations; and Dr. Ashis Nandy, public intellectual, political psychologist and social theorist

(Collaboration: Forum for Cross Cultural Conversation)
 

In Conversation 

Khalid Jawed, well-known Urdu writer in conversation with Udayan Vajpeyi

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)

Illustrated lecture by Pablo Bartholomew, well-known photographer

A quarter of a century after his father’s death, Pablo’s unknown Burmese relatives find him in an extraordinary way
 

Maya, Modi, Azad: Dalit Politics in the Time of Hindutva

By Sudha Pai and Sajjan Kumar (HarperCollins India: 2023)

Discussants: Prof. Surinder Singh Jodhka, Professor, Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Ms Smita Gupta, former Associate Editor, The Hindu; Shri Sudheendra Kulkarni, columnist and aide to former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee; Prof. Sudha Pai, political scientist, columnist and former Professor of Political Science, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Co-Author of the book; and Dr. Sajjan Kumar, researcher, political scientist, Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and Co-Author of the book

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