The Informal Discussion Group

An Interactive Session with Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty

2011-03-18T23:26:00.000+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with:

Dr Devi Prasad Shetty

on the topic

Healthcare as the Industry of the 21^st Century

Dr Devi Prasad Shetty is the chairman of Narayna Hrudayalaya, Banglore and Asia Heart Foundation, Kolkata. He received his MBBS from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore and he was the first heart surgeon in India to perform heart surgeries on newborn babies and used Micro chip camera to close holes in the Heart. He was part of the first team in the world to coin the term Micro Health Insurance and has helped Karnataka state Government to launch Yeshashwini Micro Health Insurance considered as the largest Micro Health Insurance Programme in the world. He has been honoured by several awards like the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award– 2003, Padmashree – 2003 and the Social Entrepreneurship Award – World Economic Forum – 2005.

Time: 5:00 p.m.

Date: Tuesday, March 15^th

Venue: Staff Room

2011-03-18T23:25:00.000+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive Q and A session with

Sheila Dikshit

(The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi)

Sheila Dikshit is the Chief Minister of Delhi. She is from the Indian National Congress. She was sworn in as the Chief Minister for a third consecutive term of the Government of Delhi state in January 2009 after pulling a victory in the November 2008 state elections.

She first came into the limelight when she was nominated by Indira Gandhi to the Indian delegation of the UN Commission on Status of Women. She thus began her journey into active politics and has not looked back. The developmental work that has gone into shaping Delhi, including the metro rail network, improved supply of water and electricity and better roads, is largely credited to her.

She holds a Master of Arts degree, having received her education in New Delhi. She is also the recipient of Doctor of Philosophy, honoris causa, from the University of Delhi.

Time: 8 P.M.

Date: 14^th March, 2011

Venue: Staff Room

A Discussion With Admiral Ramdas

2011-03-18T23:23:00.001+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to a talk by

Admiral Ramdas

on the topic:

Indo-Pak Relations

Admiral Ramdas is an ex-military officer who became a peace activist who was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Awards for peace for his efforts in "reaching across a hostile border to nurture a citizen-based consensus for peace between Pakistan and India. "

Soon after his retirement, the Admiral began to advocate demilitarisation and peaceful resolution of the Indo-Pak problems. He is the chairperson of the Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy. He will be talking about Indo-Pak relations- The need for creation of a South Asian Identity and Regional Cooperation.

Venue: Staff Room Date: 8^th March 2011

Time: 8PM

Talk by PK Vijayan on the Semester System in DU

2011-03-18T23:21:00.000+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with:

PK Vijayan

(Professor, English Literature)

on the topic

Semester System at the undergraduate level in DU

P K Vijayan teaches English Literature in Hindu College, Delhi University.. His research is in the area of gender and nationalism. He has contributed to “Translating Desire: Politics of Gender and Culture in India” , a collection of essays exploring the politics of sexuality in contemprory India. His article on the implementation of the semester system, “The semester system is a ‘free market’ utopia”, can be found on Tehelka.com.

Time: 8:00 PM

Date: Thursday, 3^rd March, 2011

Venue: Staff Room

An Interactive Session with Zila Khan: The Art of the Ghazal

2011-03-18T23:19:00.001+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with

Zila Khan

(Sufi Singer)

On the topic:

The Art of The Ghazal

Zila Khan, represents the seventh generation of renowned Hindustani classical musicians. Daughter of sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan, in 2006 she made an award-winning documentary on the life and music of her father called Spirit to Soul. She established UstadGah in 2008, an institute that provides musical training to underprivileged and visually impaired children, and recently performed at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Ms. Khan is well-known for her command over a vast range of musical styles and has a number of albums to her credit.

Time: 8:00 PM

Date: Tuesday, 1 March, 2011

Venue: The Staff Room

An Interactive Session with Zila Khan: The Art of the Ghazal

2011-03-18T23:19:00.000+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with

Zila Khan

(Sufi Singer)

On the topic:

The Art of The Ghazal

Time: 8:00 PM

Date: Tuesday, 1 March, 2011

Venue: The Staff Room

Interactive Session With P. R. Kumaraswam

2011-03-18T23:17:00.000+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with:

P. R. Kumaraswamy

(Professor, Contemporary Middle East)

on the topic

“India, Israel and the Wider Middle East”

Professor P R Kumaraswamy is an expert in contemporary developments of the Middle East. He is currently a professor at the Center for West Asian Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University. He researches and writes about the region and its political and security developments. His latest book on India's Israel Policy: From Nonrelations to Friendship was published by the Columbia University Press in 2010. His other works include Islamic Attitudes to Israel, The A to Z of Arab Israeli Conflict and South Asia: The Spectre of Terrorism among others. In December 2009 he began his two-year term as the Chairperson of the CWAS.

Date: Friday, February 25, 2011

Time: 8:00 PM

Venue: Staff Room

Screening of 'Inshallah, football', and a discussion with Ashvin Kumar

2011-03-18T23:16:00.000+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with:

Ashvin Kumar

Presenting:

Screening of the film ‘Inshallah, football’ and discussion with the filmmaker Ashvin Kumar

Ashvin Kumar is an independent Indian filmmaker who has produced and directed several films and documentaries, including Inshallah, football (2010); Dazed in Doon (2010) and the Oscar nominated movie - Little Terrorist (2005). His recent films have attracted controversy as the Indian censor board has denied him the certifications necessary for the films to be shown publicly in Indian cinemas. His latest film, Inshallah, football, is a feature documentary about an aspiring footballer who was denied the right to travel abroad on the pretext that his father was a militant in the 1990s. It premiered at the Pusan International Film Festival and bagged a Special Mention award at the recently concluded Dubai International Film Festival.

Time: 5:00 PM

Date: Wednesday, 23^rd February, 2011

Venue: The A.V. Room

IDG talk by Prashant Bhushan on "Sedition and Binayak Sen"

2011-03-18T23:13:00.000+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with:

Prashant Bushan

(Advocate, Supreme Court of India)

on the topic

“Sedition and Binayak Sen”

Mr. Prashant Bushan is an advocate of the Supreme Court of India and has been practicing there since 1983. He graduated from Princeton University with a Masters in Philosophy of Science and his area of expertise is Public Interest Litigation particularly involving Human Rights, Environmental Issues and Accountability of Public Servants. He has appeared in a number of high profile cases like the Narmada Bachao Andolan case, the Bofors case and the Enron case.

Mr. Bhushan is the author of two books and has written a number of articles on legal and political issues. The talk will focus on the concept of sedition and its place in our constitution, an issue brought to light in recent times due to the proceedings against health and human rights activist, Dr. Binayak Sen.

Date: Monday, February 21, 2011

Time: 8:00 PM

Venue: Staff Room

An Interactive Session with Usha Ramanathan

2011-03-18T23:10:00.000+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with:

Usha Ramanathan

(Lawyer, Human Rights Activist)

on the topic

UID - Unique, Universal, Ubiquitous: A solution or a problem?

The Unique Identification Number (UID) is an initiative by the Government to create and manage a centralized identification system for all adult citizens and residents of India, which can be utilized for a variety of identification purposes. While the proposal has many benefits, it has also attracted a lot of criticism regarding privacy, efficiency and misuse.

Dr Usha Ramanathan is an internationally recognized expert on law and poverty. She teaches environmental law, labour law and consumer law at the Indian Law Institute and is an adviser to non-governmental organisations and international organisations. She is also a member of Amnesty International's Advisory Panel on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. She is frequently published and has devoted her attention to a number of specific issues such as the Bhopal gas disaster, the Narmada Valley Dam projects and slum evictions in Delhi.

Date: Friday, February 18, 2011

Time: 8:00 PM

Venue: Staff Room

A Panel Discussion on 'Bhimayana': The Graphic Biography of B.R. Ambedkar

2011-03-18T23:03:00.003+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group

St Stephen’s College

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to panel discussion with

S. Anand, Durgabai Vyam and Subhash Vyam

On the topic:

Bhimayana: A Presentation on the Graphic Biography of B.R. Ambedkar

S. Anand is the co-founder of Navayana, India’s first and only publishing house to exclusively focus on the issue of caste from an anti-caste perspective. In this IDG session, the panel will discuss Navayana’s newest title –Bhimayana: Experiences of Untouchability, a distinctive graphic biography on B.R. Ambedkar’s own experiences with untouchability. The book is done in Gond style by Pardhan-Gond artists Durgabai Vyam and Subhash Vyam, who will also be present at the session.

Those interested can buy the paperback edition of Bhimayana and Bhimayana T-shirts designed by People Tree at the venue for Rs.300 and Rs.400 respectively.

Time: 5:00 PM

Date: Tuesday, 15 February, 2011

Venue: The Seminar Room

An Interactive Session with Ilina Sen

2011-03-18T23:00:00.001+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group

St. Stephen’s College

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with

Dr.Ilina Sen

The Unanswered Questions about Dr.Binayak Sen

Dr. Ilina Sen has recently been in the news for the infamous treatment meted out to her husband, the Human Rights Activist Dr. Binayak Sen. The active role she is playing in the quest for justice for her husband has a long history of socio-political activism and personal experiences of social harassment. For instance, In a move that reeks of police-harassment, Dr. Ilina Sen was booked by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism squad under Foreigners Act, 1946. The Case was registered in Wardha. This apart, Dr. Ilina Sen is a prominent name among the seekers of justice in the Indian context. She will be clarifying all doubts regarding the debatable court case which, besides attracting media attention, has affected public life as a whol

Time: 8:00 PM

Date: 14Th February (Monday)

Venue: Staff Room

An Interactive Session with Gurcharan Das on: The Difficulty of Being Good

2011-03-18T22:53:00.002+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with:

Gurcharan Das

(Author)

The Difficulty of Being Good: On the subtle art of dharma

Date: February 1, 2011

Time: 1.30 PM

Gurcharan Das graduated from Harvard University with honours in Philosophy, Politics and Sanskrit and later attended Harvard Business School. He was CEO of Procter & Gamble India and later Managing Director, Procter & Gamble Worldwide (Strategic Planning). In 1995, he took early retirement to become a full time writer.

His book titled ‘The Difficulty of Being Good: On the subtle art of dharma’ interrogates the epic, Mahabharata, in order to answer the question, ‘why be good? His other works include India Unbound, A Fine Family and The Elephant Paradigm.

Those interested in reading the book may contact Priyanka (III History, 9811226099). Copies of the book are available at the college photocopy shop.

Crisis in the Classics'

2011-03-18T22:47:00.002+05:30

Sheldon Pollock is the William B. Ransford Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, and formerly the George V. Bobrinskoy Distinguished Service Professor of Sanskrit and Indic Studies at the University of Chicago, where he taught from 1989-2005.

Pollock is General Editor of the Murty Classical Library of India (Harvard U. Press). He was General Editor of the Clay Sanskrit Library, for which he also edited and translated a number of volumes.

His publications include the monograph The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India (2006), which won the Coomaraswamy Prize from the Association of Asian Studies as well as the Lionel Trilling Award.

In 2009, he received the President's Award for Sanskrit, and in 2010, the Padma Shri award, both from the Government of India. His newest initiative is the Ambedkar Sanskrit Fellowship Program at Columbia, which aims to establish an endowment to fund graduate studies in Sanskrit for students from historically disadvantaged communities.

Date: Wednesday, January 9, 2011

Time: 1:30 PM

Venue: The Mess Lawns

2011-03-18T22:45:00.001+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with:

Mandip Singh Soin

(Explorer, Mountaineer, Environmentalist)

Presenting:

“Tales of an Explorer”

Mr. Soin is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society with over 35 years of exploration experience in India and other parts of the world. Nominated by the Limca Book of Records as 'India's most versatile Expeditioner', he is the founder and managing director of 'Ibex Expeditions Private Ltd.', a tourism company that specializes in ecotourism, adventure, luxury and safari travel in India. He has been chairing the Environment & Eco Tourism Committee of the PATA India chapter since 1998 and helped draft the National Eco Tourism guidelines in addition to being the convener for its Action Plan. Mr. Soin lectures worldwide on responsible, ecologically viable tourism.

Time: 5:00 PM

Date: Monday, 17^th January, 2011

Venue: The AV Room

Terrorism and Empire

2011-03-18T22:39:00.002+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with:

ACHIN VANAIK

(Professor of International Relations and Global Politics, Delhi University)

On the topic:

‘Terrorism and Empire’

Achin Vanaik is one of the leading analysts on globalization, democracy and security issues in South Asia and a renowned specialist on nuclear arms. He has co-founded the Movement in India for Nuclear Disarmament (MIND), as well as South Asians Against Nukes. In addition to being a recognized academic, Vanaik writes regularly for various national newspapers was formerly the assistant editor of the Times of India in Mumbai.

In the year 2000 Vanaik, along with Praful Bidwai, received the International Peace Bureau's Sean McBride International Peace Prize.

Time: 8:00 PM

Date: Wednesday, 15^th December, 2010

Venue: The Staff Room

In Discussion with Benny Prasad on the topic 'Music on the Go'

2011-03-18T22:34:00.001+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with

Benny Prasad

On the topic:

“Music on the Go”

Dr. Prasad is the most traveled musician in the world having covered 245 countries including Antarctica. He has designed several guitars including a String Harp/ Bongo guitar, the only one of its kind, which he will be playing during the session. He has performed at various events around the world including the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2004 Olympic Games.

Time: 1.30 PM

Date: Monday, December 13th, 2010

Venue: Room XE

Eyes Wide Shut: WikiLeaks and the Radia Tapes

2011-03-18T22:22:00.001+05:30

Recent controversies surrounding diplomacy, international relations and media houses have raised questions regarding the integrity of nations, individuals and institutions.

December 6, at 2:40 in the Old IRC!

2010-11-23T23:27:00.003+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with

Tenzin Tsundue

(General Secretary, Friends of Tibet - India)

On the topic:

“What Makes an Activist?”

Tenzin Tsundue is a writer and freedom activist of the Tibetan community in exile. His life has been a story of determined activism, having caught international media attention in Mumbai, January 2002, as he displayed the Tibetan national flag and banners in the hotel where Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji was staying. In the year of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Tsundue led a peaceful march across North India to attempt to cross to Tibet.
Tsundue’s writings have been translated to several languages and published in several national and international publications. As a poet he has represented Tibet in the Second South Asian Literary Conference in New Delhi in 2005 organized by the Sahitya Akademy, and at Poetry Africa 2005, amongst others. In 2001 Tsundue was awarded the Outlook Picador Award for Non Fiction.

A Talk by Barun Mitra: Is Ayn Rand Relevant Today?

2010-11-22T21:56:00.003+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with

Barun Mitra and Vikram Bajaj

On the topic:

“Is Ayn Rand Relevant Today?”

Barun Mitra, founder and director of Liberty Institute, started the “Ayn Rand in India” initiative. The Institute is dedicated to promoting awareness of the basic pillars of a free society – Individual Rights, Rule of Law, Limited Government role, and Free Market. Mr. Mitra also writes on public policy issues. He has received many awards for his work and his contribution to the cause of economic and political liberty.

Mr. Vikram Bajaj is one of the Board of Directors and former Managing Director of Uncle Chipps Company, India. Mr. Bajaj played a key role in promoting the “Ayn Rand in India” initiative. A long time Ayn Rand admirer, he is a part of the Board of Advisors of the Liberty Institute.

Time: 8.00 PM

Date: Wednesday, November 24^th, 2010

Venue: Staff Room

2010-11-17T19:30:00.004+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group, St. Stephen's College

invites you to an interactive session of its Discussion Forum on the topic

VIRTUALLY NO REALITY?: Virtual spaces and their

meanings in the “real” world.

Trace and analyze the profound impact that virtual realities have on our

social behaviour, self-perception and intelligence.

Come, explore the worlds within.

Time: 2:40 PM

Date: Monday, November 22, 2010

Venue: Room XE

2010-11-17T19:23:00.003+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with

Ashish Kothari

(Acclaimed Environmentalist)

on the topic:

The Conservation Conundrum: Tigers, Tribals or Growth?

Mr. Ashish Kothari is a founding member of Kalpavriksh, an environmental NGO which has been active for nearly thirty years now. He has served on many government and international committees relating to sustainable development, protected area management, environmental clearance among other initiatives. In 2000-2004 he was the Technical Coordinator of India’s ambitious National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Mr. Kothari has been passionately involved in supporting community based conservation initiatives and in coordinating a global network under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Time: 8.00 PM
Date: Monday, November 15th,2010
Venue: Staff Room

2010-10-08T18:26:00.001+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with

S. Anand

(Publisher: Navayana)

on the topic:

The Legacy of B. R. Ambedkar

S. Anand is the co-founder of Navayana, India’s first and only publishing house to exclusively focus on the issue of caste from an anti-caste perspective. Literally meaning ‘new vehicle’- a term given to B.R.Ambedkar’s socially concerned, rationalistic and anti-metaphysical interpretation of Buddhism, the institution publishes the best of socially-engaged writing from India – including the works of Namdeo Dhasal, Meera Nanda, Dilip Menon and Anand Teltumbde. A recipient of the ‘International Young Publisher of the Year’ award and the ‘Ashoka’ fellowship for his work as a social entrepreneur, Mr. Anand is the harbinger of change in the study of caste, highlighting the manner in which it animates aspects of everyday life, so that strategies can be evolved to fight it, especially through mediums of popular culture, such as cinema and sport. Though this task of critiquing and challenging such an entrenched social phenomenon is certainly not easy, Navayana is a vehicle headed in this direction.

Time: 8 PM

Date: Friday, 13^th August 2010

Venue: Staff Room

2010-10-08T18:23:00.003+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with

Siddharth Varadarajan

(Journalist: Chief of Bureau, The Hindu)

on the topic:

Negotiating for Peace/Pieces:

The Indo-Pak Equation

Described as ‘one of India's sharpest foreign policy commentators and thinkers,’ Siddharth Varadarajan is the Strategic Affairs Editor of The Hindu and editor of Gujarat: The Making of a Tragedy. He has reported on the NATO war against Yugoslavia, the destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq and the crisis in Kashmir. He has also received numerous awards in his field - such as the Elizabeth Neuffer Memorial Prize, and, most recently, the Ramnath Goenka Award for excellence in journalism.

Time: 8 PM

Date: Wednesday, 28^thJuly 2010

Venue: Staff Room

2010-10-08T18:19:00.001+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with

Aditya Nigam

(Political Scientist: CSDS)

on the topic:

The rise of Maoism and the problem of democracy in India

Aditya Nigam, Joint Director of the Programme in Social and Political Theory at the Center for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), works in the broad field of social and political theory. He is particularly interested in cultural politics and is engaged in attempting to understand political practices beyond limits of ‘political science’. He is currently working on a longer term project of looking at a counter-history of capitalism from a post-Marxist perspective.

He has published regularly on questions of nationalism, identity and radical politics in both English and Hindi. Nigam is author of several books including ‘The Insurrection of Little Selves: Crisis of Secular-nationalism in India’, ‘After Utopia: Modernity and Socialism in the Postcolony’ and is currently working on a book entitled ‘A Desire Named Development’.

Time: 8 PM

Date: Monday, 2^nd August 2010

Venue: Staff Room

2010-07-26T21:34:00.002+05:30

The Informal Discussion Group invites you to an interactive session with:

Dr. Krishna Kumar

(Director, NCERT)

On the topic:

‘Why Cambridge is clean, and Delhi University is not’

(The real picture of higher education in India)

Dr. Kumar is one of India’s foremost educationists. He has worked at the Central Institute of Education (dean from 1988-91), been a national lecturer of the UGC, and served as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Literacy Mission. He was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship for a comparative study of history textbooks used in schools in India and Pakistan. Books written by him include Raj, Samaj aur Shiksha; Vichaar ka Dar; What is Worth Teaching amongst several others. His latest books are Battle for Peace (2007) and A Pedagogue’s Romance (2008). A columnist and a short story writer in Hindi, several of his books on education are in Hindi. Professor Kumar also writes for children. In September, 2004 he was appointed to the post of Director, NCERT.

Time: 8:00 PM

Date: Thursday, 11^th February, 2010

Venue: Staff Room