Annual Report 2011-2012
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Annual Report IND I A INTERNAT I ONAL CENTRE 2011-2012 IND I A INTERNAT I ONAL CENTRE New Delhi Board of Trustees Mr. Soli J. Sorabjee, President Justice (Retd.) Shri B.N. Srikrishna (w. e. f. 1st January, 2012) Mr. Suresh Kumar Neotia Professor M.G.K. Menon Mr. Rajiv Mehrishi Dr. (Mrs.) Kapila Vatsyayan Dr. Kavita A. Sharma, Director Mr. N. N. Vohra Executive Members Dr. Kavita A. Sharma, Director Mr. Kisan Mehta Mr. Najeeb Jung Dr. (Ms.) Sukrita Paul Kumar Dr. U.D. Choubey Cmde. (Retd.) Ravinder Datta, Secretary Lt. Gen. V.R. Raghavan Mr. P.R. Sivasubramanian, Hony. Treasurer Mrs. Meera Bhatia Finance Committee Justice (Retd.) Mr. B.N. Srikrishna, Dr. Kavita A. Sharma, Director Chairman Mr. P.R. Sivasubramanian, Hony. Treasurer Mr. M. Damodaran Cmde. (Retd.) Ravinder Datta, Secretary Lt. Gen. (Retd.) V.R. Raghavan Mr. Jnan Prakash, Chief Finance Officer Medical Consultants Dr. K.P. Mathur Dr. Rita Mohan Dr. K.A. Ramachandran Dr. B. Chakravorty Dr. Mohammad Qasim IIC Senior Staff Ms. Premola Ghose, Chief Programme Division Mr. Vijay Kumar Thukral, Executive Chef Mr. Arun Potdar, Chief Maintenance Division Mr. A.L. Rawal, Dy. General Manager (Catering) Ms. Omita Goyal, Chief Editor Mr. Inder Butalia, Sr. Finance and Accounts Officer Dr. S. Majumdar, Chief Librarian Ms. Madhu Gupta, Dy. General Manager (Hostel/House Keeping) Mr. Amod K. Dalela, Administration Officer Ms. Seema Kohli, Membership Officer (w. e. f. August 2011) Annual Report 2011-2012 As always, it is a privilege to present the 51th Annual Report of the India International Centre for the year commencing 1 February 2011 and ending 31 January 2012. It will be placed before the 56th Annual General Body Meeting of the Centre to be held on 31 March 2012. In this year’s national honours list, 20 of the Centre’s distinguished members were vested with Padma awards. The India International Centre has striven for over five decades to live up to the vision of its creation. It was to promote understanding and amity between the different communities of the world by undertaking and promoting the study of their past and present cultures. This the Centre attempts to do by creation, dissemination and exchange of knowledge. Members of the Centre come together in different groups to organize seminars, roundtables and discussion on subjects that cover a wide spectrum like education, environment, economics, history and archaeology, health, international affairs, media, politics and governance, science and technology, security, and society and social issues. Apart from organizing it’s own programmes, the Centre also collaborates with educational institutions, non-governmental organizations and research bodies, and at other times, facilitates the programmes of like-minded institutions. Many of the lectures and talks are webcast and can be watched on the IIC website. Some are made available as occasional papers that are also sent to universities and relevant institutions, just as the Centre receives their publications in the Library. Some talks given at the Centre are published as articles in the IIC Quarterly. In all cases, efforts are made to coordinate the activities of programmes, publication and library to the extent possible while keeping the core concerns in mind. 1 Annual Programmes C.D. Deshmukh Lecture The Annual C. D. Deshmukh lecture on 14 January 2012, entitled ‘Beyond Federalism’, was presented by Justice B.N. Srikrishna. It examined the theoretical concept of federalism and its working through the Indian Constitution in the rapidly increasing regionalism and politics of coalition. In this lecture, Justice Srikrishna attempted to assess how Indian federalism has fared in shaping democracy, and more importantly, how well it has played its role in ensuring the country’s unity, stability and survival as a polity. Justice Srikrishna’s talk was detailed, informative and analytical, and he left the audience to ponder his conclusion that Indian democracy was neither unitary nor truly federal in nature. Remembering Smt. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay A day-long conference was organized on 14 April 2011 to mark the turning of the sod for the foundation of the India International Centre by Smt. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Founding Life Trustee of the Centre. The presentations at the conference entitled ‘Celebrating Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: Celebrating Women’s Leadership’, included stories of women leaders of Smt. Kamaladevi’s generation, some known, others not so well known, who provided leadership in various spheres like media, grassroots development and literature, among other fields. Many of them came from outside the formal structures of governance, whether this was from among the fisher- folk and domestic workers in Kerala, women farmers in Maharashtra, or women street vendors in Delhi. The last session addressed concrete ways to bring women’s leadership centre-stage. The presentations underscored the comprehensiveness of these leaders’ interests that served to strengthen their connection with society as a whole. The day ended with a Hindustani vocal recital by Sawani Mudgal. This conference led to the on-going series on ‘Celebrating Women’s Leadership’ that focuses on issues pertaining to women and their lives. These included 2 discrimination against women, the double burden of work and home, the invisibility of women in decision making, both at home and in society, and their inferior health status. While these are on-going concerns, the series also attempted to look at the positive side to show women as actors bringing about change and not merely as victims. This was demonstrated in the first lecture delivered by one of India’s foremost women leaders, Mrs. Ela Bhatt, on the life of Anasuya Sarabhai, the first female trade-unionist, and her work among textile mill workers in Ahmedabad. The next talk was by Binalakshmi Nepram, a young Manipuri author, activist and the founder of the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network. She spoke about Rani Gaidinliu, the first female freedom fighter from Manipur who fought against British colonial rule, but whom history has forgotten. A professor of history present in the audience was himself quite amazed that there was no mention of her in the documents that he had read and was determined to rectify this. Abha Sur, a physicist teaching in the US, talked about ‘Women Scientists in India’ based on her research into the life of Anna Mani, a woman scientist who, in 1940, joined the C. V. Raman Research Institute. Although a Nobel Laureate, Dr. Raman had quaint notions about women and their relationship with men in public spaces, bordering on the segregation of sexes. Anna Mani was never granted a Ph.D. although she had several publications to her credit. The discussion that followed showed how little things have changed in what is still seen as a male-dominated sphere. Mid-Year Review In November 2011, the ‘Mid-Year Review of the Indian Economy’, instituted by Dr. Malcolm Adiseshiah, an economist and educator, who was a Life Trustee of the Centre, was held in collaboration with the NCAER. Apart from presentations by their team, there was an informative panel discussion that included Prof. Sudipto Mundle, Member, National Statistical Commission, Prof. B. N. Goldar, Institute of Economic Growth, and Dr. Sowmya Kanti 3 Ghosh, Director and Head, Economics and Research, FICCI. It was chaired by Dr. Bimal Jalan. The presentations enabled the audience to appreciate both the weaknesses and strengths of the contemporary Indian economy and India’s position in the international economic order. Some of the weaknesses pointed out were high inflation and stagnant growth, issues of poor governance and corruption, slowdown in manufacturing, and a turbulent global economic scenario. The strengths emphasized were high foreign investment inflows, high reserves, good savings and growing exports. A vibrant discussion followed when the floor was opened for questions. Dr. Jalan ended with a thought-provoking statement when he said, ‘Where India is today, it has never had a better advancing position, but what we do with it is our discretion.’ Reaching Out to the Youth Over the years the Centre has reached out to young people. In a unique programme in collaboration with the Working Group on Alternative Strategies and Gandhi Peace Foundation, a special programme was organized to mark Nelson Mandela International Day. On this occasion, the Mandela spirit came alive when students from schools in Delhi and NCR sang, danced and interacted with the guest of honour, Ahmed Kathrada, Mandela’s co- prisoner in the anti-apartheid and independence movement of South Africa. It included songs and play-back recordings of Mandela; a ‘Mandela Katha Mala;’ an exhibition of paintings, ‘Madiba and His Struggle’, by students of Blue Bells International School; and performances by street children. Part of the celebrations was ‘Take Children to Gandhi’, an initiative to familiarize children with Gandhi’s enduring legacy of non-violent struggle for equity, justice, pluralism and sustainable development. In early August, the India chapter of ASSITEJ, the International Theatre Network of Theatre for Children and Young People, and the Regional Resource Centre for Elementary Education, University of Delhi, collaborated with the Centre to convene a national conference on ‘Theatre for Young 4 Audiences’. It brought together over 150 participants from all over India and abroad to discuss performances addressing the needs of the young. Through lectures, workshops and group discussions on ‘theatre practices’, ‘theatre and education’ and ‘writings for the young’, theatre practitioners, educationists and writers discussed issues related to growing up and arts intervention, and worked with young people on developing scripts. The first day concluded with the Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust presenting ‘The Little Blue Planet’, conceived and directed by Anurupa Roy. Combining the visible manipulation of puppets on stage and the movements of actors with shadow puppetry against exquisite backdrops, the play’s depiction of global warming possessed a rare, poignant intimacy.