Celebrating Vietnam FESTIVAL Vietnam Days in India COLLABORATION: Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 3–5 March 2018

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Volume XXXII No. 2 March – April 2018

Celebrating Vietnam FESTIVAL Vietnam Days in India COLLABORATION: Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 3–5 March 2018

On the occasion of the state visit to India of H.E. Mr. Tran Dai Quang, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a festival entitled Vietnam Days in India was held at the IIC. This included a one day Indo–Vietnamese Colours of Vietnam Artist Camp in collaboration with Seher, which featured upcoming Vietnamese artists Bui Hu’u Hung, Chu Anh the visit of President Ho Chi Minh to India and the visit of Phurong, Dao Thi Lien Huong, Doan Van Duc, Le The Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to Vietnam. Anh, Le Durc Tung, Ngo Thi Bihn Nhi, Nguyen Xuan The IIC Film Club held a special screening of award Nghi, Ngo Ba Thao and Nguyen Tien Hung. The team of winning Vietnamese feature films in collaboration with the Indian artists comprised Akhilesh Yadav, Gitanjali Sanon, Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The films Harshvardhan Swaminathan, Kanchan Chander, Laishram included The Heart Mission, an action/romance film which Meena Devi, Manish Pushkale, Mahula Ghosh, Nin Taneja, is the journey of a group of bomb disposal experts, written Nupur Kundu, Shalina Vichitra and Tanmoy Samanta. The and directed by Duc Thinh, which was nominated for the artists intermingled well despite the language barrier, and Vietnamese Golden Kite Award for Best Feature Film 2017. appreciated each other’s techniques. The Scent of Burning Grass is based on the memories of Vietnamese soldiers fighting against the US-backed South The exhibition, The Vietnam Culture Space—Colours of Vietnamese forces in 1972, directed by Nguyen Huu Muoi. Vietnam, was inaugurated by H.E. Mr. Tran Dai Quang. It Jackpot, directed by Dustin Nguyan, is the story of a woman displayed the myriad aspects of Vietnam’s culture, arts, lottery hawker and single mother who keeps millionaires, tangible and intangible heritage; the many historical ex-cons, and jealous housewives at bay while making a locations with samples of traditional costumes such as the living for herself. It received the Vietnamese Golden Kite Ao Dai, the Vietnamese formal dress; various handicrafts Award 2015 for Best Feature Film, Best Actress and Best including traditional ceramics, bamboo and rattan work, Screenplay. The Tailor is a romantic comedy set in 1960s lacquer painting, shell in-lay work and bronze casting. Saigon about a mother and daughter—the mother is a The traditional musical instruments made of bamboo and tailor of the Ao Dai traditional dress, and her daughter is lacquer were on view, as well as an installation, Rhythm of modern but cavalier. It is directed by Tran Buu Loc and Kay the City, introducing modern life in Vietnam. The exhibition Nguyen. The festival was very stimulating. also featured landmark photographs of bilateral relations over the last 45 years between Vietnam and India, such as ■ MEKHALA SENGUPTA

1 Tribute to Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay EXHIBITION Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay—An Extraordinary Life COLLABORATION: Delhi Crafts Council 2–15 April 2018

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay can truly be called the doyenne of Indian craft. Born in Mangalore, she grew up Photograph at the exhibition in an artistic and culturally evolved environment. It was the early influences of traditional craft traditions and narratives which powered her imagination for a journey ahead. At the time of the freedom struggle, Kamaladevi was fairly involved with the luminaries of the freedom struggle, and her political awareness was the beginning of an understanding. She realised her interest lay in discovering the plethora of Indian arts, and traditional artistic design. This was the journey she was to undertake. The exhibition design was tastefully done using indigenous Indian material like bamboo and chatttai (reed mats) to form a simple structure, on which were mounted sepia-toned images that traced the path of Kamaladevi’s life. The journey, captured through some evocative images, highlighted her early years, and as we passed through the exhibits, the chronological events unfolded. Known for her love for crafts and textile revival, we saw the effort and hard work that went into intensive developments of the various councils and centres. In 1952, she began a crusade for craft development, and restoration. This too was highlighted in some of the exhibits that were on display. The chamba rumal, the kasuti embroidery, block printed fabrics, and some Andhra puppets and Toda craft were merely a few of what were on display. It would certainly have been nice to see more of the craft revival and textiles as a part of the exhibition. The photographs captured to a large extent the exemplary work done by Kamaladevi, notwithstanding some turmoil in her personal life. In some of the sepia-toned images, you could see the depth and intensity in her eyes. There were images of the many councils and cooperatives that she founded, all of which are still actively involved in promoting and developing Indian craft and textile traditions, their revival and sustenance. The exhibition with appropriate text to match the images gave us a fairly clear picture of the life of Kamaladevi. A journey well-travelled through the passage of time. As we walked through the simple bamboo structure to see the story unfold, one could not help but revere the sincerity and effort of this great lady, who has no doubt sown the seeds of keeping our heritage of textiles and craft intact and alive. It may well be worth the effort to continue to have such exhibitions in the future, but with better lighting and maybe a wider range of products on display. They do make us proud of our deep legacy of Indian craft and textile.

Display of craft ■ LOLITA DUTTA

2 Somewhere between yesterday’s maharajas and today’s Focus Sports multi-nationals waits the Indian sportsman...and sports DISCUSSION lover. At the launch of the IIC Quarterly—South Asia’s IIC Quarterly Release: Winter 2017— Sporting Mosaic—former CAG Vinod Rai welcomed the new maharajas—the corporate sector. After IPL, Spring 2018 India’s cricketing bench strength has increased. The IPL South Asia’s Sporting Mosaic also employs a lot of people, he argued, after political Edited by Ronojoy Sen and Omita Goyal psychologist Ashis Nandy regretted that cricket has been corporatised, that the ethics of cricket were vanishing, Release by Dr. Karan Singh that gamesmanship was giving way to cheating. It can PANELLISTS: Vinod Rai, Ashis Nandy, Suprita get worse: a goalkeeper paid with his life during a World Das, Ronojoy Sen 18 April 2018

Cup football tournament. The Medellin cartel lost money because of his lapse, reminded Nandy. Independent journalist and sportswriter Suprita Das spoke of the packaging of pro-kabaddi, another nod to big money in sport, and welcomed the rise of sportswomen, particularly its socio-cultural benefits. Acknowledging the Launch of IIC Quartely need for corporate sponsors, a remarkably candid Karan Singh, leading the panel discussion, felt that the volume needed articles on golf and horse-racing (later dismissed by Rai as bourgeois sports) and chess and bridge. He wanted legalised betting in sport, and also a bilateral cricket series with Pakistan. Just how far India has to go is evident not just from its record in the Olympics (from the days of zero or one medal to currently, a handful), but the ability to host one. Can India do it? We’re still at the Commonwealth Games benchmark, was the assessment. ■

Rafoogars, fine darners, are integral to shawl production, Journey of a Shawl preservation and restoration. The finer the darning, the more invisible it is. Sadly over centuries, these master EXHIBITION craftspersons with their traditional skills have become as The Rafoogars and the Journey of a Shawl invisible as their work. This exhibition was an attempt to COLLABORATION: Priya Ravish Mehra and change that. Exquisite ancient shawls were on display, Craft Revival Trust with rafoogars on hand to point out their interventions. 11–17 April 2018 Shawls that are family heirlooms or display pieces in museums have been nurtured carefully and patiently by the rafoogar. More than a mere process of mending, refined vision and expertise transforms a huge (jamaver) Mughal Emperor’s shawl or a small square rumaal into a variety of shawls and stoles of contemporary proportions; joining ragged pieces and fragments with coordinating fabrics creating borders, motifs, panels; repairing and restoring with microscopic precision. In this process, rafoogars are also stitching new life on to old, linking one era to another, joining contexts and persons through changing ownership. Also displayed were works in progress, damaged, fused, in stages of repair, as well as samples of skill-training exercises. Artworks by Priya Ravish Mehra underscore the philosophic aspect of rafoogari: ‘…anything injured, harmed, degraded has the potential to be recuperated… to be continually bestowed with fresh value, energy and utility.’ Through this exhibition of works that emphasise the interconnectedness of existence, the constant flux and transformation of the shawl as a symbol of all that is, rafoogars are given their due stature and dignity. One hopes this effort will trigger the affirmation of all whom society treats as invisible! ■ BHARATI MIRCHANDANI

3 Unseen Enemy, directed by Janet Tobias, is a brilliant Emerging Pandemics attempt to draw attention to the potential risk humanity faces from emerging pandemics. It takes the viewer FILM through the intense humanitarian crisis faced by countries Unseen Enemy coping with rudimentary health systems, unprepared Written/Directed by Janet Tobias who to deal with the health service delivery challenges of introduced the film extensive magnitude. The depiction of the JFK hospital in Liberia and the story of Dr. Moses is heart-rending. It takes COLLABORATION: Ikana Health us inside the Ebola isolation ward, face-to-face with the 27 March 2018 deadly disease. It is creditable how the filming unit braved immense risk to shoot this sequence. The film then moves on to discuss various other pandemics like the SARS, MIRS, Swine Flu, Seasonal Influenza and HIV/AIDS. It portrays the Zika epidemic through the eyes of a mother of an afflicted neonate. It beautifully depicts her fears and aspirations for her child. It explores the root cause of why these potentially containable diseases are now evolving into global pandemics at a relatively fast rate. It discusses the effects of climate change, man–animal interactions, food habits, cultural practices and evolving epidemics in simple language. The creditable part of the film is that it makes an effort to showcase the need for community participation in the delivery of efficient public health services. It sends the message that each one of us can make a difference to this situation by acting as ‘frontline workers’, by citing the small pox eradication story and how India helped in achieving this. The film concludes by conveying a strong message that the human spirit has the potential to triumph against all odds; the need of the hour is to realise that we live in a fragile ecosystem and have to be prepared for and safeguard against the unseen enemy. ■ VIKRAM DATTA

The session on ‘Thoreau and the Transcendentalists: Their Aspects of Thoreau Philosophy and Related Concerns’ commenced with Mukti DISCUSSION Sanyal expressing amazement at the way technological advancements made it possible to organise a discussion Henry David Thoreau: A Transcendentalist with Ruth Vanita through video conferencing. Ruth Vanita Session I: Speaker: Ruth Vanita pointed out the mostly unexplored aspect of Thoreau’s Chair: Mukti Sanyal interest in transmigration through Hindu philosophy. Through her craft of explaining the most complicated Session II: Speakers: Rupendra Guha of ideas in a lucid and engaging way, she discussed the Majumdar, Rupin Desai and influence of theBhagavad Gita on Thoreau’s notions of Prashant Sinha transmigration and non-human animals, as reflected in his Chair: Robert Cochran translation of a portion of Harivamsa. COLLABORATION: IIC and Bharti College The session introduced by Robert Cochran began with Rupendra Guha Majumdar’s comprehensive paper and 17 March 2018 visual presentation on ‘Thoreau, Walden and the Second Coming of Prometheus’. He placed Thoreau’s mythopoesis through the Americanisation of Prometheus within a larger trend of literary and artistic appropriation of the same classical symbolism. His talk traced the trend further to the end of World War II, marked by the demythisisation of Prometheus. This was followed by Rupin Desai’s short yet highly intriguing paper on ‘Hamlet in Civil Disobedience’ that brought out the significance of the lines from the Graveyard Scene in Thoreau’s essay. He used this analysis to comment on Thoreau’s reference to Shakespeare as a means of strengthening his argument about moral commitment, and to promote the power of action. The last presentation by Prashant Sinha took from where Majumdar ended. In ‘Through the Political Theory and Practice of Thoreau and Early Gandhi: A Comparative Study’, Sinha meticulously charted out the similarities and differences between Thoreau and M.K. Gandhi via their respective relationships with law, ways of resistance and non-violence. ■ KASHISH DUA

4 ‘East and West’ was the subject of a lecture which Tagore ‘Letters from an Unknown delivered at a Jewish synagogue in New York in 1921. A girl studying a pedagogical course at Columbia University Woman’ went to attend this lecture and heard him for the first time. DISCUSSION She later wrote, ‘He stood and spoke like one uttering From Lithuania to Santiniketan: Schlomith gold coins’. This first meeting with Tagore changed her life. Flaum and Rabindranath Tagore Meet Schlomith Flaum. SPEAKERS: Dr. Shimon Lev; H.E. Mr. Daniel Within a few days, when she personally met Tagore in New Carmon; H.E. Mr. Laimonas Talat-Kelpsa; York, the conversation turned to the topic of education and his school in Santiniketan… ‘A school for boys and girls… Radha Chakravarty; Faina Kukliansky; and from all over the world visitors come to see it…you too, Sharon Lowen come…please’. Soon after, she arrived in Santiniketan to COLLABORATION: Embassy of Lithuania; teach German and was the headmistress of a nursery Embassy of Israel school. Tagore christened her ‘Santi’, and to Flaum he was 19 March 2018 always, Gurudev— dressed in a robe with his flowing hair and beard reminded her of a Jewish prophet. During her two fascinating years in Santiniketan (1922–24), Flaum interacted with the leading figures of India’s independence movement, including Annie Besant, Sarojini Naidu and, of course, Gandhi. Now, the story of this valiant Lithuanian-born woman has come alive in a book by Israeli author Shimon Lev. The book, From Lithuania to Santiniketan, has excerpts from Flaum’s writings on Tagore and India translated into English, as well as the letters she exchanged with Tagore from 1922 to 1940. Some of these letters were discovered by Lev in Rabindra Bhawan and have not been published before. H.E. Laimonas Talat-Kelpsa, who was instrumental in the book becoming a reality, felt it fitted in with the new trend of personalised history. ‘Earlier, scholars tried to analyse history through landmark events and theories but the new trend is towards a more individualistic history. This book is a wonderful opportunity to see the India of that time through Flaum’s eyes,’ he said. ■ INDRANI MAJUMDAR

Dr. Venkatesh Narayanmurthy, an eminent scientist and Relation between Technology acclaimed public policy expert and professor at Harvard, expressed his views from a very different perspective and Society by citing examples. The current digital transformation TALK and citizens’ response towards the immediate change in Technology and Society: Educating Future setting future goals was the main focus of the lecture. Leaders and Creating an Informed Citizenry At the beginning of his lecture, very brilliantly and accurately he cited the example of Neil Armstrong and SPEAKERS: Dr. Venkatesh Narayan Murthi the relation between technology and society. During his CHAIR: Shri Shyam Saran talk, he didn’t forget to mention and highlight the power 23 March 2018 of technological design which has the ability to create winners and losers. And further, he also discussed the social contract for ‘Innovation’, where he emphasised the role of science and technology in societal progress. ‘Science and Technology are self-regulating institutions and should be left free to set their own agendas for innovation’, he suggested. In the course of the lecture, he also raised a few important questions on energy demand, poverty and disease. And last, but not the least, he also quoted Langdon Winner by asking—‘Do Artifacts have Politics’? Quoting him, the speaker said, ‘technology progress affects people differently. Because, technology discriminates or makes grounds for discrimination, we always have to ask: “Progress for Whom?”’. ■ SHAHID SIDDIQUI

5 Nancy Fraser, a specialist in critical social theory and Theorising the Nexus political philosophy, delivered her very first lecture in TALK India to a packed hall. The event began with a short introduction to the goals and achievements of the South Contribution to Contemporary Knowledge Asian University (SAU) by Kavita Sharma, President, SAU. Lecture 2018 This was followed by a brief introduction to the lecture Race, Empire, Capitalism: Theorising the series by Vice President and Dean, Faculty of Social Nexus Sciences, SAU, Sasanka Perera. He stressed the need for such lectures to create a space for reasonable debate and SPEAKER: Nancy Fraser discourse in a public sphere that is rapidly shrinking.

CHAIR: Ravi Kumar Following this, Ravi Kumar, Chairperson of the Department COLLABORATION: Faculty of Social of Sociology, introduced Nancy Fraser and her prolific Sciences, South Asian University; and Rosa research in the field of critical theory. Nancy Fraser’s talk Luxembourg Stiftung—South Asia was as engaging as her writings. Her lecture drew upon the strands of the contemporary ‘Black Lives Matter’ 19 March 2018 movement in the United States, the tradition of Black Marxism and anti-imperialist critical theory to propose an expanded conception of capitalism that revealed the structural entanglement of racial and imperial oppression. She explored this expanded conception of capitalism through exchange, exploitation and expropriation of labour to historically and critically challenge the political order of capitalist society. The lecture was followed by a Q&A session. ■ ISHITA SINGH

‘Iran, the Region and the US’ was a lively discussion covering Iran’s Geo-political extensive ground, from Iran’s Persian legacy to historical ties with India. Iranians see their culture as superior to the Importance Arabs, and that the Arab conquest was a barbaric takeover DISCUSSION of their culture. Most Iranians feel they are a chosen people and their nation is destined for greatness; so the present Iran, the Region and the US low is a deviation of a country that should rightfully be in SPEAKERS: Sanjay Singh; John Cherian; and the league of the world’s strong and great states. Saeed Naqvi Iran is today steadily increasing in geo-political importance. CHAIR: K.P. Fabian The discussion included the geo-political relations of Iran with Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the US, 20 March 2018 UK, Russia and Israel today. There was mention of the underlying Shia-–Sunni conflict, the CIA’s intervention in Iran in 1953 to stall the progress of democracy, the difficulties faced by Iran during the sanctions imposed on it, the removal of sanctions in 2016, the impact of Trump’s politics, the hostilities from aggressors, and the mounting tension between Israel and Saudi Arabia over Syria and Yemen. While international sanctions were lifted in 2016 following the nuclear deal, there is still no major international bank that will work with Iran, leaving Iran with a major issue of how to bring back export proceeds. The media coverage after the signing of the agreement dealt with the idea that Iran could now return to its rightful place and rehabilitate its economy. But while inflation is down and purchasing power is up, the public expected more. With President Trump voicing opinion that the Iran nuclear deal has ‘disastrous faults’, his asking Europeans to either fix the deal or see the US leave the accord next month leaves Iran in a precipitous state. If the deal collapses, unilateral US sanctions against Iran’s energy and banking sectors may return. This has prompted capital flight and the surge in Iranian demand for hard currency. There are reports of Iranians buying assets in neighbouring countries, fearing a military confrontation with Saudi Arabia, Israel or the US. ■ MEKHALA SENGUPTA

6 This conference was a Justice and Fairness much needed discourse reflecting on issues of CONFERENCE justice and fairness in Trauma and Reconciliation: To Remember or human practices at a Forget time when we seem to be COLLABORATION: Initiated by Farah Batool surrounded by violence. Like the objectives of and Leonhard Emmerling and organised truth and reconciliation in collaboration with Goethe-Institut/ Max missions, ‘trauma’ was Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi the main theme of the 22–24 March 2018 conference. The speakers examined processes of inquiries into gross violation of human rights and historical injustices, and the trauma they inflict on individuals and society. Public events that examined past wrongdoings by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state actors also) in the Film screened at the conference hope of resolving conflict left over from the past were significant to propel positivity. The sessions included a wide range of global scholars, academics, activists, film makers and researchers who spoke on trauma and its impact on individuals and society. Processes of healing and justice were also significant to the analysis and interpretations. International events causing distress to families, by the disappearance of family members, loss of life and property, etc., caused irreparable wounds and needed to be mourned. State recognition, support and assistance worked towards initiating processes of healing. The conference covered a vast range of topics— killings in the name of identity; children as witnessess to violence; intergenerational violence; and a screening of a film,Anatomy of Violence. The speakers shared their experiences of dialogues with the accused, victims and children. The discussions were passionate, thought provoking, compelling, reflective and analytical. Multiple perspectives added to the richness of the discussions. ■ ASHA SINGH

Some of the interesting features of the IAWRT Film Festival Animation Films 2018 were the regular Filmy Adda sessions conducted by participating filmmakers discussing their craft and the THE 14TH IAWRT ASIAN WOMEN’S FILM difficulties in finding money/sponsorship for their projects, FESTIVAL and venues for exhibition once they were completed. Filmy Adda Nina Sabnani, showed three unusual, moving films using COLLABORATION: International Association elegant minimalist technique with telling effect. of Women in Radio & Television, India Mukul and Riaz is a touching story of two childhood friends Chapter; Goethe Institut/ Max Mueller from Karachi separated by the Partition of India in 1947. She Bhavan; Embassy of Israel; The Japan chooses to call this work an ‘Animated Documentary’, as Foundation; Korean Cultural Centre, New also the two other works shown in this session. Its greatest Delhi; Action Aid; WISCOMP; Cinestaan; and strength is its masterly simplicity of form and matter-of- with the support of ONGC fact narration that creates genuine emotion. 5–7 March 2018 Complex issues of migration, re-settlement after the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat is recreated on the soundtrack as memories of craftpersons whose works feature in and are literally animated in The Stitches Speak/ Tanko Bole Che. Hum Chitra Banate Hain/ We Make Images is about the artists of the Bhil tribe and their unique visual language eloquently brought to life. Sabnani is a teacher and communicator who researches her projects meticulously and talks to the people she’s working on/with at length, establishing a rapport with them and arriving at a visual–audio style of narration through the medium of (digital) animation. ■ PARTHA CHATTERJEE

7 The difficulty of the Rohingyas is perhaps the simple Rohingyas: A Moral Issue moral issue of a poor, stateless and discriminated DISCUSSION people, mistreated on communal and racial grounds by a strict majoritarian militia supported by a form of The Rohingya Issue: Broader Perspectives religious nationalism. But the real complexities of the PANELLISTS: Vijay K. Nambiar; Gautam Rohingyas remain more difficult to understand, as Gautam Mukhopadhaya; and Khin Zaw Win Mukhopadhaya mentioned. They lie in the history of pre- CHAIR: Mukul Kesavan colonial times, the politics of the British, Burmese and the Islamists, and in the mistreatment and standing of non- April 7 2018 Buddhist minorities in Myanmar as a whole. Vijay Nambiar acknowledged that the radicalisation problem will need to be resolved by the security forces, but the political issues regarding the Rohingyas can still be resolved by Aung San Suu Kyi. He reiterated that she has the moral authority as well as the political clout to take this initiative as she needs to stand for the dignity of every citizen, irrespective of race or religion, and in some ways the international community can support her. Khin Zaw Win, who primarily is an activist and remains deeply concerned about Myanmar’s present and difficulties of transition from the longest running civil war to a durable peace, or from authoritarianism to democracy, was equally concerned about the lingering Rohingya turmoil.

The Rohingya issue has mostly been treated entirely as a domestic human rights and humanitarian issue involving only Myanmar and not the other nations in the region like Bangladesh and India. It is time to have a broader perspective. ■ INDRAJIT

The publication of the book, What a Life! A Kaleidoscope Trenchant Satire of Rajinder Puri’s Cartoons, by Partha Chatterjee and DISCUSSION Arvindar Singh on the work of Rajinder Puri, a political cartoonist, emerges as a breath of fresh air in a political What a Life! A Kaleidoscope of Rajinder Puri’s climate when freedom of speech and tolerance has shrunk. Cartoons The book illustrates through 130 cartoons the work of a Discussion based on the book co-written by sharp mind that sought to capture, through the means of Arvindar Singh and Partha Chatterjee (New a powerful satirical code of communication, a provocative Delhi: Niyogi Books, 2018) commentary with the public through the 1960s until 2010. PANELLISTS: M.L. Kotru; Vinod Dua, Ravi The panellists were able to create a trajectory of Rajinder Shankar Eilleth, Sandeep Adhwaryu Puri as a man who lived by his conviction of love for his country and socialistic values, working to be the Chief Guest: Saeed Naqvi spokesperson for the public at large, a challenge for the 10 April 2018 political class and a fearless voice representative of a vibrant democracy. Tall in his idealistic beliefs, Puri’s socio- political disillusionment, the pain of Partition manifested itself in his art, which Sandeep Adhwaryu described as ‘ferocious, savagery in his lines that conveyed an independent questioning mind’, the extension of which was expressed by writing penetrating limericks which lent eye-opening closure to his persuasively made conclusions portrayed in his caricatured political cartoon stories.

The discussions on combining the man and his art inevitably brought out a nostalgia where meetings to carry on free discussions took place in what Saeed Naqvi called the watering holes of Delhi, comprising the old coffee house and the Embassy restaurant in Connaught Place, and the moments recalled by Vinod Dua in the evergreen tea lounge of the India International Centre. They were spaces that echoed the essence of freedom of speech that was later captured by Puri in his trenchant critique of political cartoon art, which Ravi Shankar Eilleth said made the book an important reminder for recalling the idea of a dynamic democracy. ■ NAVINA JAFA

8 Professor Tom Cook began by exploring the factors Remembering Martin Luther shaping King’s social and spiritual dreams, and his success in tapping the Church to inspire a mass movement. As King, Jr. part of his larger fight against racial inequality, King also SEMINAR attempted to provide a rational answer to the problem Martin Luther King: From Spirituality to of evil, which persisted despite God’s existence. King’s understanding was that since creation was an ongoing Revolution of Values process, evil would exist; but this imposed an obligation SPEAKERS: Dr. Tom Cook; Dr. Sean P. Bala; on humans to fight against it to speed up the process of and Dr. Hana Umezawa creation and become active co-creators with God.

COLLABORATION: Mahatma Gandhi Centre Sean Bala went on to draw connections between King’s for Peace, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Civil Rights movement and his use of religious imagery, Jindal Global University recognising the importance of the unique space religion 13 April 2018 and the Church provided to mobilise Afro–Americans. God could ensure justice, but only through transcendental love and human effort could humanity create a base for reconciliation once justice had been achieved. Hana Umezawa’s topic drew from the 1943 race riots in Detroit and the 1963 ‘walk to freedom’ in Washington DC, marking its 20th anniversary, and surrounding these, the role of the Japanese in supporting Afro–Americans and the discrimination they faced. She also discussed the support the Japanese garnered from Afro–Americans, mainly due to the nuclear bombing and their common experiences grounded in discrimination from the White American community. ■ PRATEEK JOSHI

Simultaneous Elections: Are we Prepared Yet? SEMINAR Seminar on Simultaneous Elections for Lok Sabha and State Assemblies Chair: Shri Soli J. Sorabjee Introduction: Subhash C. Kashyap Keynote Address by Mr. Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah Seminar Panel Presentations by Salman Khurshid; Shivraj Patil; With 36 Assemblies across states and Union Territories Jagdeep Singh Chhokar besides the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, India is Chair: Subhash C. Kashyap perpetually in election mode. While each election entails a heavy cost, there is also productivity loss, with 28 April 2018 government employees engaged in election duty. These were some observations of former Chief Justice of India M. N. Venkatachaliah, who batted for simultaneous national and state elections in his keynote address. Former Attorney General Soli J. Sorabjee wondered whether not simultaneous elections were good for the country. Political scientist Subhash C. Kashyap, who spoke about necessity, political will and obstacles, said it was perceived that national issues would shadow local issues if simultaneous polls were held. But he also said that the flow of opinion might even be bottom-up, with local issues determining the national mood. Former Chief Election Commissioner H. S. Brahma also favoured simultaneous elections. Former Union Minister Salman Khurshid opposed simultaneous elections, saying there was no point in such a move until people really understood elections. Cont.....

9 Cont..... Concurring, former Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil said elections did not always represent the majority view. There should be follow-up elections between the top two candidates if none secured at least 50 per cent votes. Advocate Jagdeep Chhokar said that simultaneous polls might be a bad idea for India’s democracy. ‘Should we look for the cheapest form of democracy or the best, irrespective of the cost’, he asked. ■ REETESH ANAND

The inaugural session began with a welcome by Air Marshal Revitalising our Cities (retd.) Naresh Verma. Mr. N.N. Vohra, President IIC and Chair for the session, welcomed Mr. Hardeep Puri, Minister of State, SEMINAR Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. In his initial remarks, Planning Urban Spaces for the Future Mr. Vohra gauged the complexity of urban challenges and 27 April 2018 asserted that a mere Pan-India programme is not a panacea; rather, a number of loopholes needed to be filled. He emphatically suggested the training of state-level officials as well as the active implementation of laws relating to urbanisation. In his keynote address, Mr. Hardeep Puri characterised urban spaces as ‘space in criminal neglect’ for 67 years, and attributed it to the Post-Independence overemphasis on agriculture in the Five Year Plans. Various flagship programmes undertaken Post-2014 to revamp urbanisation included, among others, AMRUT, Swachha Bharat Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, and Smart City Mission, and he elaborated at length on their vitality. Concluding his speech, he envisioned the empowerment of municipalities. The first session on the theme ofExpansion of Existing Urban Settlements was chaired by Mr. A.K. Jain. The first presentation was by K.T. Ravindran on ‘India’s New Urban Agenda’. He called for re- orientation of urban space by treating it as not merely a physical entity, but rather a cocktail of environment, people and technology. Referring to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he pointed out that there is a clear shift towards people- centric goals. In the Indian urban spaces, he joked that our master plan lacks elements of people’s participation. He also noted that India has been slack in bringing out a new substantial report on urbanisation, the last being the Correa Report of 1988. Indian cities must take serious account of issues such as food security, water Inaugural Session security, waste management, energy security, etc. The second speaker of the session, Dr. Partha Mukhopadhyay, presented an empirical analysis of eight major Indian cities from 1992 to 2015. His analysis showed that much of the growth is happening in these cities’ core rather than in the periphery. Concluding his remarks, he said that urbanisation is still not out of control as argued by many scholars. The second session was on The Mutation of Rural Settlements and Market Towns into Urban Spaces, chaired by Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia. She made notable remarks that the process of urbanisation cannot be held back, drawing a parallel with globalisation, about which many had been sceptical. This was followed by a presentation by Dr. Jagan Shah. He argued that categories such as ‘Urban’ and ‘Rural’ were not enough to comprehend the present trend of urbanisation as everything is in transition and we have not planned the way for transition. He said that vested interests, paucity of decentralisation, choice issues and disciplinary bias in the urbanisation discourse are responsible for the present state of urbanisation. The discussant for the session, Dr. Sanjay Shrivastava, highlighted how technology and society at the ground level may produce quite contrasting results. The third session on Designing Cities for the Future was chaired by Dr. Ajay Mathur. The speaker, Dr. Surya Jeedigunta, examined the role of technology in enabling the creation of smart cities with the specific use of technology in energy, town planning, smart buildings, etc., to revamp cities. The seminar deliberated and discussed urban space challenges and expansion, and suggested interventions and recommendations that would be valuable in making the Indian urban reality sustainable. ■ JEETENDRA KUMAR

10 Notices With immediate effect, the fee for the guests accompanying the Members at various outlets is enhanced to Rs 50/- per guest. Members are requested to fill the number of his/her guest(s) in the Register kept at the entrance of every outlet. Annual Subscription Members who have not paid the annual subscription so far are requested to immediately pay their annual subscription along with all previous dues, latest by 31st May 2018. Do write your Membership number and Annual Subscription for the year 2018-2019 on the back of the cheque. In case you choose to deposit cash or make electronic/online payment, please inform accounts department that amount deposited is towards annual subscription for the year 2018-2019. An extract of Rule 9 of the Memorandum of Association and Rules & Regulations is given below for information: “Subscriptions towards membership are payable in advance for each financial year and shall be due for payment on the 1st April of each year. It shall be the responsibility of the members to ensure due and timely payment of subscriptions.” Rule 26 (f) of Memorandum of Association and Rules & Regulations further stipulates as “The name of any member, individual or institutional, who is liable to pay subscription by 1st April of each year but whose subscription falls in arrears beyond 31st May shall be removed from the Roll of Members of the Centre…” Any request to extend the date or waive off penalty to restore Membership would not be entertained.

Please keep your mailing address/email and mobile numbers updated.

During the Open House meeting of the House Committee held on 24th February, 2018, one Member had commented that there was no place for Members to sit and discuss without having a meal. Members are informed that the Members’ Lounge in the basement of the Kamaladevi Complex can be utilised for this purpose. However, this Lounge is for use by Members only and not for their guests.

Obituary M-1090 Devan Gajendra Kumar M-3443 Shri E.N. Rammohan M-1406 Shri M. Sankaranarayanan M-3947 Smt. Madhu Bajpai M-1516 Shri S. Nihal Singh A-3052 Dr. Bal Krishna Goyal M-1766 Justice Rajindar Sachar A-4150 Dr. Dagmar Grafin Bernstorff M-1927 Smt. Joy Michael A-4382 Shri Sushil K. Raizada M-2132 Capt. Ram Singh A-4642 Smt. Saroj Kishore M-2219 Dr. Badri Nath Tandon A-4712 Dr. Justice G.C. Bharuka M-2491 Shri A.K. Pandya A-5015 Shri Vijay K. Sardana M-2669 Shri T.S.R. Subramanian A-5216 Smt. Mira Dar M-2697 Shri C.D. Tripathi A-6411 Dr. Lalji Singh M-3266 Shri Subir Dutta A-6429 Prof. Pradip Kumar Roychoudhury

This issue of the Diary has been assembled and edited by Omita Goyal, Chief Editor; Ritu Singh, Deputy Editor; Rachna Joshi, Senior Asstt. Editor. Published by Rohit Khera, for the India International Centre, 40, Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi - 110003. Ph.: 24619431. Designed and printed by Facet Design, D-9, Defence Colony, New Delhi-110024; Phone: 24624336.

11 Reg. No. 28936/77 Message from the Director

Dear Members, During the past two months, besides its many other programmes and activities, the Centre organised two important programmes of significant topical importance, both of which had been initiated by President IIC: a seminar on ‘Planning Urban Spaces for the Future’, which was chaired by the President and the Keynote Address was delivered by Shri Hardeep Puri, Union Minister for Urban Development; the other programme was a panel discussion on ‘Simultaneous Elections for Lok Sabha and State Assemblies’, in which the Keynote Speaker was retired Chief Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah. Both these programmes are commented upon elsewhere in this Diary. Another noteworthy event was the visit of H.E. Mr. Tran Dai Quang, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, who inaugurated the Art Exhibition which was a part of the ‘Vietnam Days in India’ Festival. A programme in this Festival was an open air Artist Camp in which several well-known painters from India and Vietnam participated. The artists painted their canvasses in the verdant environs of the Centre’s lawns and displayed their individual styles of painting. The artists mingled freely with each other and Members of the Centre, demonstrating that language is not a barrier to friendship between countries. The IIC and the Central Tibetan Administration celebrated Tibetan culture in a three-day festival which showcased art, history, medicine, literature and film. The 62nd Annual General Body Meeting of the Centre, chaired by President Vohra, was held on 31st March, 2018. A good number of our Members offered constructive suggestions pertaining to various facets of the Centre’s functioning. The President assured the General Body of timely processing of the varied proposals made during the discussions. The theme issue of the IIC Quarterly—“South Asia’s Sporting Mosaic”—was launched on 18th April, 2018, at which several distinguished panellists shared their views on the subject. This well attended launch culminated in an animated interactive session. I would like to remind our Members that many eminent and erudite intellectuals contribute articles to the IIC Journal, which is a repository of multiple strands of scholarly thought. I take this opportunity to once again urge our Members to subscribe to the IIC Quarterly and also suggest it to the various institutions with which they may be associated. The Centre has started a Left-luggage facility for the convenience of Members and their guests. This is located in the basement of the Reception (in the main Centre) and its use is free of charge. Information about this facility is being sent to Members when bookings are confirmed. I wish to inform book lovers that our Library is a member of DELNET (Developing Library Network), which has 6,219 libraries of India and abroad as its members. Please don’t lose heart if you don’t find a particular book in our Library; we can procure the required books through Inter-Library Loan (ILL) through DELNET. For the resources not available in the union catalogues and journal articles, requests can be sent to DELNET (through IIC Library) by paying the actual photocopying charges, if any, are to be paid. Courier/postal charges for books procured from outside Delhi will be extra. Striving for constant all-round improvements is the Management’s ‘leitmotif’: the results are being noticed and appreciated by Members. The old carpets in the Multipurpose Hall, Seminar Rooms and Main Lounge have been replaced; a new sound system has been installed in the Auditorium; new digital mics have been procured; better toiletries are being provided in the guest rooms. To save energy, CFL bulbs and tubelights in the rooms have been replaced with LED bulbs. At the suggestion of Members, LED lights are also being installed over the mirrors in the guest room toilets. In spite of the scorching summer heat, the lawns of the Centre are lush green. Summer flowers such as balsam, cosmos, zinnia, sunflower, kochia and gaillardia are blooming in myriad colours. To end on a ‘sweet’ note — the bakery items for sale at the bakery counter have been vastly improved in variety and quality, thanks to our recently employed new Bakery Chef. Delectable items such as Cherry Walnut Danish, Apple Cinnamon Danish, Chocolate Marquise, Peach Jalousie and Vanilla Caramel Pastry are now available. The Bakery Counter at the Annexe Lounge has been reopened. Items at both the bakery outlets will now be available in sufficient quantity, throughout the day.

Air Marshal (Retd.) Naresh Verma