Conference on “Legislatures in India: Assessment and Future Direction”

The Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, JNU, in association with the PRS Legislative Research, New Delhi, organized a Conference on “Legislatures in India: Assessment and Future Direction” on September 1-2, 2011 in the School of Social Sciences.

The Conference focused on the functioning of the Parliament and the state legislatures and their relationship with other pillars of democracy particularly the judiciary and the media. The aim was to examine whether the institutions created under the rubric of the Indian Constitution have been successful in discharging their functions or there is a need to re-examine them to ensure that they are able to perform their roles more robustly. The conference had significance due to widespread criticism of the functioning of the Parliament and the state legislatures in the recent days. The participants, which included several Members of Parliament, viz. Mr. N K Singh, Mr. Baijayant Panda and Mr. P D Rai and several distinguished academicians, journalists and bureaucrats in the Conference deliberated upon these and other significant issues to understand the functioning of legislatures in India.

The programme started with welcoming all the delegates and an introduction to the seminar by Prof. Sudha Pai, Rector, JNU. The first technical session titled “Performance of Parliament: Historical Overview and Contemporary Issues” was chaired by Mr Baijayant Panda (MP) and had three speakers- Prof. M.P. Singh (rtrd. University of Delhi), Dr. P J Antony (Additional Director at the Research and Information Division in the Lok Sabha secretariat), and Mr N.K. Singh (MP). While Prof. Singh in his paper “Accountability in Intergovernmental Relations in India” spoke on the aspect of the federal political accountability with special reference to intergovernmental relations in India today, which is becoming increasingly more federalized and globalized since the early 1990s. Dr. Antony in his paper entitled “Six Decades of the Indian Parliament: a Performance Appraisal” presented his learning experience of the long association with the  Parliament for almost a quarter century. Mr. Singh spoke on the “Impact of Globalization on Legislative Functions of the Parliament”. The discussant for this session was Dr. Asha Sarangi (Centre for Political Studies, JNU).

The second technical session which continued under the same title after tea was chaired by Prof. Gurpreet Mahajan (Centre for Political Studies, JNU) and had three papers. The first speaker Dr K.C. Sivaramakrishnan's (Chairman, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi) paper was titled “Bicameralism: the Centre and the States” and he spoke on an overview of the Genesis of Rajya Sabha in India, its evolution and current status. It then traversed bicameralism in the state legislatures of India, the pre and post constitutional history, the rationale for the second chamber in the States and the pending issues. The second paper titled “Changing Nature of the Legislative Function” was shared by Prof. Balveer Arora (rtrd. Centre for Political Studies, JNU and currently Chairperson, Centre for Multilevel Federalism, New Delhi) and Dr. K.K. Kailash (Assistant Professor, Panjab University, Chandigarh) and they chose to focus on a new institutional actor which has played a key role in the crafting of legislation, the National Advisory Council (NAC). It examined more specifically the emergence and role of the NAC during the period of the first UPA government (2004-2009) with reference to the new generation of socio-economic legislation. Dr M.R. Madhavan (Head of Research, PRS Legislative Research) in his paper “Measuring the Effectiveness of Parliament” attempted to examine whether the performance of Parliament as an institution has improved or declined over the last few decades through a set of metrics that help measure the effectiveness of Parliament in its various functions. The discussant of this session was Dr. Amit Prakash (Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, JNU).

The third technical session that started after the lunch was titled as “Analyzing the Parliamentary Committee System” and was chaired by Mr P.D. Rai (MP). The first paper of this session was presented by Mr Amitabh Mukhopadhyay (DG, Communication and Training at the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General) entitled “Revivifying Public Accounts Committee”. The paper examined the role of the Public Accounts Committees and of legislatures in India to hold government to account with a passing  thought  on  the Estimates Committee of Parliament and argued  that  PACs  cannot  be  effective  if  they  continue  to  rely  solely  on  a  spirit of  'mutual  appreciation  and  cooperation'  between  administration,  CAG  and  PAC.  They need to be re-configured within the ambit of a comprehensive law to govern public financial management in India. The second paper by Mr Chakshu Roy (Member, PRS Legislative Research) presented an overview of the working of the Committee system as his paper was titled “Committee System: Mini Parliament and its Functioning”. The discussant for this paper was Mr Madhukar (Director, PRS Legislative). The first day of the programme ended with a tea.

The second day of the Seminar was devoted to the theme of “Impact of External Dimensions on Functioning of Parliament”. The first session of the day, which was also the fourth technical session of the seminar was chaired by Prof. Balveer Arora. The session had three speakers- Mr Nick Robinson (Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School, New Delhi), Mr. C V Madhukar and Dr. Kaushiki Sanyal (Senior Analyst, PRS Legislative). Mr. Robinson spoke on “The Role of Judiciary and its Relation with Parliament” and attempted to examine the possible ways that might come up with a theory of the proper role for the judiciary. According to the paper, what this role in India should be is not as obvious as it might first appear and in this lies much of the confusion and controversy concerning the judiciary's interventions today. It argued that some of the issues might be solved by creating clearly separate benches in the Supreme Court that have functional specialization or to partially overcome conflict of interest problems.  Alternatively, perhaps new institutions are needed. Mr Madhukar and Dr. Sanyal presented a combined paper on the “Anti-Defection Law: Intent and Outcome” and attempted apart from tracing its origin, some of the key court judgements related to the anti-defection cases and the laws in other countries related to the subject. It analysed the effect of the law on the Indian polity and whether there is a need to take a re-look at some of its provisions. The discussant of this session was Dr P.J. Antony.

The last session under the same title was chaired by Prof. Sudha Pai. The session had two papers by Dr Avinash Kumar (Assistant Professor, RLA College (Eve), University of Delhi), and Mr Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (Senior Journalist, Lok Sabha TV). Dr. Kumar's paper titled “Crime, (Politics) and Non-punishment attempted” to understand the phenomenon of the criminalisation of politics in India, through a critical inquiry into the direct relationship between crime and punishment that has been distorted, changed and twisted over the years and showed how over the years the country has witnessed a traversal towards a divorce between crime and punishment for a new marriage between crime and non-punishment. Politics has played both as a spoiler and a mediator between the two. Mr. Thakurta's paper “Delusions of Grandeur” was focused on the issue of paid news and analysed how media professionals, when they come into contact with people who are rich and powerful in the course of fulfilling their duties and obligations as reporters and analysts of news that is of interest to the public at large, compromise their ethics and start suffering from what psychologists call delusions of grandeur. The paper showed with real examples how some in the media along with the wealthy and influential individuals either become, or delude themselves into believing they have become, players in larger political and economic processes. The discussant for this session was Mr. Manoj Mitta (Senior Editor, The Times of India).

Sudha Pai, Professor
Centre for Political Studies, SSS

International Curriculum Workshop

The Women's Studies Programme orgainsed a Workshop on Curriculum Development on 1 and 2 September, 2011, where scholars from all over the country and some international participants were invited to share their experiences and expertise. The workshop was flagged off by the Dean of Social Sciences, and founder Director of the WSP, Prof. Zoya Hasan, who charted briefly the history of Programme, along with the need for strengthening interdisciplinary research and teaching. Participants engaged with intellectual and institutional debates on disciplinarily and creating interdisciplinary spaces, curriculum formulation, departmentalization as well as funding and expansion of women's studies. This was a highly successful event as it generated detailed discussions and, in terms of the present and future concerns of WSP at JNU, the workshop provided an opportunity to draw a detailed route-map. Several models of courses that are now being taught in different Women's Studies Departments - Jadavpur University (Calcutta), Women's Studies Centre (Calicut), Indira Gandhi National Open University, MG Anatarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya (Wardha) and American University at Cairo – were discussed, which would have a positive impact on the expected Women's Studies M. Phil programme development in JNU. Participants from interdisciplinary centres and programmes basedin JNU – CSMCH (Prof. Mohan Rao), North-East Programme (Prof. Tiplut Nongbri) – and in other Indian and international institutions – CSSS (Calcutta), Galatin School (New York University) – shared their experiences of teaching gender-based courses in such intellectual spaces.  Students of WSP, JNU spoke about their experiences in a specific session along with Prof Uma Chakravarti, which became a lively forum for discussing pedagogical practices in Women's Studies.  Scholars like Prof. Samita Sen and Prof. Kavita Panjabi reflected on the changes in older Centres for Women's Studies, such as Jadavpur, while others like Dr. Mini Sukumar and Anu Aneja brought perspectives from newer formations.  Dr. Ritty Lukose and Dr. Martina Rieker's discussions from NYU, USA, and the American University, Cairo, respectively highlighted the status of WS as discipline in the international context.  Taken together, the discussions highlighted the extraordinary diversity in contexts, strategies of discipline formation and even in the nature of acquiring funding, and institutionalization. Student participation in the overall organization of the workshop and their tireless assistance at every level need to be specially mentioned.

Kumkum Roy, Director,
Women Studies Programme, SSS

Lecture on “Why India Should Strengthen Political & Business Relations with Latin America”

The Centre of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Latin American Studies, School of Language, Literature & Culture Studies, organized a lecture on “India-Latin America Political and Economic Relations” on September 06, 2011. The lecture was delivered by Shri Varunesh Tuli, who holds a Masters in International Affairs (Focus Latin America) from the University of California, San Diego, USA, and has been working to promote India Latin America Relations at the political and economic levels. His project has grown to involve more than 150 members of Indian Parliament, Ministers at the Centre and State Chief Ministers. Recently he took a delegation of MPs from India to meet senior Venezuelan leaders. Currently he is organizing reciprocal visits from Venezuela and Parliamentary delegations from Ecuador and El Salvador to India.  He has also advised the Confederation of Indian Industry and Ministry of Commerce on developing business ties with Latin America. The lecture entitled “Why India should strengthen Political and Business Relations with Latin America” covered various aspects of Indo Latin American relations and highlighted why most Latin American countries are trying to diversify from USA and Europe and looking for opportunities in India. The lecture also underlined the growing business and trade opportunities which most Latin American regional groupings such as Mercosur, Andean Pact, etc., offer for Indian companies and the growing job opportunities for Spanish knowing persons.  The lecture evoked great interest among students of the Centre who are pursuing their studies in the language and culture of Spanish speaking countries as it provided them useful information on the importance of learning Spanish language and the great potential that it has for bringing India and Latin America closer.

Ankita Raj Kumar, Research Scholar,
Centre of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and
Latin American Studies, SLL&CS

The Second Sukhamoy Chakravarty Memorial Lecture

The Second Sukhamoy Chakravarty Memorial Lecture was organized by the Sukhamoy Chakravarty Chair Professor Unit (founded by Planning Commission, Government of India) and the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning on 15 September, 2011 in the School of Social Sciences, JNU. The lecture was delivered by Prof. Mihir Kanti Rakshit, an eminent macroeconomist of the country and formerly Professor of the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta and Presidency College, Calcutta and currently Editor in Chief of the journal Money and Finance published by the Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA).

As a close past associate of Prof. Chakravarty, Prof. Rakshit began by giving his personal tribute to Prof. Chakravarty  and then  gave the lecture on the topic Some Macroeconomics of Oil Price Shocks. The lecture was well attended by current students, faculty members and alumni of the centre and some distinguished outsiders known to Prof. Sukhamoy Chakravarty, in spite of inclement weather on that day. Prof. Lalita Chakravarty, wife of Late Prof. Chakravarty, graced the occasion by her presence. Prof. Charusita Chakravarty, daughter of Prof. Chakravarty, was also present in the function.

The event was chaired by Prof. Sudha Pai, Rector of JNU who gave her tribute to Prof. Chakravarty and gave her remarks on the occasion. Prof. Zoya Hasan, Dean of the School of Social Sciences, was also present in the podium to give her welcome and remarks on behalf of the School. Prof. Ramprasad Sengupta, Chair Professor of the unit welcomed everybody at the beginning of the function and paid a tribute to the memory of Prof. Sukhamoy Chakravarty.

Prof. Rakshit in his presentation stated that since the early 1970s the world has witnessed four major oil shocks: the first during August 1973 to October 1974, the second from January 1979 to July 1980, the third over June-October 1990 and the fourth from 1999 onward. It his talk he tried to identify the nature and consequences of the post-1998 oil price surge. But in order to appreciate its significance for the world economy in general and the Indian economy in particular he stated that it is instructive to consider the earlier shocks, especially the first two. The reason is that not only were their economic consequences far-reaching, but they also ran quite contrary to the tenets of the then prevailing macroeconomic paradigms, both Keynesian and Monetarist.  He argued, this led to a major revision in both macroeconomic theory and the central banks' policy stance for purposes of attaining the twin objectives of full employment and price stability. He pointed out that the Indian experience during the first three shocks, unlike under the last one, was sharply at variance with that of other oil-importing nations. With the benefit of hindsight and in light of advancement in macroeconomics theory, he examined how the global economy was affected by the three shocks and why India proved a contrarian. He tried to analyse the sharply contrasting behaviour of the world economy during the post-1998 shock compared with that during the earlier ones. After this, in the context of the global economic environment he analysed the interaction between external and domestic factors driving the Indian macroeconomic since 1998. Finally he summarized the main findings and drew some policy conclusions concerning how best to weather international oil price shocks.

After Prof. Rakshit's lecture Prof. Arun Kumar Chairperson of the Centre, made his concluding remarks and gave the Vote of Thanks. The finalized written version of the full paper of the lecture of Prof. Rakshit is now available with the Centre.

R. P. Sengupta, Professor
Centre for Economic Studies & Planning, SSS

Seminar on “Democratic Upheaval in the Arab World : Shift of Power from Leaders to People”

The students of the Centre for West Asian Studies at the School of International Studies organised a day-long Student Seminar on “Democratic Upheaval in the Arab World: Shift of Power from Leaders to People” on 19 September 2011 at the SIS committee room. The objective of the seminar was to encourage a discussion on the causes and course of events and the impact of this democratic upsurge in West Asia and North Africa. From Morocco to Bahrain, demonstrations have shown the mass consciousness among the population for political participation and transparency in governance which has the potential to change the face of the prevailing political systems in the region.

A total of seven papers were presented by the students of the centre over three sessions divided on the basis of sub-regions including North Africa, the Gulf and the Fertile Crescent while the fourth and concluding session of the day was a Round Table. The seminar was started with a welcome address by U. Marimuthu, a PhD student at CWAS, highlighting the theme of the seminar. The first session, chaired by Abhiruchi Ojha, a PhD student of Centre of African Studies, was on North Africa where three papers were presented including “Breaking the Myth of Silence: Common Features of Democratic Upheaval in the Arab World by Priya Ranjan Kumar, Creating Online Uprising: A Case Study of “Kulluna Khaled” Facebook Group by Omair Anas and Muslim Brotherhood's Response to the Egyptian Revolution” by Sumaiyah Ahmed. The presentations were followed by the discussions by Anjani Kumar Singh of the Centre of West Asian Studies and Shreya Pandey of the Centre of European Studies. A lively discussion followed over tea which saw participation from a number of students.

The second session was themed on Gulf which was chaired by Girish Mallik of the Centre for Canadian, US and Latin American Studies. Ayyob Thayyil and Syed Saif Shahin presented their papers on “Stability vs. Change: Tough Choice for GCC and Renarrating Revolution: Arab Spring in the Gulf: A Social Construction Perspective” respectively. The discussants Shailza Singh from the Centre for Canadian, US and Latin American Studies and Swati Kumari from the Centre for West Asian Studies then commented upon the papers giving a start to another enthusiastic discussion from the participants including the faculty members.

The third session on Fertile Crescent started after the lunch break which witnessed paper presentations from Jaikhlong Basumatary on “Implications of Hosni Mubarak's Downfall in Israel and Zubair Ahmed on Political Upheaval in Syria and its Implications on the Region”. Sneha Banerjee of the Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament and Priya Ranjan Kumar of the Centre for West Asian Studies began the discussion on the papers which saw numerous questions on various aspects of impact of the upheaval in the region.

The concluding session was a Round Table chaired by Khinvraj Jangid, where a number of students shared their views on the upheaval in the region including Prasad M. V. Nambiar, Ayem Pongem and heard encouraging words from the faculty members. Priyanka Chandra an M. Phil student of the centre gave the vote of thanks. The seminar was moderated by Md Muddassir Quamar and was organised by a team of Organising Committee which included Suchitra Dagar, U. Marimuthu, Priyanka Chandra and Md Muddassir Quamar. The funds for the seminar were raised with the help of voluntary contribution from students and faculty members of the centre.

P.R. Kumaraswamy, Chairperson
Centre for West Asian Studies, SIS

Symposium on “Spain and The Times of 'Guernica'”

The Centre of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Latin American Studies organized a one day symposium in collaboration with the Universidad de Complutense de Madrid on 29 September, 2011 as part of joint collaborative activities envisaged under the MoU signed between JNU and Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.

The topic of the symposium was SPAIN AND THE TIMES OF 'GUERNICA'. The key note speech was delivered by Dr. Professor Eva Fernandez del Campo, Professor of Asian and Contemporary Art in the Department of History of Art of Complutense University of Madrid. The topic of her speech was “The Guernica of Picasso: About Suffering, Life and Love.” The speech highlighted the historical background of Spain before, during and after the tragic Civil War and the suffering, pain, agony, strength and hope of human race as depicted by Picasso in his world famous painting El Guernica in response and reaction to the war. The Chief Guest, Dr. Oscar Pujol, Director of Cervantes Institute in Delhi, inaugurated the symposium and highlighted the work of Centre of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Latin American Studies in disseminating the study and research in the field of Hispanic Studies in India. He welcomed the academic and cultural collaboration between JNU and the Spanish university and praised the efforts of both the universities in strengthening this collaboration. The symposium provided a platform for discussion and interaction amongst the students and scholars of both the universities. About 20 students from Complutense University of Madrid were present in person in the symposium and had a fruitful interaction with their Indian counterparts.

Earlier Prof. Dr. Anil Dhingra, Chairperson of the Centre and Director of the Symposium, while welcoming the participants and guests from Spain, highlighted the work being done in the Centre to promote the study and research in the area of Hispanic Studies.

Ankita Raj Kumar, Research Scholar,
Centre of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
and Latin American Studies, SLL&CS

Special Lecture on the Portuguese Heritage around the World: Architecture and Urbanism

The Centre for Historical Studies organized a special lecture on the “Portuguese Heritage around the World: Architecture and Urbanism” on 5 October in the School of Social Sciences. Addressing a packed gathering of about 90 scholars from all around Delhi, Prof. Emilio Rui Vilar, the President of Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian, detailed the nature of tangible and intangible heritage of the Portuguese existing in different parts of the world. Releasing the book titled “Portuguese Heritage around the World: Architecture and Urbanism” he dwelt upon the new forms of urban architecture that the Portuguese brought to Asia in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and highlighted the various activities that Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian has initiated to preserve cultural remains and heritage of the past, besides promoting serious academic researches and scientific studies. The newly launched book showcases the rare cultural remnants, artifacts and cartographic details of the Portuguese obtained from different parts of the world. Prof. Bhagwan Josh, Chairperson of CHS, chaired the programme. Prof. Walter Rossa of Oliveira, the ambassador of Portugal to India, Prof. Bhagwan Josh, Prof. Pius Malekandathil and Dr. Najaf Haider spoke on the occasion about the need to institutionalize Portuguese learning programme on a long-standing basis so that students may effectively use Portuguese source materials for understanding the multifaceted historical processes of early modern India. The ambassador of Brazil Dr. Marco Brandao, Mr. Jom Tob Azulay, Counsellor of Embassy of Brazil and Dr. Maria Fernanda Matias, the head of Servico Internacional of Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon were also present in the function. The academic gathering also provided platform for initiating discussions for long-term academic linkages between CHS and Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian.

Bhagwan Josh, Chairperson
Centre for Historical Studies, SSS

Lecture on “The American Pivot”

Professor Jeffrey W. Legro, Randolph P. Compton Professor of World Politics at the University of Virginia and currently Fulbright- Nehru Senior Researcher at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, presented a paper titled 'The American Pivot: The Power of Position in an Age of Decline'. In this (yet) unpublished paper, Professor Legro sought to underline the significance of the architecture of the international system and the role of position in it in order to understand debates over potential US decline vis-à-vis its real influence in world politics.

The question of US decline and its implications for the current international order have been fiercely debated for quite some time. Indeed, American share in global power has seen significant decline in the last fifty years, argued Professor Legro, and shall continue to do so in the near future. But that fact cannot explain the influence the US yields in world politics. While strict emphasis on hard power (economic and military capabilities) fails to account for continued US dominance in world affairs despite its decline in relative capabilities, even recent formulations such as soft power (the appeal of US values, culture and institutions) or smart power (strategy) fails to appreciate the full extent of US influence in international politics. To make sense of such influence, Professor Legro suggested that attention be focused on evaluating the position the US occupies in the international system.

The international system is generally perceived as being shaped by balance of powers among states, the presence of international institutions and norms, or the degree of economic interdependence, and imagined strictly in a global sense. Professor Legro proposed that this is only a partial understanding of the system. Rethinking the architecture of the international system could reveal at least three other dimensions that come to play in the system- regional, bilateral and transnational. Further, it could also reveal that much like the domestic political system within countries, the international system too has an underlying informal structure comprising networks of forums, processes of decision making channels, and institutions that affect how politics in conducted in the international arena. A state's position in this architecture shapes its relative influence in the system and determines the leverage it could yield in its interaction with other actors in the system. The power of leverage that flows from influence is independent of a state's material capabilities or its soft power. As Professor Legro argued, this power flows from position, and position matters.

In this context, it is possible to make real sense of American influence in international affairs. The US does and is likely to wield greater leverage than its relative capability even in future by virtue of its unique position in all the four dimensions of the international system. Apart from being the central player in the global realm (consider US role in UN, WTO, IMF, NPT etc.), the US is deeply involved in many regions and is a member of multiple regional organizations (consider its role in NATO, APEC, ARF, NAFTA etc.). Its bilateral relations with other states are much denser than that of others and even in the transnational dimension, US based NGOs, universities, corporations, media have much larger presence in comparison to others. American position of power further exceeds the scope of individual dimensions to include the nodes or pivots between dimensions as well. Professor Legro contended that the US is a central player even in the intersections between the global and the regional orders, between regions and states, and between governments and the civil society. These pivot positions are instrumental in US ability to get what it wants and maintain its global influence even in the face of potential decline. They allow the US to swing between various levels and switch to a different level to pursue its interests if one level is blocked. For example, when the US could not get its way at the global level in the WTO, it sought to preserve its interests at the regional level through NAFTA. Or, failing to garner support for Intellectual Property Rights internationally, it sought to establish bilateral agreements with various countries to further its proposals.

To elaborate more on the process by which the US maneuvers its leverage in world politics, Professor Legro resorted to three strands of literature outside of conventional IR. First, comparative politics, especially a comparative study of domestic political institutions could reveal how influential players within a political structure could use “veto points” to block progress when they want to prevent something. Professor Legro urged that the international system too has a kind of global structure with similar veto points in its architecture, and the US uses such points periodically to block proposals as well as set agendas to make the things they want happen. Second, political science and sociology could be instructive in appreciating the significance of networks and reveal how state level networks interact with non-state actors to shape a political system. Third, Hirschman's work on how dissatisfied individuals in firms or political units could pursue their interest through 'exit', 'voice' and 'loyalty' could be explored in the international realm to reveal how the leader of a particular state could threaten to 'exit', express support or opposition through 'voice' and use its 'leverage' (instead of loyalty) to maximize their interest. According to Prof Legro, US influence is a direct consequence of all these processes. They are used by the US to pivot between different levels and allow it to have its way around independent of outcomes.

The crux of his argument is not that the US will always be able to get what it wants, or that other countries do not have any power of position. Power of position is relative, and although other countries too enjoy power of position, the US enjoys the privilege of having the most influential position in the international system. It occupies a vital role in all four dimensions of the system and at each pivot or intersection of these dimensions that allows it to alternate its attention and resources between different dimensions to influence agendas, rules and actors. It is possible for other great powers to rise and surpass US position in the future. However, the leverage afforded to it by its position in the structure, particularly at the intersections of the four dimensions, shall allow it to amplify its resources and continue its influence as a rule maker in the near future independent of its decline.

Swaran Singh, Chairperson
Centre for International Politics,
Organization and Disarmament, SIS

Second Subramania Bharathi Memorial Lecture

The Centre of Indian Languages (CIL), School of Language Literature and Culture Studies, organized the “Second Subramania Bharathi Memorial Lecture” on 12 October, 2011.

Prof. S. V. Subramanian, Former Director, International Institute of Tamil Studies, Chennai and Honorary Director, World Tamil Educational Movement, Tamilur, delivered his  Keynote address  on Subramania Bharathi as an Indian Poet. In his address Prof S.V.Subramanian described Subramania Bharathi's vision of Indian nationhood. The learned Professor also delivered another lecture on Tamil literary genres on the occasion.

Prof. Vir Bharat Talwar, Professor of Hindi, Dr. Syed Mohd. Anwar Alam, Associate Professor of Urdu in CIL, and Pulavar Viswanathan Under Secretary (Retd.), Govt of India, New Delhi spoke on different aspects of the poet and his works. Prof. R.N. Menon, Dean, SLL&CS, presided over the function in which three books namely “Bharathi and His Works. Tolkappiyar and Aristotle”, and “Tamil Literary Genres” written by Prof. S. V. Subramanian were released.

Earlier Prof. K. Nachimuthu, Professor of Tamil and the Chairperson, CIL welcomed the gathering and Prof Moinudin Jinabade, Prof of Urdu, CIL, proposed the vote of thanks. Dr. N. Chandrasegaran, Assistant Professor of Tamil coordinated the event.

N. Chandrasegaran, Assistant Professor,
Centre of Indian Languages, SLL&CS