Vivekananda International Foundation | Seeking Harmony in Diversity

Introduction to Indian Strategic Thinking and its Determinants

In 2018, The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) held the first of its kind of Certificate Programme to bring together students from Indian Universities, academicians, researchers from think-tanks and other disciplines and introduce them to the conceptual frameworks and thought processes of India’s strategic outlook. The second Certificate Programme was held this year from 07-09 August. From an audience of around 28 last year, this three days’ workshop saw the participation of 60 people from all over the country.

August 19, 2019 Event Report

Vimarsha: Talk on ‘Why Triple Talaq should be made a Punishable Offence’, by Shri Arif Mohd. Khan

The latest session of Vimarsha Talk was organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) on July 19, 2019. Shri Arif Mohd. Khan, Former Union Cabinet Minister, put forth an informed argument on ‘Why Triple Talaq should be made a Punishable Offence’. In his introductory address, Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF welcomed the esteemed former Parliamentarian and Member of VIF Advisory Council. Shri Khan, a respected member of the Muslim community and well versed with Quran and Islamic philosophy, expressed his happiness in talking about this complex issue.

July 29, 2019 Event Report

Book Discussion on “Amit Shah and the March of BJP” by Dr. Anirban Ganguly & Shiwananda Dwivedi

A discussion was held in VIF on July 23rd, 2019 by the esteemed authors Dr. Anirban Ganguly, and Shiwananda Dwivedi, on their recently released book, “Amit Shah and the March of BJP”, published by Bloomsbury publishers. Dr. Ganguly is the Director of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation (SPMRF), New Delhi, and Mr. Dwivedi is a columnlist and research fellow at SPMRF. The book is an enthralling chronicle of the political life and journey of the newly appointed Home Minister of India, Sh.Amit Shah, and narrates the account of how he’s led the party to its massive success as its chief.

July 26, 2019 Event Report

Discussion on ‘Emergency: Darkest Hour in Indian Democracy’,

A discussion was held at the VIF on 24th June 2019 on the eve of 34 years since the declaration of the National Emergency in India. The idea behind was to retell stories related to Emergency - considered as one of the darkest periods in the history of India’s democracy - so that it may never repeat. The discussion was carried out by a panel comprising of Dr. A. Surya Prakash, Chairman of the Prasar Bharati, Shri S Gurumurthy, Chairman VIF as well as a well-known economic and political analyst, and Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director of the VIF.

July 03, 2019 Event Report

Politics of Opportunism: Regional Parties, Coalitions, Centre-State Relations In India

RNP Singh

With over 2000 political parties registered with the Election Commission and national parties no longer being able to garner a simple majority, the rules of the game of politics in India are fast changing. There is little doubt that coalition governments are here to stay. But what about ideology and vision, dignity and ethics? Will they find a place in this power-hungry world of political opportunism? Rampant horse trading, brazen poaching of MLAs, defection and an inherent instability define coalition politics today the worst manipulator of the popular mandate.

July 02, 2019 Books/Book Review

Policy Initiatives for The New Government - Building a ‘New India’

On May 30, 2019, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Prime Minister Modi was sworn in after the NDA registered an unprecedented 350 seats in the Lok Sabha. The new government will undoubtedly continue to implement the various good policies that it initiated in 2014-2019. However, the ambition of building ‘New India’ will require deeper reforms in a variety of areas.

June 25, 2019 Paper

Release of Book ‘Caste as a Social Capital’ by Prof. R Vaidyanathan

A seminal book, namely, ‘Caste as a Social Capital’, revisiting Caste as playing an important role in promoting economic growth, written by Professor R Vaidyanathan was released on 9th April 2019 at the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), New Delhi. The author is a distinguished economic thinker who retired as professor of Finance at the IIM Bangalore. He was also the former member of the National Security Advisory Board.

June 14, 2019 Event Report

Round Table at the VIF on Elections 2019 by Dr. A. Surya Prakash, Chairman, Prasar Bharti

During the course of the elections, Dr. A Surya Prakash visited the states of Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to understand how the people were voting. He shared his impression and insight during two round table discussions held at the Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi.

May 21, 2019 Event Report

Panel discussion on the book, ‘Portraits of Hindutva: From Harappa to Ayodhya’, authored by Shri Rajesh Singh

The discussion traced the evolution of the Hindutva phenomenon since the Vedic period to the present, and recorded the contributions of key great personalities to its growth which led to the proliferation of Hindutva (but not anti-others) sentiments - Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, to name the tallest among them. It was pointed out that the narrative of the Hindu-Muslim divide was first created and then promoted to discredit the Hindutva elements.

April 26, 2019 Event Report

Seminar on Challenges of Migration

Organised in the backdrop of Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 and its implications, the Seminar delved into such issues as citizenship by illegal means, serious social tensions created by it, and the genuine fear of the Assamese losing their identities. It was considered that a well thought refugee law will institutionalize the whole process of migration even as it will safeguards our interest and must be evolved in India. The Bill therefore was a progress in the right direction.

April 26, 2019 Event Report