Vivekananda International Foundation | Seeking Harmony in Diversity

Vimarsha: Nation and Nationalism - Talk by Mr M J Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs

Mr M J Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs in the ruling NDA government, delivered a perceptive talk on ‘Nation and Nationalism’ at the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) on 27 March 2017. The talk was conducted , part of VIF’s monthly Vimarsha - series of public discourse on issues of historical and contemporary significance for India and the world at large. Following the invocation of Holy Spirit for universal peace, General NC Vij, Director, VIF, welcomed the Hon’ble guest speaker.

March 30, 2017 Event Report

National Workshop on Doubling Farmers’ Income through Scaling-up

In sync with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of doubling farmers’ income by 2022 when the country completes its 75 years of independence, the VIF, in collaboration with ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) and J. Farms, assembled a two-day national workshop on ‘Doubling Farmers’ Income through Scaling up’ on March 15-16, 2017.

March 24, 2017 Event Report

Vimarsha on ‘Uniting India: Sardar Patel’ with Amb G Parthasarathy

As part of VIF’s ongoing series of talks on issues of national importance, contemporary as well as historical, held every month under aegis of Vimarsha, Amb G Parthasarathy, former diplomat and author, was invited on 02 Feb 2017 to deliver a talk on the role played by India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, towards India’s post-independence unification, notably the integration of princely states.

February 20, 2017 Event Report

Freebies and Good Governance

BP Singh

Background and Argument I have chosen to speak on a subject of contemporary interest and importance: ‘Freebies and Good Governance’. I deliberately withheld the umbrella in suggesting the title of the talk that provides both inspiration and legitimacy to ‘freebies and good governance in India’ and this is the concept of ‘welfare state’. Click here to read full paper

September 28, 2016 Paper

Vimarsha - Talk by Shri Prakash Singh, former DG BSF, on Police Reforms in India

Shri Prakash Singh, former DG BSF, delivered a perceptive talk, ‘Preparing The Central And State Police Forces To Deal With The Multi-Dimensional Challenges Of Tomorrow’, at the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) on 15 Sep 2016, as part of VIF’s monthly series of lectures, ‘Vimarsha’. A large audience, comprising former bureaucrats, diplomats, military veterans, members of the academia, among other informed citizenry of Delhi, attended the event and also participated in a lively interaction with the distinguished speaker following the lecture.

September 23, 2016 Event Report

A Talk on ‘Freebies and Good Governance’ by Mr. B. P. Singh, Former Governor of Sikkim

While freebies are considered among the surest and fastest means of providing succor to the needy poor, these come at a heavy cost to the national exchequer, as precious economic resources have to be diverted away from developmental projects, especially those linked to infrastructure projects.

August 24, 2016 Event Report

Round Table Discussion on ‘Bicameralism and the Role of Rajya Sabha’

With the Council of States i.e Rajya Sabha increasingly perceived as an arena for political muscle-flexing and stonewalling key legislations of the government in recent years, there has been growing demand in the country to review its composition and functioning. Most notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself made a strong pitch for holding elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies together at a BJP meeting in March, while Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, according to media reports, has suggested scrapping the Rajya Sabha altogether.

August 08, 2016 Event Report

Half Lion: How PV Narasimha Rao Transformed India; Vinay Sitapati; Penguin Viking Books

Rajesh Singh

When Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao became the country’s Prime Minister, he came with few expectations. His track record as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (then undivided) and many years later as Union Cabinet Minister was mediocre. The party that had selected him to head the national Government owed its allegiance to 10, Janpath and saw him as a stop-gap arrangement. Although he had won many elections, he wasn’t the type to set the stage on fire — Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who had worked closely with him, once said Rao had the “charisma of a dead fish”.

July 28, 2016 Books/Book Review

Nehru: A troubled Legacy by RNP Singh

RNP Singh

Hardcover: 354 pages Publisher: Wisdom Tree (23 June 2015) Language: English ISBN-10: 8183284426 ISBN-13: 978-8183284424 Online Available at amazon.com

June 23, 2015 Books/Book Review

Vimarsha on Teacher’s Day: Prof J S Rajput, former NCERT, Director

Noted educationist and former NCERT Director Prof J S Rajput addressed the Vimarsha programme at VIF on the occasion of Teacher’s Day on September 5, 2014.

September 15, 2014 Event Report