VIF organized an online book discussion on Dharma in Governance: Towards a Welfare State (Aditya Prakashan, 2018) authored by Gunjan Pradhan Sinha on 21 May 2020. The panel included the author, Prof. Arvind Sharma (McGill University), Col. Pradeep K Gautam (USI), Prof. Shashi Prabha Kumar (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) and Swami Narasimhananda (Ramakrishna Mission). The discussion was moderated by Dr. Arvind Gupta.

In January 2019, Vivekananda International Foundation organized the seminar Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Relevance of India’s Ancient Thinking to Contemporary Strategic Reality to mobilize the Indian repository of ideas—ancient and modern—and bring them to practical and strategic use in building an Indian narrative in today’s world order. This is a flagship series of conferences instituted by the VIF. The second edition of the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam seminar this year was held on 3rd and 4th March and it was titled Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Revisited: Exploring India’s Soft Power Assets.

The present volume provides a thorough and meticulous introduction to India’s sculpture, painting, terracottas, performing arts and architecture. In each case the coverage is extensive, supported by detailed references and should lead to further research and studies. What we would like to emphasize is that the volume does not claim to be even a reasonably exhaustive survey and analysis of the total range of ancient Indian data on art and architecture, but what it has certainly tried to convey is the depth and scale of all such artistic endeavours in the subcontinent.

Driven by the myopia of profits and an ego that craves superiority over fellow brethren, man is leading a life of wanton devastation, and going through what is perhaps the most violent time in history. At stake is not just our own lives and values, but the environment that sustains us, and by extension therefore, the very future of our planet.