Events

On 17 December 2022, Dr. Ram Madhav, member of the National Executive RSS, author and columnist, participated in a discussion at the PIC on his book, ‘Partitioned Freedom’. Amb. Gautam Bambawale, trustee, PIC and the former High Commissioner to Pakistan and ex- Ambassador to China and Bhutan chaired the session.
Dr. Ram Madhav explained that while numerous books have been written on the tragic partition of India, he has undertaken a detailed examination of the factors that led to the partition of India on religious lines.
He explained the  first partition of India  in 1905 wherein the British Raj divided the Bengal Province into East and West Bengal was a failed attempt and had to be annulled in 2011. The entire nation and people from all communities rose against this partition. However, the next four decades saw the Divide and Rule politics of the British and a systematic mistrust and breakdown in the relations between the once secular and nationalist leader, Mohammed Ali Jinnah and the Congress. This was despite the best efforts of Mahatma Gandhi and finally, all the leaders saw partition as the only solution to end the horrific violence of the mid to late 1940s.
Dr Madhav stressed that India must learn from the lessons of history.
The session witnessed a lively round of Q&A.

On 5^th December, Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Senior Research Associate, ODI Global was the guest speaker for an online conversation with Prof. Abhay Pethe, Senior Fellow, PIC and Senior Research Fellow, Mumbai School of Economics on the topic, ‘Lessons from Sri Lanka’s Debt and Economic Crisis. The event was moderated by Ms. Shilpa Phadke, member, PIC.

Dr. Ganeshan gave a detailed presentation on the Sri Lankan debt and economic crisis explaining the causes of this major economic crisis. The discussion addressed a number of issues such as the gravity of the debt crisis, rise of unemployment, GDP contraction, the linear rise in inflation, missed bond payments and the geopolitical flux caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, China’s interests in Sri Lanka and India-Sri Lanka relations

The dominance and subsequent ouster of the dynastic politics of the Mahinda Rajpaksha family; the appointment of Ranil Wickremasinghe as the 6^th PM of Sri Lanka and the initiatives and strategies to deal with the debt and economic crisis were discussed at length.
The session saw a lively Q&A from the audience.
This lecture was open only to PIC members and was not recorded at the request of the speaker.

स्थळ: काळे हॉल, गोखले इन्स्टिटयूट ऑफ पॉलिटिक्स अँड इकॉनॉमिक्स
समन्वयक: स्वाती राजे, लेखिका, सदस्य पुणे इंटरनॅशनल सेंटर, अध्यक्ष भाषा फाऊंडेशन

On the occasion of the 133rd birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, PIC, and Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) organized a Pune Samwad discussion on the Mr. Nehru’s leadership. The guest speakers were former judge of the Bombay High Court, Justice Narendra Chapalgaonkar, and Advocate Raj Kulkarni, who have studied Nehru at length. The event was chaired by Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Vice President, PIC, and the introductions were made by Dr. Ajit Ranade, Vice-Chancellor, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics.
 
Justice Chapalgaonkar began his talk by quoting historian Arnold Toynbee and his book ‘The Study of History’ and spoke on the importance of studying history.
 
The deep impact of Mahatma Gandhi on Nehru’s life; Nehru’s commitment to liberalism, secularism, and parliamentary form of democracy; his commitment to education, science and technology, and heavy industries; and his decisions on Kashmir and the 1962 war with China were discussed at length.
 
The discussion provided deep insights into Nehru’s life, leadership, and thinking. The session concluded with a lively round of Q&A.

On 10 November 2022, Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, President, PIC, was in conversation with Dr. Ashok S Ganguly, former chairman, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, on his autobiography, ‘AFTERNESS: Home and Away’. Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Vice President, PIC, chaired the discussion.
Dr. Ganguly shared numerous anecdotes from his life’s journey and the deep influence that his father had on his choice of a career. He spoke of his life’s journey from an average student to his passion for research and his experiences in heading various divisions in the British multinational, Uniliver, and as the longest-serving chairman of Hindustan Uniliver.
Dr Ganguly spoke of his meeting with Mother Teresa and the subsequent transformation that was brought into his life. He fondly recalled his association with the late Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, as a member of the PM’s Advisory Committee for Science and Technology.
Dr. Mashelkar welcomed Dr. Ganguly and shared memories as a fellow member of the PM’s Advisory Committee for Science and Technology. Dr, Mashelkar described Dr. Ganguly as a “visionary” and in his conversation, engaged Dr Ganguly on a number of points of interest to viewers.
 The session witnessed a lively round of Q & A.

On October 1st, Dr. Anil Rajvanshi, an eminent scholar in the renewable energy sector, and Director and Honorary Secretary, Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), was at Pune International Centre (PIC) to discuss his book, titled ‘How Technology Guided by Spirituality May Lead to Happiness’. 
This PIC ADDA event was moderated by Dr Sangeeta Kale, Professor in Physics, Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune, and Member, PIC, Pune.
Dr. Rajvanshi in his lecture said happiness and sustainability can both be attained through spirituality and the wise use of technology, and as a result, they are related. Technology is the source of civilizations, and since technology now permeates every aspect of our life, it should be handled wisely. 
Technology that is spiritually led can bring happiness, and happiness comes from being at peace with oneself. The book has chapters that explain topics like how to have a powerful mind through meditation, the meaning of life, the art and science of happiness; why people are so fascinated with things, how human thought and gravity relate, and more. .
The session was enriched with a lively round of Q & A.

On September 24th, Pune International Centre celebrated its 12th Foundation Day with an inspiring engagement with children, in the form of Abhinav Spardha 2022 (Story Narration Competition). This was followed by the Foundation Day Lecture by Justice Madan Lokur, former judge of the Supreme Court of India.
The Abhinav Spardha this year featured the theme, ‘Inspirational Stories from Grandparents’ and, as in the previous years, was organised in association with the non-profit organisation, Gyan-Key, led by PIC Member Mr. Pradeep Lokhande.
The competition required students to submit a short video recording of a narration of inspirational stories heard from their grandparents. As many as 4,630 students from 28 districts of Maharashtra participated in the competition.
The award-winning students were presented with cash prizes and trophies by Mrs. Savita Lokur and Justice Madan Lokur.
The students, during their interaction with the dignitaries, delighted the audience by requesting the dignitaries to narrate the stories that had inspired them as children.
Addressing the students, PIC President, Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, cited incidents from his own life and said there is no substitute to hard work to achieve success in life. He inspired the students with his words and urged them to cherish values that would lead them and the country towards a better future.
During the day, the children had a fun-filled visit to Savitribai Phule Pune University and the Pavilion Mall on SB Road.