Shiv Shankar Menon
(Foreign Secretary of India)

on the topic:

Sri Lanka – The War is Far From Over

Time: 8 PM
Date: Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
Venue: Staff Room

Astad Deboo - The Visuals of Modern Dance

Born in the early 20th century, modern dance is a dance style that centers on a dancer's own interpretations instead structured steps, as in traditional ballet dancing. During the 1900's, European dancers began rebelling against the rigid rules of classical ballet. Turning against the structured techniques, costumes and shoes of ballet, these dancers favaored a more relaxed, free style of dancing. Modern dance pioneers often danced in bare feet and revealing costumes. In the United States, several dance pioneers paved the way for American modern dance, including the legendary Martha Graham.

(From http://dance.about.com.)

Dipankar Gupta - Business Ethics

Business ethics can be both a normative and a descriptive discipline. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. In academia descriptive approaches are also taken. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the degree to which business is perceived to be at odds with non-economic social values. Historically, interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporate websites lay emphasis on commitment to promoting non-economic social values under a variety of headings (e.g. ethics codes, social responsibility charters). In some cases, corporations have redefined their core values in the light of business ethical considerations (e.g. BP's "beyond petroleum" environmental tilt).

(From Wikipedia.)

Romulus Whittaker - The Indian Gharial

The Indian Gharial (which derives its name from ghara, an earthen pot that resembles the bulbous nasal appendage present on mature males) with its characteristic elongate, narrow snout is one of the two surviving members of the living fossil family Gavialidae. The species has a riverine habitat and is better adapted to an aquatic lifestyle in the calmer areas of deep, fast-moving rivers. It does not prefer land since it is poorly equipped for movement outside the water and leaves the water only to bask and to lay eggs. Consequently, it does not go further away and prefers to both bask and nest closer to the river on the sandbanks. Adults are exclusively fish eaters while the juveniles feed on smaller invertebrate and vertebrate prey such as insects and frogs, respectively.
(From merinews.com)

Kanti Bajpai - Why Kashmir Should Not Secede

Secession, it seems, is now in vogue, thanks to Vladimir Putin and Russian tanks, which came steamrolling into Georgia a few weeks ago in defense of South Ossetia. Russia now officially considers this tiny enclave an independent state. Basques in Spain, Baluchis in Pakistan, Turkmen and Tibetans in China and other secessionists all over the world will be watching the reactions of the international community closely. The creation of micro-states such as Ossetia is a worrisome precedent in international politics. If it proves to be contagious, it would generate a legion of geopolitical conundrums. In the case of Kashmir, secession would do nothing to promote peace and stop violence; in fact, it would make things worse.

The most compelling argument for secession is genocide and extermination: if a government is killing its people, the government must be replaced. International law and custom recognizes such claims. New Delhi has used force to quell disturbances and terrorist threats. It has made many cultural faux pas, has been politically insensitive, and has treated some dissidents harshly. Having said that, what is happening in Kashmir today, and what has occurred in the past, is certainly not part of a policy of genocide.

(From Newsweek, Kanti Bajpai.)

Rajni Palriwala - Women and the Modern Economy

In India, sex is not normally discussed within families. Rajni Palriwala, a sociologist at Delhi University, says: "There's too much hypocrisy in our society. Families sit together and watch Hindi films which are full of obscene innuendos. "And children are not stupid, they know a lot. They know their parents have sex and if children get the wrong messages, it's because the parents will not talk to them openly about it." Professor Palriwala says the pictures in India Today may have an element of titillation, but if putting sex on the cover of a family magazine stops it being a dirty word, it might not be such a bad idea.

(From a BBC News report.)

Gautam Navlakha - Kashmir and the Upcoming Elections ('08)

The elections in Indian-administered Kashmir, which concluded Tuesday, were conducted fairly, but not freely according to an independent team of observers. The team was sent to the disputed territory by a think tank, the Institute of Social Sciences. They said the fear of attacks by separatist militants did not prevent large numbers of people from turning out to vote in some areas. Voters waiting to vote in the final phaseThe elections in Indian Kashmir, during which more than 800 lives have been lost, were overshadowed by controversy, because of Pakistan's claim to the territory. The Delhi-based Institute of Social Sciences concluded that it was a fair election, but, because of the all-pervading sense of fear, it could not be called free.
(From BBC News, South Asia.)