Confluence, London - January 2008
Late last year, a whole day seminar on “India’s Tryst with Destiny” organised at the SOAS by the Tagoreans, the longest established Bengali cultural organisation in London, had participants and speakers leave the venue at the end of the day with no qualms over the difficult terrain that lay before the world’s largest democracy, in the 21st century. Reflecting on the past 60 years, a panel of speakers and an audience that included a diplomat, a parliamentarian, economists, scholars, a former editor of the BBC (Bengali) World Service, an educationist and an author came together. Their views helped to piece together a picture of great promise, given the resoluteness of the Indian nation to face up to the challenges thrown up by a unipolar world and its concomitant uncertainties. Chief guest and Minister for Co-ordination at the Indian High Commission, Rajat Bagchi set the tone for the discussions portraying India’s journey since independence in a three pronged trajectory.
Click here for full article