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- 7 January 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Prof. Philip Clayton
Topic: Reality Consists of Events not Things: Process Philosophy,
Social Responsibility, and the Indian Traditions
Chairperson: Prof Sangeetha Menon
Abstract: The process philosophy or "philosophy of
events" developed by the mathematician and philosopher Alfred
North Whitehead has had an immense influence on 20th-century philosophy
and theology in the West. In recent years it has received increased
attention outside the West as the basis for a new kind of "constructive"
postmodern philosophy that is metaphysical without being foundationalist.
For example, there are now 20 centers for process studies in China;
a European meeting in 2006 drew 300 participants; and this year's
international meeting for process philosophies will be held in
Bangalore January 5-9, 2009.
In this talk I use the phenomenological method to convey the
outlines of an event-based ontology. Because process philosophy
emphasizes our connection with the other, I will concentrate
on its implications for social philosophy. In the paper, and
even more in the ensuring discussion, I hope to focus on the
ways that process philosophies are congenial to traditional
Indian thought.
About the Speaker:
Philip Clayton is a philosopher and theologian specializing
in the entire range of issues that arise at the intersection
between science and religion. Over the last several decades
he has published and lectured extensively on all branches of
this debate, including the history of modern philosophy, philosophy
of science, comparative religions, and constructive theology.
Clayton received the PhD jointly from the Philosophy and Religious
Studies departments at Yale University and is currently Professor
of Religion and Philosophy at Claremont Graduate University
and Ingraham Professor at Claremont School of Theology. In addition
to a variety of named lectureships, he has held visiting professorships
at the University of Cambridge, the University of Munich, and
Harvard University.
Above all, Clayton's books and articles address the cultural
battle currently raging between science and religion. Rejecting
the scientism of Dawkins and friends, he argues, does not open
the door to fundamentalism. Instead, a variety of complex and
interesting positions are being obscured by the warring factions
whose fight to the death is attracting such intense attention
today. Clayton has drawn on the resources of the sciences, philosophy,
theology, and comparative religious thought to develop constructive
partnerships between these two great cultural powers. As a public
intellectual he seeks to address the burning ethical and political
issues at the intersection of science, ethics, religion, and
spirituality (e.g., the stem cell debate, euthanasia, the environmental
crisis, interreligious warfare). As a philosopher he works to
show the compatibility of science with religious belief across
the fields where the two may be integrated (emergence theory,
evolution and religion, evolutionary psychology, neuroscience
and consciousness). His website is www.clayton.ctr4process.org
- 15 January 2009
Special Lecture
Speaker: Anant Maringanti.
Topic: Development of anti development: Coming to terms
with neoliberal globalization in Hyderabad
Abstract: During the 80s and 90s, while western academia
was caught
in a swirl of debates on development and its eurocentrism, in
the developing world itself, academic and popular debates often
focused on the ways in which the public sphere was gradually being
populated by new actors known as NGOs. These new actors –
agents of development action, posed a challenge to bureaucrats,
politicians and traditional actors like social movements and political
parties. Yet, social scientific literature by and large remained
highly ambivalent about the role played by NGOs. In the first
decade of the 21st century, however, when the term NGO applies
to a bewildering array of institutional entities, normative readings
of NGO action is meaningless except when accompanied by elaborate
qualifications.
Based on a case study of an environmental movement that turned
into an urban housing rights NGO in Hyderabad in the last decade,
and building on critical ethnographies of NGOs and state led
development efforts in India and elsewhere, I chart out some
of the dramatic transformations that have occurred in the terrain
over which 'development' and opposition to its exclusions are
currently articulated. Specifically, I will suggest that the
transnational
circuits through which discourses of development, anti development,
participatory development and citizenship circulate, challenge
us to develop new spatial grammars for conducting effective
civic action and theorize state-society relations.
Dr. Anant Maringanti is currently a postdoctoral fellow at
the National University of Singapore. He holds a PhD in Geography
from the University of Minnesota. His research interests include
globalization, urban development, social movements, transnational
networks and subaltern politics
- 15 January 2009 (Thursday)
Wednesday Talk
Panel Discussion
Speakers: Prof. Narender Pani,
Professor & Dean, School of Social Sciences, NIAS
and Dr. Srinath Raghavan, Associate Fellow,
Intnl. Strategic & Security Studies Program, NIAS
Abstract:
On 20 January 2009, Barack Obama will be sworn in as president
of the United States. Few American presidents have had to confront
an international order as fraught as it is today. An America hit
with recession; a deepening global economic slowdown; crises in
Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan; a shooting war between Israel
and Hamas: these are some of the thorny issues that President
Obama will have to confront the moment he takes office. This panel
discussion will focus on these challenges and the Obama administration's
likely responses. Professor Pani will speak on the economic aspects,
and Dr. Raghavan will focus on foreign policy.
- 28 January 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Dr Carol Upadhya, Fellow, School of Social Sciences
Topic: "Provincial Globalisation: Transnationalism
& Social Transformation in India's Regional Towns"
Abstract:
The talk will outline a new research proposal that is going
to be submitted to WOTRO (a Dutch funding agency) in collaboration
with Mario Rutten of the University of Amsterdam. The purpose
of this talk is to seek inputs from the NIAS community on this
proposal.
The objective of the proposed research programme is to study
the impact of globalisation in smaller urban centres and rural
areas of India, especially in regions with significant international
migration, by focusing on the impact of economic, social and cultural
'backward flows' through transnational networks. The research
programme will investigate the impact of transnationalism and
diaspora involvement on social development in India through intensive
field studies of three regions and their major towns – central
Gujarat (Anand), coastal Andhra Pradesh (Guntur) and coastal Karnataka
(Mangalore). Two overview projects on the economics and geographical
aspects of transnational linkages will complement the comparative
analysis of the regional studies.
- 4 February 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Dr. Neela Bhattacharya Saxena,Associate Professor,
English, Nassau Community College, NY
Topic: "In the Beginning IS Desire: Tracing Kali's
Footprints in Indian Literature"
Chairperson: Prof Sangeetha Menon
Abstract:This is a Gynocentric book, and here I trace India's
history through literature from a Shakta tantric point of view
taking my cue from a Rigvedic creation hymn "Nasadiya Sukta"
from where the title of the book is derived. Kali's footprints
refer to Kali as Kamakhya whom I describe as 'pregnant-nothingness'
as she manifests herself in female desire that thematically connects
the literary texts. I take what I call thought periods in India's
literary and philosophical history, from the Vedic to the postcolonial,
and use literary texts to illuminate that period, to articulate
a literary sense of the Indic world where all contingent realities
vanish in the great dissolution of Kali. The texts represented
in this book are: "The Rigveda 10:129" (Vedic), Chandalika
(Buddhist), Hayavadana (Classical), The Crooked Line (Islamic),
Maitrey Devi's It Does Not Die and Mircea Eliade's Bengal Nights
(Colonial), Gora (Nationalist) and The God of Small Things (Postcolonial).
About the speaker:
Dr. Neela Bhattacharya Saxena is an Associate Professor of
English at Nassau Community College, NY. She teaches English,
American, and South Asian Literature as well as Women's Studies
and multidisciplinary history of ideas courses. Her book In the
Beginning IS Desire: Tracing Kali's Footprints in Indian Literature
was published in 2004 by Indialog, New Delhi . Her recent publications
include, "Gaia Mandala: An Eco-Thealogical Vision of the
Indic Shakti Tradition" in InterCulture, "The Fun House
Mirror of Tantric Studies: A Rejoinder to David White's Kiss of
the Yogini in Evam, and "Color of God: Resplendent Clay of
Hinduism as the Glow of the Ineffable" in Living Our Religions.
Her forthcoming essays include "Gynocentric Thealogy of Tantric
Hinduism: A Meditation upon the Devi" scheduled to appear
in Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theology and "Woman Prodigy,
Poet and Freedom Fighter: Sarojini Naidu, the Nightingale of India"
to appear in Critical Essays on Indian Poetry in English by Rodopi.
She is currently working on her next book tentatively titled,
Absent Mother God of the West.
- 6 February 2009@10 am
Special Lecture
Speakers: Dr Yasuju Shimizu, Archaelogical Institute of
Kashihara, Nara;
Prof Haruhisa Mifune , and Dr Takekazu Nagae, University of Toyama
Topic:Art and Technology of Bronze Casiting in Japan
- 12 February 2009@6 pm
Associates' Programmes - Fourth DST-NIAS Workshop on
Dimensions of Nanotechnology Classical Music Concert by
Sangeet Samrat Chitravina N Ravikiran
Shri Mysore M Nagaraj - Violin
Shri Jayachandra Rao - Mrdangam
Shri Guruprasanna – Kanjira
About the Musician:
Sangeet Samrat Chitravina N Ravikiran: Hailed by Radio national,
Australia as 'perhaps the greatest slide instrumentalist in the
world today', Ravikiran made headlines as the world's youngest
prodigy at the age of two in 1969, identifying and demonstrating
325 ragas, 175 talas and answering numerous other questions. He
presented his first vocal concert at five, first chitravina recital
when he was 12 and set a record with a non-stop show for 24 hours
when he was 18. Ravikiran has toured around the world several
times and performed in numerous international festivals and venues
such as: Autumn Festival, France, Millennium Festival, UK, Brisbane
International Festival, Australia, Esplanade, Singapore, Pablo
Caslo Festival, France, Cal Arts Festival, USA, Harborfront Festival,
Toronto, Canada, House of World Culture, Berlin, Vienna Palace
and Theatre de la Ville, Paris. He has been featured by major
radio and TV networks including CNN, BBC, NPR, ABC and leading
record labels such as Nimbus, Naxos, Waterlily and Music Today.
His awards include the President's Sangeet Natak Akademy Award,
Harvard University Sangeet Award, Houston and Tulsa City Awards,
Music Academy TTK Award, Kumar Gandharva Samman, Sangeeta Choodamani
and Vadya Ratnakara, to name a few.
- 16 February 2009@3.30 pm
Special Lecture
Speaker: Dr. Ashwin Sabapathy
Topic: Environmental Equity in Globalizing Cities of Developing
countries: An examination of work travel patterns and commuting
exposures to air pollution in the 'New Economy' of Bangalore
Abstract:
Since the liberalization of India's economy in 1991, the Information
Technology (IT) sector has created Information-Age industrial
landscapes in a global system of production around the metropolitan
edges of Bangalore. Apart from the impact on urban form, there
are indications that these developments are causing uneven growth
patterns and socio-economic polarization. This study is a comparative
cross sectional analysis of work travel patterns and exposures
to carbon monoxide and particulate matter among and between employees
of two firms representing a traditional manufacturing economy
and the new service oriented IT economy of Bangalore city.
The objectives of the study were to test several hypotheses developed
within an environmental justice framework that commuting patterns
are changing with income disparities brought on by globalizing
economic activities and that this results in lower income groups
of these firms experiencing disproportionate exposures to air
pollutants in relation to their contributions to emissions of
these pollutants. A questionnaire-based survey was administered
among a sample of employees of these two firms to collect data
on commuting. Exposures were measured among a sub-sample using
personal samplers. A hybrid approach of exposure monitoring was
adopted in this study.
The analysis shows significant differences in travel patterns
between employees of the two firms. Regression models show that
there is a significant increase in travel cost for higher income
employees of the multi-national IT firm, even though travel distance
is not influenced by income. The reverse holds true for the traditional
manufacturing firm - higher income significantly increases distance
though income does not affect travel cost. Behavioural choice
models also show that with increasing income IT employees are
more likely to choose two-wheelers and cars for commuting while
employees of the traditional manufacturing firm are more likely
to choose walking and public buses over personalized modes. There
is however, no evidence of lower income employees experiencing
disproportionate commuting exposures in relation to per person
commuting emissions compared to higher income employees. There
is also no evidence of wider disparities among the IT firm compared
to the traditional manufacturing firm. The findings do not support
the environmental justice hypotheses that were laid out in the
objectives.
- 13 February 2009@4.00 pm
Special Lecture
Topic: Image and Web Solutions
Guest Speaker: Mr Lawrie Jordan Director of Imagery Enterprise
Solutions
ESRI, USA
Chairperson: Prof. Rajaram Nagappa
Abstract:
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a framework for understanding
our world and applying geographic knowledge to solve problems
and guide human behavior. GIS based solutions have been used by
governments across the globe to geo-enable their communities.
Right from Municipal Administrators, Infrastructure Managers,
Education and Research Institutions, Election Commissions to Utility
Managers and beyond, usage of GIS based solutions has become a
necessity.
Imaging has been an integral part of GIS. A lot of geospatial
data is generated from Scanned Images, Aerial Photographs and
Satellite Images. The growing reliance on geospatial imagery
makes it increasingly important for users to get the critical
information they need from their imagery. Tools and processes
that help you easily and accurately extract information are
essential, whether you need information for intelligence, scientific
or planning purposes. As the quality of images improved, and
technology gave tools to analyze the images, GIS users now need
imagery applications that do more than analyze—they also
need to manage, process, and serve large volumes of imagery.
ESRI Inc. has been the world's largest GIS products and solutions
company.
About the Speaker:
Lawrie Jordan is the Director of Imagery Enterprise Solutions
for ESRI, as well as Special Assistant to Jack Dangermond, President
of ESRI. In this capacity, he serves as an advocate for successful
applications of all forms of imagery within the GIS enterprise
, including environmental, civil, and defense solutions. Mr.
Jordan has over 30 years of experience as a leader in the field
of image processing and remote sensing, including a long standing
strategic partnership with ESRI. He has been an advisor to numerous
government organizations on current and future trends involving
imagery and satellite programs. His background education is
in Landscape Architecture, with degrees from The University
of Georgia and Harvard University.
- 18 February 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Prof Arindam Chakrabarti
Topic: "Desire, Control and Concealment:(Bhagavadgita
and Nagel on Hypocrisy)"
Chairperson: Prof Sundar Sarukkai
Abstract: Abstract:
Moral life starts with the felt need to control some of one's
desires and to develop others which one does not currently feel.
The Gita apparently asks us to practice desireless performance
of duties. But "self-control" and "desirelessness"
have had a very bad press for quite some time, in post-modern
Euro-America—which, sadly enough, remains the cultural
and intellectual source of all our philosophical and even ethical
ideas. The fear---also anticipated in the Gita—is that
self-control may lead to hypocrisy. Even the Mahabharata warns
us that no one with a body can be free from desire. Even the
desire to be free from desires may turn us into self-deceiving
and self-righteous inauthentic agents. Does n't control start
always with concealment?
This paper is an attempt to formulate and solve the problem
of controlling desires without being hypocritical, in the light
of some insights from the Mahabharata, Immanuel Kant, and more
recent Western philosophers such as Thomas Nagel. The paper
alludes to Harry Frankfurt's analytic work on "Bullshit"
which has been highly influential in developing an early 21st
century ethics of truthfulness and sincerity.
About the Speaker:
Arindam Chakrabarti was trained in contemporary Western Analytic
Philosophy at Calcutta and Oxford University. His doctoral work
on Negative Existential Statements done under Professor Michael
Dummett and Sir Peter Strawson came out, in 1997, as the book
DENYING EXISTENCE from Kluwer Netherlands. He has published
60 papers and three edited volumes in the area of Epistemology,
Metaphysics, Moral Psychology, Philosophy of Language, Indian
and Comparative Philosophy and Philosophy of Mind. In 2005,
he published the first Sanskrit monograph on contemporary Western
Epistemology. Last year he published two books on technical
analytic philosophy and phenomenology in Bengali. He has taught
at Calcutta University, Asiatic Society Calcutta, University
College London, University of Washington Seattle, and Delhi
University. For the last 12 years he has been a Professor of
Philosophy at University of Hawaii, USA. From this January 1,
2009, he has accepted a Professorship at NIAS, trying to gradually
relocate himself in India, in order to work with the Bangalore-based
senior scholar of Indian Logic and Maddhva Vedanta: professor
D. Prahladachar.
- 27 February 2009@6 pm
Associates' Programme
Second NIAS-DST Programme on Energy Security and Management
Hindustani Vocal Music Concert by Ms. Kaushiki Chakraborty Desikan
Ms Kaushiki was blessed with the rare gift of a melodious voice
and extreme musical potential, which was given shape by her Guru,
parents and her unflinching practice and dedication. At Sangeet
Research Academy, her birth place, she grew up amidst the greatest
stalwarts of music. Her mother Smt. Chandana Chakrabarty an accomplished
singer herself, took up the task of training Kaushiki in the initial
stages, thus being her first Guru. Since music was in her genes,
the task of further enhancement of her musical understanding and
knowledge was taken over by her illustrious father Pandit Ajoy
Chakrabarty. Following the age old tradition Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty
took Kaushiki to his mentor and guide, Guru Jnan Prakash Ghosh,
who accepted her as a "Ganda Bandh Shagird" (Formal
Disciple). Kaushiki's exceptional talent was ably groomed under
the magical tutelage of Guru Jnan Prakash Ghosh. It was the influence
of Guru Jnan Prakash Ghosh which instilled in little Kaushiki's
heart that the path to musical excellence was not only technical
brilliance but philosophical realization and devotion.
- 28 February 2009
National Science Day 2009
Speaker: Prof N Kumar
Topic:"A random walk in science" [4pm-5pm]
Speaker: Prof Raghavendra Gadagkar
Topic: "Honey bee dance language" [5pm-6pm]
- 6 March 2009
Public Lecture
Speaker: Professor Tom Angotti
Topic: “Globalized Real Estate and Displacement: New
Spaces for Community Control of Land”
Abstract :
Real estate is one of the last remaining economic sectors to
be globalized, and it has quickened displacement in cities throughout
the world. New and important urban social movements are challenging
real estate’s hegemony in the neoliberal city by developing
their own plans, and one of the leading examples is in New York
City, which boasts of being “The Real Estate Capital of
the World.”
About the Speaker :
Tom Angotti is Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter
College, City University of New York, where he directs the Center
for Community Planning and Development. His recent book is “New
York For Sale: Community Planning Confronts Global Real Estate”
from MIT Press.
- 11 March 2009
Speaker: Dr S S Meenakshisundaram
Topic: “Corruption: An issue more talked about and
less acted upon"
Chairperson: Dr. Narendar Pani
Abstract
The theoretical side of corruption was presented by a research
scholar in one of the Wednesday discussions a few months ago.
Some of the recent literature on corruption was reviewed in
that discussion, besides highlighting a few issues such as changing
understanding of corruption (both in space and time); thinking
on and representation of corruption in the media; economics
of corruption; decentralisation and corruption; etc. My talk
is about the structure that has been built up on that foundation.
On the basis of interesting experiences in Central and State
Governments, I propose in this talk, to explain the practical
side of corruption, the perceptions of the stakeholders including
politicians, bureaucrats and the common man, the methods adopted
by them and also the possible solutions that can be attempted
at different levels.
- 13 March 2009
School of Humanities Lecture Series: Explorations in the Humanities
Speaker: Prof Sundar Sarukkai
Topic: "Science and the Ethics of Curiosity"
Abstract: What does ethics have to do with science? Science
as a specific kind of activity (and discourse) is often seen to
be independent of ethics. In this paper I will consider one essential
catalyst for this distinction. While disinterestedness and other
such characteristics are markers of pure science, they are all
based on a human capacity, the capacity for curiosity. Many influential
narratives on science by scientists describing why they do science
identify the nature of curiosity as a primal characteristic of
the scientific attitude. Curiosity is a special faculty of the
mind. Curiosity is what is common to the child and to the scientist,
leading psychologists and philosophers to find parallels between
a scientist and being a child.This is a position that finds strong
resonance among practicing scientists and contributes to the distance
between ethics and science for children can be excused from ethical
excesses. Science uses the notion of curiosity to build a wall
against ethical criticisms. Therefore, I believe that a proper
ethical foundation for science can be developed only if we first
understand the ethics of curiosity.
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- 18 March 2009
Speaker: Prof Rajaram Nagappa
Topic: “Iran's Safir Launch Vehicle"
Chairperson: Dr Lalitha Sundaresan
Abstract:
Iran successfully orbited its 'Omid' satellite on February 02,
2009 using its indigenously developed launch vehicle Safir. The
event, though modest in terms of the satellite mass and the satellite
mission is significant. Iran is now among the nine countries in
the world to possess satellite launch capability. Iran has achieved
this capability through missile procurement, reverse engineering
technology collaboration and indigenous development efforts. The
background to the Iranian missile development and spin-off to
launch vehicle development is traced. Estimation of the vehicle
dimensions, performance assessment and the need for a third stage
are established. The range of Safir, if used as a missile is outlined.
- 23 March 2009 [2.00 pm-5.00 pm]
Seminar on 'Public Space and Community Planning: Understanding,
Planning and Changing the Neoliberal City' offered to PhD
students
Speaker: Prof.Tom Angotti
Theme:
The latest wave of capitalist globalization has transformed the
way that cities are perceived, developed and governed by hegemonic
institutions. The neoliberal city has been the dominant urban
myth since the 1970s, a concept that promotes the privatization
of public space, outsourcing of public services, branding and
marketing of the city in the global competition for capital, and
the generalized commodification of neighborhoods, ethnicities,
and individuals. The globalized media as well as professional
urban planners play a special role in advancing the myth of the
neoliberal city. Efforts to challenge the myth include attempts
by residents and workers to regain control over urban land and
propose insurgent and alternative myths of the city.
About the Speaker
Prof.Tom Angotti (Department of Urban Affairs & Planning,
Hunter College, CUNY), who is visiting NIAS as a Fulbright Senior
Specialist under the Urban Reseasrch and Policy Programme, will
be offering a half-day seminar for our Ph.D. students (and faculty
if interested). This will be of interest primarily to Social Science
students but is open to others who have an interest in urban issues.
Participants are expected to complete the required readings (which
will be substantial) and some of the optional ones, and come prepared
for discussion. The readings will be at the advanced post-graduate
level. They will be circulated in advance to registered participants.
- 25 March 2009
Speakers: Prof Narendar Pani, Dr Sindhu Radhakrishna and
Mr Kishor Bhat
Topic: “Bengaluru, Bangalore, Bengaluru-Imaginations
and their times"
Abstract: Bengaluru as a city is not known to be particularly
sensitive to its history. There is, for instance, little to commemorate
the two thousand and more Bengalurians who lost their lives in
a single night fighting the British in March 1791. Attempts to
develop a greater consciousness of the city’s history have
to deal with the temptation to impose current preferences on the
past. The history drawn up by those who favour, say, Tipu Sultan
is quite different from that of those who do not. In order to
overcome this tyranny of the choice of historical facts we take
recourse to some of the ideas of the eighteenth century Italian
thinker Giambattista Vico. Instead of imposing our views on the
past we need to try to enter the minds of those who participated
in the events that changed Bengaluru. This can be done by taking
a closer look at documents that capture how participants in those
events imagined their actions and the world around them. In a
forthcoming book the speakers have presented, in context, documents
that capture the transformation of Bengaluru of the eighteenth
century to Bangalore of the next two hundred years and then to
Bengaluru of the twenty-first century. In this presentation of
a selection of those documents the speakers will provide glimpses
into this transformation.
- 1 April 2009
Speaker: Prof Malavika Kapur
Topic: "Visual Media and violence among children "
Abstract:
Television and related media technologies have been received
by developing and developed nations alike as Manna from the heaven.
But have we examined the impact on children? Most of the research
has fallen by the wayside particularly if they are critical in
nature. The presentation is not reviews of all the research but
few findings are highlighted in the context of children in India.
Behavioural, psychodynamic and developmental issues in the context
of normal child development are dealt with albeit briefly. The
question to be answered by all of us is whether there is a need
for us to sit up, take notice and act. If, yes, how do we go about
it? The toxic effects are more subtle, hence far more dangerous
compared to the use of tobacco and the battle similar to the ongoing
one between health concerns and industry lobbies.
About the speaker:
Prof. Malavika Kapur is an Honorary Professor at the NIAS,
Bangalore. Earlier she was the Professor and Head of the Dept.
of Clinical Psychology at the NIMHANS, Bangalore. She has a Ph.D.
in Clinical Psychology from Bangalore University and has eight
books and over 100 publications to her credit. She is a Fellow
of the Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists and the Indian
Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health and the British
psychological Society. Recently she has been honoured by the National
Academy of Psychology with the honorary fellowship and life time
achievement award. She has been a consultant for organizations
such as the WHO, UGC, NCERT, NIPCCD, ICMR and ICSSR. She has been
twice awarded the scholar in residency at the Study and Conference
centre, at Bellagio in Italy, by the Rockefeller Foundation.
- 8 April 2009
Speaker: Prof P G Vaidya
Topic: Some New Ideas for Teaching of Mathematics
Chairperson: Dr M G Narasimhan
Abstract:
In this talk, I would like to discuss some simple practical
ideas which I have tried while teaching mathematics to students
ranging from Elementary to Post graduate studies. . The ideas
are inspired by some advanced concepts in category theory, differential
geometry etc. However, for using these ideas, a knowledge of
these concepts is unnecessary. One highlight of these lectures
will describe my talk to biomedical researchers at Virgina Polytechnic
and State University teaching them Differential Equations and
Dynamical Systems without using calculus.
- 21 April 2009
Public Lecture
Speaker: Prof. Crispin Bates
Title: “An Uneasy Commemoration:1957, the British in
India and the 'Sepoy Mutiny'”
Abstract :
The 150th anniversary of the Indian Uprising of 1857 has inspired
a flurry of new books and commemorative events. A far greater
significance, however, was accorded to the 100thanniversary
in 1957. Coming, as it did, so soon after independence, feelings
ran high. In India, the anniversary was another opportunity
to celebrate the achievement of independence and the Ministry
of Information and Broadcasting published the first official
and explicitly nationalist interpretation of events, Surendranath
Sen's Eighteen fifty-seven. For British diplomatic representatives
in India, by contrast, the anniversary was a cause of considerable
anxiety. Their concerns were manifold: the welfare of the still-substantial
British community in the country, the preservation of British
memorials, and the likely impact of the commemoration on modern
Indian attitudes to British governance, and international politics
more generally. Above all, there was a concern that the British
diplomatic 'coup' achieved in 1947 should not be undone by any
over-emphasis of earlier armed conflicts between Britain and
India. In the months leading up to the anniversary, Foreign
and Commonwealth Relations office correspondence reveals a determined
effort to manage sub-continental politicians and the reporting
of the anniversary celebrations and to sustain a preferred British
official interpretation of historical events. This paper draws
upon a file of recently released correspondence in the National
Archives Kew to provide an insight into the working of diplomatic
relations between London and newly independent nations of the
Indian subcontinent, as well as the role played by British officialdom
in the fashioning of contemporary understandings of the Freedom
Struggle in India. The synergy between the interests of the
British and Indian governments will also be explored along with
the parallels to be seen between acts of commemoration in 1957
and 2007-08.
About the Speaker :
Crispin Bates is a graduate of Sidney Sussex College Cambridge,
where he also completed his PhD on the social and economic history
of colonial central India. He was first appointed to a lectureship
in modern South Asian History at Edinburgh University in 1989.
Previously, he held a Research Fellowship at Churchill College,
Cambridge. He has also been a visiting Professor at the Ecole
des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris (1992) and a
JSPS Research Fellow at the Institute for Oriental Culture,
University of Tokyo (2002-3). He is Director of Edinburgh University's
Centre for South Asian Studies and is currently a member of
the modern and medieval history research panel of the UK Arts
& Humanities Research Council.
- 22 April 2009
Speaker: Prof K Ramachandra
Topic: “Square-free Numbers & Generalizations"
Chairperson: Prof P G Vaidya
Abstract: It is a non technical lecture which is educative.
Square-free numbers are those numbers which are not divisible
by squares for example 12 divisible by 4 which is the square and
therefore 12 is not square-free. Similarly, 54 is not square-free.
28 is not square-free because it is divisible by 4. 361 and twice
that number are both are not square-free because they are divisible
by squares. It is easy to list some more square-free numbers.
We ask how many square-free numbers are there below x. It is not
difficult to prove that it is approximately 6x / pi^2. There are
many more problems: what is the bound for the error, what are
the oscillations of the error.
Similarly we can define k-free numbers where ‘k’
is a positive integer. We will discuss some educative information
about these things.
- 27 April 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Prof D P Sen Gupta
Topic: Remembering Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose
Abstract: The proposed talk by Professor D.P. Sen Gupta,
opens with a multi-media presentation on the Life and Time of
J.C. Bose, a sort of a documentary, prepared for the Bangalore
Association for Science Education on his 150th birth anniversary,
presently on show at the Planetarium. This is to be followed by
a more detailed discussion on J.C.Bose, the time in which he grew
up and how he established himself as a scientist.
Sir J.C. Bose invented microwaves and was the first person
to introduce solid state diodes. He was also a Plant electro-
physiologist who showed for the first time that plants have
a nervous system of their own and respond to pain. He was marginalized
by many scientists in the west but his belated recognition goes
to show that he was years ahead of his time both in physics
and in plant electro-physiology.
- 6 May 2009
Speaker: Prof S Settar
Topic: “SANGAM TAMILAGAM"
Abstract:
Prof. Settar published a book, titled “SANGAM TAMILAGAM-and
Kannada Land and Language” in Kannada, 15 months ago. It
examines early Dravidian relations. In the last 15 months, it
has received wide attention and citations and has run into 4th
edition; it has been recognized with 4 prestigious awards. It
has provided a core theme for a dialogue in about half-a-dozen
seminars and workshops across Karnataka. Its Tamil and English
editions are now in the press. The critiques believe that this
book has received unprecedented attention in recent decades. The
views and reviews provided on this work have resulted in a separate
volume which is expected to be released shortly (about 200 pages).
On 7th May, the day after this talk, the author is going to be
honoured with a national award called “Bhasha Samman”
by the Central Sahitya Academy, New Delhi.
What is ‘Sangam Tamilagam’ and why so much of curiosity
on this work? Outlining this work, Professor Settar would like
to share his thoughts with the NIAS family and answer questions.
- 13 May 2009
Speaker: Dr. Malati Das
Topic: “The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
in Karnataka and Human Development Indicators”
Chairperson: Prof Narendar Pani
Abstract:
Are the Scheduled Castes and Tribes the neo elites of contemporary
India? In its Human Development Report 2005, Karnataka did something
no other HDR has done: computed the Human Development Index (HDI)
and Gender related Development Index (GDI) for the Scheduled Castes
and Tribes in the state. What is the reality? With reservation
in education, jobs and elected bodies together with earmarking
of plan fund resources, are the Scheduled Castes and Tribes ahead
of many other socially disadvantaged groups? The HDR looks at
the socio-economic condition of SCs and STs with reference to
sectors such as education, health care, income, and housing to
answer this question.
The KHDR 2005 has many eminent contributors such as Dr. Gita
Sen, Dr M. Govind Rao, Dr. Abdul Aziz, Dr. M.H. Suryanarayana,
Dr. H. Sudarshan, and Aloysius Fernandes to name a few.
Malati Das will make a brief presentation on these issues.
- 20 May 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Dr B K Anitha, Fellow, School of Social Sciences
Topic: "Comparative Study of Higher Educational Institutions
in India”
Chairperson: Dr Carol Upadhya, Fellow, School of Social
Sciences
Abstract: There is a rapid and continuous transformation of the
higher education sector. Managing and change has been the central
theme of the direction in which National and international higher
education systems are moving as we surge through the 21st century.
This calls for recognition of challenges faced in this changed
scenario, prioritizing the issues and innovating ways for handling
each. While several developed countries have forged ahead in the
process of not only managing but actively contribution to the
process of change by shaping change in ways that will impact national
development, the emphasis on the quality dimension of education
cannot be undermined. Over the decades, Indian higher education
has been preoccupied with issues related to equity, which is extremely
important but has given a secondary status to quality.
Research studies in the area of higher education in India has
been by and large sectoral and have focused on enrolments, outcomes
and to some extent economic aspects in relation to plan outlays,
expenditure and the overall growth of the sector. Further, studies
in the area of higher education have indicated the problems
related to curriculum reforms, poor student performances, assessment
inadequacies, lack of quality faculty and the overall poor quality
of education at this level. However, there seems to be a lack
of a comprehensive understanding of the overall system.
Understanding quality awareness, quality assurance and quality
delivery process at institutions of higher education in India
requires the much needed attention. The comparative study of
higher education institutions in India is an attempt in that
direction. The conceptual framework of this study places quality
central to the discussion of higher education with the understanding
that a genuine discussion on quality is intrinsically linked
with equity, accountability and autonomy
- 27 May 2009
Speaker: Mr Kishor Bhat
Topic: An introduction to trigonometry (a New Outlook)
Abstract: Srinivasa Ramanujan, the legendary mathematician,
when he was studying in 10th standard (possibly earlier) rediscovered
the Taylor Series expansion of the sine and cosine formulae. When
he discovered that his result was already centuries old, he discarded
it. This talk is composed of fragments of a monograph that was
written by K. Ramachandra, P. G. Vaidya and myself, where we attempted
to trace out this proof.
About the speaker:
The speaker is a doctoral scholar at NIAS. His doctoral
work is in the area of mathematics and mathematical modelling,
and is taken under the guidance of K. Ramachandra and P. G.
Vaidya. His research specializations include number theory,
chaos theory and pressing buttons.
- 3 June 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Prof. S. Shankar, Professor, Department of English,
Director, Center for South Asian Studies, University of Hawaii
at Manoa
Topic: “Caste and the Difference It Makes: Postcolonialism
and the Vernacular”
Chairperson: Prof. Arindam Chakrabarti
Abstract: This talk explores the place of caste within
theories of the postcolonial. It reviews the relative absence
of caste in theorizations of the postcolonial and speculates about
the reasons. Reviewing recent scholarship, it suggests the need
to pursue the exploration of caste in two directions—the
transnational and the vernacular. Each direction provides opportunities
and challenges for critical reflection. In the course of the argument,
the talk touches on the report on caste of Human Rights Watch,
on critical perspectives on Dalit literature, and on R. K. Narayan’s
novel The Guide. Through this variety of textual material, the
talk suggests the multiple sites for contestation and reflection
on caste.
About the speaker:
S. Shankar is author, editor or translator of six books.
His second novel No End to the Journey (Steerforth) was published
in 2005 and appeared in Spanish in April 2009. His volume of
criticism Textual Traffic: Colonialism, Modernity, and the Economy
of the Text (SUNY Press) was published in 2001, the same year
that his translation into English of Komal Swaminathan’s
Tamil play Thaneer, Thaneer appeared. He is co-editor of the
anthology Crossing into America: The New Literature of Immigration
(New Press, 2003; paperback, 2005), selected as the common text
for the Freshman Salon program at Seattle University for 2008-2009.
He is Professor of English and Director of the Center for South
Asian Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. He
is currently at work on a volume of criticism entitled Flesh
And Fish Blood:Postcolonialism, Translation, And The Vernacular
for University of California Press; and a novel about love and
life across caste divides with the working title DEMONS AND
LOVERS.
- 9 June 2009@10 am
NIAS LITERARY, ARTS AND HERITAGE FORUM
Speaker: Prof. Mayank Vahia, Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research, Mumbai
Topic: “Indus People and their script'”
Chairperson: Prof B V Sreekantan
Abstract: Indus Valley Civilisation was the first truly
urban civilisation with several cities with population of 20,000
people or more at its peak. It flourished in the Western part
of the Indian Subcontinent from around 7000 BC to 1900 BC with
a peak period of 2500 BC to 1900 BC when it went into a decline.
The hallmark of this civilisation is the miniature seals on which
they produced truly magnificent art work and wrote in small cryptic
notes. Their writing has been enigmatic and since their first
discovery some 130 years ago, it is still not clear if it is linguistic
writing or not. Our recent work has shown that not only is the
writing similar to linguistic writing but detailed structure of
writing can be clearly seen. We will discuss the issue of Indus
writing in the context of the Civilisation and our recent work.
About the speaker
Prof. Mayank Vahia is an astronomer at the Tata Institute
of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. After having spent 3 decades
in space astronomy instrumentation, his recent interests in
growth of astronomy in India has taken him to study various
aspects of India's history and prehistory with special emphasis
on astronomy and intellectual growth of the Indian civilisation.
- 10 June 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Prof. Roopen Majithia, Associate Professor and
Head, Department of Philosophy, Mount Allison University, Sackville,
New Brunswick
Topic: “Reflections on the Moral Philosophy of Aristotle
and its Relation to Some Aspects of Contemporary Western Thought
and Traditional Indian Philosophy”
Chairperson: Prof. Arindam Chakrabarti, Professor, School
of Humanities, NIAS
Abstract:The vaunted flexibility of Aristotle’s virtue
ethics comes at too steep a price, or so some critics say; for
on his view there seems to be no way in which to adjudicate disagreements
in value that are bound to arise in the moral life of a community.
There has been a tendency in modern times to think that the arbiter
of such disagreements should be an impersonal rule or law, whereas
it seems for Aristotle that the final authority on right action
is the good person. I will attempt to show that Aristotle thinks
there is a place for principles and rules in the moral realm,
even in a virtue-centric ethic. My argument is concerned to show
that a purely character-based ethic neglects the external, social
evaluation of actions important not only to Aristotle, but to
any ethical theory. On the other hand, a purely rule-driven ethic
is faced with the danger of neglecting internal considerations
of motive central to the agent’s own assessment of the moral
worth of her action. Ultimately, though, Aristotle’s ethics
shows that there is a cost associated with rule-bound universalist
theories that we may not be willing to pay. Finally, there is
something to the intuition that good people are not rule-bound
for Aristotle and I will suggest how this might be so, and attempt
to suggest some connections to Indian philosophy.
About the speaker:
Roopen Majithia completed his schooling in Bangalore and
his higher education in the US and Canada. He holds a PhD in
Philosophy from the University of Guelph and is currently the
Head of Philosophy at Mount Allison University in Canada, where
he teaches widely in the History of Western Philosophy and Indian
Philosophy as well as in Ethics. He has written and published
on Plato, Aristotle and Shankara.
- 17 June 2009
Speaker: Ms Anjali Vaidya
Topic: “Creativity, the Brain, and the Mind”
Chairperson: Mr Kishor Bhat
Abstract: This presentation will be a brief overview of
the research I did for my senior thesis on the neurological basis
of creativity, for my B.A. at Bryn Mawr College in 2007. My research
covered such topics as how we are mentally capable of originality,
the link between creative processes and chaos, the correlation
between creativity and mental illness, and the social construction
of creativity.
About the speaker:
Anjali Vaidya, currently working in Bangalore as a web designer
and writer, has received her B.A. in neurobiology from Bryn
Mawr College in December 2007.
- 24 June 2009
Speaker: Dr. B S Shylaja, Senior Scientific Officer, Bangalore
Association for Science Education (BASE), Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium
Topic:“Astronomical aspects in temple architecture”
Chairperson: Prof. S. Settar, S. Radhakrishnan Visiting
Professor, School of Humanities, NIAS
About the speaker:
Anjali Vaidya, currently working in Bangalore as a web designer
and writer, has received her B.A. in neurobiology from Bryn Mawr
College in December 2007.
Abstract:India has a long tradition of temples and their
role in the development of culture, tradition and social structure
have been well established. Very little attention is paid towards
the study of temples as portals of science. Many have astronomical
ideas incorporated into their architectural design, which needs
to be re-established. Here is a report of such study limited to
a smaller number of temples, which show that the fundamental duty
of time keeping was achieved in the basic design itself. Some
cave temples appear to be specially designed or selected for carrying
out observations as deduced from field studies. It is interesting
to note that temples maintained standards of linear and area measurements
apart from time keeping.
About the speaker:
Dr B S Shylaja is the Senior Scientific Officer at the Bangalore
Association for Science Education, which administers the Jawaharlal
Nehru Planetarium, Bangalore. She observed the binary Wolf–Rayet
stars for her thesis from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics,
Bangalore. Other topics of her interest include chemically peculiar
stars, dwarf novae, asteroids and comets. She has been studying
the history of astronomy as inferred from stone inscriptions,
manuscripts and temple architecture.
- 1 July 2009
Speaker: Dr M G Narasimhan
Topic: There is grandeur in this view of life: Reflections
on Darwin's work and his worldview
Chairperson: Dr Sindhu Radhakrishna
Abstract: In this talk I will briefly deal with the contributions
made by Charles Darwin to Biology and the kind of worldview that
emerged on the basis of it.
- 7 July 2009@3.30pm
Public Lecture
RBI Programme on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Economic Issues
Speaker: Prof Abhijit Banerjee speaks on
Topic: “Economic lives of the poor”
Abstract: Prof Abhijit Banerjee is the Ford Foundation
International Professor of Economics and Director, Abdul Latif
Jameel Poverty Action Lab at MIT. His fields of interest include
economic development, information theory, and the theory of income
distribution. He is the author of Making Aid Work, in addition
to other books and several important articles. Educated at Harvard
University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of
Calcutta, Prof Bannerjee has won several honors, including the
Michael Wallerstein Award in 2006. He has also been invited to
deliver the Albert Hirschman Lecture in 2007, the D. Gale Johnson
Lecture, University of Chicago in 2006, and the Kuznets Lecture,
Yale University, in 2004.
- 8 July 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Prof Narendar Pani
Topic: Globalisation and Governance in Indian cities: Towards
a conceptual framework
Chairperson: Prof Dilip Ahuja
Abstract: One of the few issues concerning Indian cities
on which there is near unanimity is the existence of a crisis
of governance. This has contributed to a very energetic debate
on the appropriate institutions for governing cities, such as
the desirability of a directly elected mayor. The debate has not
however extended, with the same intensity, into the factors that
make Indian cities so difficult to govern. And globalization is
one such complicating factor. For some, an instinctive distrust
of globalization is enough to see it as a villain in governance.
But the precise process through which this happens has not received
adequate attention. The rapidly growing literature on cities in
a global context does not always help either. Being more concerned
with the command and control centres of globalization in the developed
world, it does not fully explain the variety of opportunities
and pressures on Indian cities that this process generates.
In this talk an effort will be made to present some preliminary
work on an alternative framework to understand a few of the
major processes involved in the relationship between globalization
and Indian cities. It will then go on to identify some of the
challenges these processes throw up for governance.
- 22 July 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Dr. Rajesh Kasturirangan
Topic: “Cognitive Semiotics: Explorations in Conceptual
Structure”
Chairperson: Dr. Srinath Raghavan
Abstract: Semiotics is the study of symbols and signs.
Cognitive Science is the study of the cognitive aspects of the
mind. In this talk, I will present some of my ideas about how
these two disciplines can be combined. In particular, I want to
show that some of the traditional concerns of semiotics can be
generalised when one realises that semiotics and inter-semioticity
are part of the larger cognitive structure of the mind, with interfaces
playing an important role. I will illustrate my arguments with
evidence from conceptual structures of two kinds: common-sense
structures (metaphors, prepositions, daily life beliefs) as well
as uncommon-sense (mathematics, religion).
- 24 July 2009
Public Lecture
Speaker: Dr. Vikramaditya Prakash
Topic: Modernism Unbound?: Chandigarh in the Age of Globalization
Abstract: As we build India's cities to take their rightful
place in the global network of world cities, must we envisage
them to be just like Singapore or LA, or will they require the
invention of a new, indigenous paradigm to ensure success??
Architect and historian, Dr. Vikramaditya Prakash will discuss
the issues confronting Chandigarh today as its administration
tries to ‘upgrade’ it to make it a player in the global
economy. Focusing on issues of conservation, sustainability,
and the ethics of practice, Dr. Prakash will present the recent
work of the University of Washington's ‘Chandigarh Urban
Lab’ project in terms of the larger question of the future
of India's cities.
- 29 July 2009
Speaker: Dr. Arun Sripati
Topic:“Seeing Locally, Perceiving Globally: How the
Brain Accomplishes Perception”
Abstract: A remarkable series of events occur entirely
behind our awareness each time we look at something: what we see
(the pixel-like information from our eyes) is transformed by the
brain into what we perceive (objects with perceptual qualities).
This transformation is rather remarkable because we still cannot
make computers recognize objects in even the simplest of tasks.
How does the brain accomplish perception? What is the representation
of objects that underlies perception?
In my talk, I will describe two complementary approaches that
can be used to understand perception and its representational
basis. First, we can characterize perception in humans using
simple tasks that require manual responses. Second, we can understand
perception at the level of neurons by comparing human behavior
to the activity of single neurons in monkeys, whose visual systems
are similar to ours. I will describe experiments that shed light
on the computational and neuronal basis of common perceptual
phenomena in humans. I will conclude by outlining the research
I have envisioned to understand perception and about the collaborations
that will ultimately help in achieving a comprehensive account.
About the Speaker
Dr. Arun Sripati has a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from
IIT Bombay, and a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from
Johns Hopkins University. He is currently a Post Doctoral fellow
at the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition at Carnegie Mellon
University.
-
4 August 2009@6.00 pm
NIAS Literary, Arts and Heritage Forum
Carnatic Vocal Recital by Ms. Girija Ravishankar
Violin – Vidwan Mathur Srinidhi
Mridangam – Vidwan B S Prashant
About the Artist:
Girija Ravishankar was initiated to the field of Carnatic music
by her mother Smt. Sharada Ravishankar, at the age of four.
After training from her for six years, Girija went on to learn
from Dr. R N Sreelatha, Professor and head, Department of Music,
University of Mysore. Girija Ravishankar was under her guidance
for about ten years and at present she is under the tutelage
of Vidwan R N Thyagarajan (elder brother of the Rudrapatnam
brothers).
Right from school, Girija took part in music contests - few
of them in state and national levels and won many prizes. She
passed the junior, senior and proficiency exams in vocal music
with distinction. She has performed in various Sangeeta Sabhas
in Karnataka. The most recent concerts were in Ganabharathi,
Mysore, Choksi Hall, IISc, Bangalore, Nadabramha Sangeeta Sabha,
Mysore, Sruthimanjari Foundation, Mysore, Ragadhana, Udupi,
Shankara Matt, Bangalore, Sanketi Sangeeta Sabha, Hosahalli
and Mathur, Karnataka.
She received two state awards for music in 2007. Apart from
vocal music, Girija is trained in two schools of Carnatic Classical
violin. She picked up the basics from Dr M A Jyothi and later
learnt from Vidwan H K Narasimhamurthy, Mysore. She is also
learning Piano (Western Classical). She has learnt Bharatanatyam
for a few years. After completion of her bachelors in Electrical
Engineering, she is at present involved in a project in CSA,
IISc.
Awards and Recognition
Yuva Pratibha Puraskar -2007 from Department of Kannada and
Culture; Yuvasiri -2007 from Kalapratistana, Gadag; First prize
in State level Ranjan Harvey Memorial Raga Tana Pallavi Contest
–2008; First prize in the State Level Classical Vocal contest
organized by Sanketi Sangha, Hosahalli
Other Related Areas of Interest
Music Cognition, Music and Mathematics, Western Music, Indian
Philosophy
- 5 August 2009
Speaker: Dr. Jamie Cross
Topic: “Neoliberalism as Un-Exceptional : Economic
Zones & the Everyday Precariousness of Working Life in South
India”
Abstract:
India's special economic zones (SEZs) would appear to exemplify
what the anthropologist Aihwa Ong has called the ‘neoliberal
exception’. In her formulation, economic zones are market
oriented spaces that deviate from a normal landscape of rule in
ways calculated to create new economic possibilities, spaces and
technologies for governing populations, and which fragment or
suspend the rights and entitlements of labourers.
-
Drawing on fieldwork inside and around one SEZ in coastal Andhra
Pradesh I develop an ethnographic and theoretical critique of
this argument. Rather than valorize India's SEZs as a manifestations
of a 'neoliberal exception’ I argue that these spaces are
distinctly unexceptional spaces that demand to be understood
in terms of their structural continuities and dynamic interconnections
with what continues to be called the ‘informal economy’.
Firstly, because political and economic regimes inside the zone
formalize a condition of 'precariousness' that already characterizes
much of working life outside it. And secondly, because the creation
of value in this offshore economy depends upon the incorporation
of social networks and informal livelihoods that extend beyond
its boundaries.
About the speaker:
Dr. Jamie Cross is a social anthropologist whose current research
project explores the cultural politics of global production
networks and large-scale infrastructure development in India.
He is the Royal Anthropological Association's 2008-09 Leach
Post-doctoral Fellow at the National University of Ireland and
a visiting scholar at the National Institute of Advanced Studies.
- 12 August 2009 (Wednesday Talk)
(as a part of NIAS-DST Training Programme on Multidisciplinary
Perspectives on Science & Technology)
Speaker: Prof. G. Padmanaban
Topic: “Growth of Bio-Technology in India”
Abstract: Prof. G Padmanaban, is an honorary professor
and first distinguished biotechnologist of IISc and an emeritus
scientist. He has made significant contributions in the area of
transcriptional regulation of malarial drug metabolizing genes
in liver, mechanism of chloroquine action and its resistance in
the parasite, new drug targets for malaria etc. A recipient of
numerous awards and honors including the SS Bhatnagar award, BR
Ambedkar Award, Ranbaxy Award, he was awarded the Padma Shri in
1991 & Padma Bhushan in 2004. He was also the chairman and
member of several research committees of DBT, CSIR, DST and ICMR
and in the editorial board of many scientific journals like Current
Science, Journal of Biosciences, Proceedings of National Academy
of Science-India, etc. Prof. Padmanaban is a fellow of all Science
Academies in India, and 3rd World Academy of Science and has chaired
the UNESCO Biotechnology (2000) session. As director IISc, he
had promoted academia-industry interaction, especially in modern
vaccines.
- 19 August 2009 (Wednesday Talk)
(as a part of NIAS-DST Training Programme on Multidisciplinary
Perspectives on Science & Technology)
Speaker: Prof G Srinivasan
Topic: Space science
Abstract: Professor G. Srinivasan did his M.Sc. from the
University of Madras and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
His Field of Specialization is Condensed Matter Physics and Astrophysics.
He worked as a research scientist at IBM Research Laboratory,
Zurich; Chalmers University of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden; Cavendish
Laboratory, University of Cambridge; and Raman Research Institute.
He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences. He also served
on its Council as the Secretary, Editor of Publications and Treasurer.
He held important positions like President, Astronomical Society
of India and President, Division on Space and High Energy Astrophysics,
International Astronomical Union. After retiring from the Raman
Research Institute he is currently Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow, Visiting
Professor, ISRO & Fellow, Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai.
- 26 August 2009
A Discussion Meet on Swine flu in Bangalore- Lessons Learnt and
Preparedness More
- 31 August 2009
Public Lecture
Speaker: Rajyashree Reddy
Topic: “Producing Abject Citizens: The Politics of
Toxic Waste Management in Bangalore”
Abstract: Bangalore extolled as India’s ‘Silicon
Valley,’ generates nearly 6,000-8,000 tons of toxic electronic
waste annually. The bulk of this waste is generated by the hi-tech
information technology (IT) firms of Bangalore but it is processed
with few or no safety precautions by petty recyclers and scrap
dealers drawn from the city’s marginalized communities. In
this paper, based on ethnographic data, I highlight the contribution
of these anonymous actors to Bangalore’s IT economy and demonstrate
how their underpaid labors subsidize the environmental costs of
Bangalore’s IT boom. In the second section, I highlight recent
efforts made by transnational development agencies to streamline
Bangalore’s waste disposal practices. I argue that the survival
niche of informal recyclers —living off the commodity detritus
of electronic capitalism—is under assault by the modernizing
agenda & the techno-environmental priorities of transnational
development agencies. In the concluding section, I draw upon anthropologist,
James Ferguson’s elaboration of abjection to make sense of
informal recyclers’ experience of loss and their fraught
negotiations with transnational development agencies. I show that
the modern waste management system that is envisioned for Bangalore
effectively casts off the city’s informal recyclers from
having a substantial role in the city’s new waste collection
and disposal system even as it promises to integrate them and
thus makes them abject citizens.
About the Speaker :
Rajyashree Reddy is a doctoral candidate in the Department
of Geography at the University of Minnesota. She is a MacArthur/ICGC
fellow at the University and is the recipient of research grants
from the interdisciplinary MacArthur program, Consortium on
Law, Value and Ethics in Environment and the Graduate School.
She holds a MA in Economics from the Central University of Hyderabad
and a Masters of Environmental Science from Yale University.
- 2 September 2009
Speaker: Prof A R Vasavi
Topic: "Four Emblematic Figures and the making of
a ‘New India’ ”
Abstract: In the promotion and making of the neo-liberal
economy and its attendant cultures, the agriculturist, the IT
professional, the school teacher, and the child represent sharply
varied worlds. Even as agriculture and rural India, once considered
the repository of Indian culture and civilization, face sharp
erosion, the IT industry and its professionals have gained centre-stage
in the narratives of the ‘new, globalizing India’. Subject
to and representing the new bearers and transmitters of nationalism,
development and modernity, teachers occupy ambiguous positions
where their agency is both recognized and eroded. And, even as
elementary education is promoted to envelop and ‘nationalize’
children, reports indicate the increasing vulnerability of a large
proportion of children.
These sutured realities of the ‘new India’ have implications
for the ways and strategies through which the lives, rights, citizenship,
identities, and institutions of a range of people are being reformulated.
The results are the new boundaries, affiliations and orientations
which are being forged between different groups of people and
between them and the nation state. The narratives related to these
emblematic figures contain and represent a social and cultural
biography of globalizing India in the new millennium.
-
9 September 2009
Speakers: Dr Sharada Srinivasan and Prof. Alessandra
Giumlia-Mair, Italy
Topic: “Large bronze castings in southern India
and Europe: Some comparative insights”
Chairperson: Prof S Ranganathan
Abstract: The technology of making large bronze statuary
castings is one that seems to have flourished, though perhaps
at different historical times, in the two distinct geographical
regions of Europe and India and especially in southern India
with continuing traditions. Comparative insights are explored;
through the screening of a short DVD on Swamimalai bronze casting
made in collaboration between Sharada Srinivasan and Peter Vemming,
Medieval Centre, Denmark and through discussions and conversations
with Prof. Alessandra Giulia-Mair of Italy who will make a brief
illustrated presentation drawn from her expertise on Etruscan,
Roman and other Mediterranean bronze traditions. The two speakers
are also international advisory committee members for the international
conference of Beginning of Use of Metals and Alloys, Sept. 13-18,
2009 (BUMA-VII) being held at NIAS, Bangalore.
About the Speakers:
Dr. Sharada Srinivasan is an Associate Professor in the School
of Humanities, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.
Dr. Alessandra Giumlia-Mair has a doctorate in Archaeology
from University Alma Mater Rudolphina in Vienna and MA in Archaeometallurgy
from University of London and has been Professor by contract
at Universities of Salzburg, Vienna and Udine and Trieste, Italy
and has worked on a wide range of prestigious international
projects including with British Museum, London, Royal Ontario
Museum, Agyptische Sammlung in Munich, Germanisches Museum,
Cologne and in eastern Europe including at Ljubljana and Transylvania.
She has founded the laboratory AGM Acheoanalisi specializing
in archaeological and scientific collaboration with universities,
museums and public institutions
- 14 September 2009@ 7.00 pm
BUMA-VII
Dance Programme: Natyapriya's Navarasa Gejje' More
- 16 September 2009
Public Lecture
Speaker: Nanditha Krishna, Director, C P Ramaswamy Aiyar
Foundation , Chennai
Topic: South Indian Jewellery
Abstract:
Jewellery has formed an important and continuous part of adornment
in India. From the earliest archaeological sites till today, there
is a wealth of variety in oramentation. It was also a means of
saving and providing property to daughters. We know what were
the jewels worn in the past from descriptions in early Tamil Sangam
literature, and find that not much has changed. The motifs and
designs were derived from nature - from simple leaves to mangoes,
flowers and even entire plants, mountains and temple gopuras.
The jewellers were inspired by the world around them, and decorated
the ornaments with uncut stones, particularly rubies and diamonds.
Each part of a woman’s body was adorned by a jewel with a
specific name and design Although the number of items worn by
men was less – women literally wore jewellery from head to
toe – they were notable for their sheer brilliance, the superior
quality of workmanship and their variety. The most wonderful pieces
were those gifted to the temple deities, identical to those that
the donors wore. Today, with the phasing out of elaborate jewellery,
especially in urban areas, these every-day ornaments are categorized
as “temple jewellery.” The discovery of Indian jewellery
is an exotic adventure, one in which both the maker and the wearer
revelled. There are few traditional achari (jeweller) families
left who still make the traditional designs. Many items have disappeared
with the passage of time and the passing away of rich traditional
clients who believed in continuing traditions.
About the Speaker:
Nanditha Krishna is a Ph. D. in Ancient Indian Culture from
the University of Bombay. She is the Director of the C.P. Ramaswami
Aiyar Foundation and its many institutions, including the C.P.R.
Environmental Education Centre. She is a cultural historian,
environmentalist and a prolific writer on both history and the
environment. Apart from several papers in reviewed journals
and popular articles, she is the author of The Book of Demons
and The Book of Vishnu; Balaji-Venkateshwara and Ganesha; Arts
and Crafts of Tamilnadu; Painted Manuscripts of the Sarasvati
Mahal Library; Art and Iconography of Vishnu-Narayana and Madras-Chennai:
Its History and Environment. She has won several national and
international awards.
- 23 September 2009
Speaker: Dr. Solomon Benjamin, Associate Professor, School
of Social Sciences, NIAS
Topic: “Reflections on work in progress: "‘Subaltern’
Globalism to think beyond ‘The Designed City’ ”
Chairperson: Dr Carol Upadhya
Abstract: Does an ethnography of land development allow
one to conceptualize economy and politics in Indian metros and
towns (and Chinese small towns) in ways that move beyond the confines
of ‘place’ and explore more fluid, even if uncertain,
spaces? I explore parallels and connections between Indian and
Chinese urbanisms. These terrains, much of which built around
de-facto and complex land tenures, seem to make possible a small
firm based manufacturing and trade economy. These are times when
small traders bridge Indian and Chinese urbanism, traveling economy
class with suitcases full of samples, contributing to an enlarging
realm of ‘subaltern’ global processes: Globalization
is not only large MNC firms operating within an un-contested and
homogenous market. The political implications are significant:
Popular political consciousness emerges from local groups ‘working’
the administrative system around land issues. This politics pushes
local administrations to pressure higher-level political, economic,
and administrative systems to be more responsive to local needs
but contest big business. In the Chinese case, MNCs feel threatened
enough to depose to the US Senate committees against such ‘local
protectionism’ and ‘piracy’ that hinders their
interests in a ‘free’ market. In the Indian case, big
business groups (including MNCs) seek Master Plan-enforced zoning
to access coveted locations. This situation calls for an inter-disciplinary
analysis to emphasizes legal pluralism and greater analytical
focus on local administration beyond managerial perspectives.
In doing so, it questions conventional approaches to ‘Third
World’ city development especially Master Planning.
- 30 September 2009
Speaker: Dr. H.S. Sudhira
Topic: “Multiple Dimensions in the Transformation
of Bangalore to Greater Bangalore”
Abstract:
The talk presents the disconnect between planning and governance
with a specific focus on Bangalore. While on the one hand the
creation of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) by the
agglomeration of neighbouring municipal councils and 110 villages
acknowledged the reality of urban sprawl, on the other it posed
greater challenges in provision of services and basic infrastructure.
The talk attempts to illustrate the gaps arising mainly out of
information inadequacy and institutional inefficiencies. While
there have been several efforts to characterize the city during
the preparation of numerous plans, the absence of primary information
on the level of services and existing infrastructure in each of
the zones still prevails. The difficulty of collating such information
is compounded by the multiplicity of agencies with non-overlapping
jurisdictions responsible for delivery of various services, apart
from the urban local body. To this end, the talk draws out inferences
from a sample household survey carried out after the creation
of BBMP in all the eight zones. The analysis reveals the stark
differences in services delivery and infrastructure provision
between the erstwhile city corporation and the newly agglomerated
regions. After characterizing these patterns, the talk attempts
to illustrate the processes and levers that are responsible for
land-use planning and their implications in practice. Employing
the system dynamics approach, causal loop diagrams are used to
explain them. The talk concludes by noting the challenges of dealing
with city planning and governance.
About the Speaker:
H. S. Sudhira received his PhD from the Department of Management
Studies and Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute
of Science, Bangalore, in 2008. His doctoral thesis was entitled
"Studies on urban sprawl and spatial planning support system
for Bangalore, India". Sudhira is currently involved in
a research project with the Centre for Ecological Sciences,
IISc, that is attempting to characterize and compare the growth
of cities in India and China. He has had a brief stint with
the Directorate of Urban Land Transport, Urban Development Department,
Government of Karnataka. He lives at Gubbi, Tumkur District,
Karnataka.
- 7 October 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Prof Prakash Apte
Topic: “Globalisation and the Financial Crisis”
Chairperson: Dr. B.K. Anitha
About the speaker:
Prof Prakash Apte is a former director of the Indian Institute
of Management, Bangalore. A product of Columbia University,
IIM Calcutta and IIT Bombay he is currently Professor of Economics
and Finance at IIMB. He has been holding the UTI Chair in Capital
Market Studies since January, 1994. He has been teaching International
Finance, Financial Derivatives, Econometrics, Managerial Economics
and Macroeconomics for over three decades. He has been a member
of several expert committees and chaired the Secondary Markets
Advisory Committee, SEBI. He has published extensively on international
finance issues and is the author of four books.
- 13 October 2009@4.30 pm
Speakers: Dr. Rodney Jones, President, Policy Architects
International, USA and Mr S Gopal, Former Special Secretary, Cabinet
Secretariat, Government of India
Topic: The Taliban Resurgence and Global Terrorist Overhang
About the Speakers:
Dr. Rodney Jones is President of Policy Architects International,
a consulting firm in Virginia, near Washington, D.C., that covers
strategic, international security, energy security, and Asian
development issues. He has provided research and analytical support
to SAIC, Inc. and to the Advanced Systems and Concepts Office
(ASCO) of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), on the transformation
of U.S. defense strategy, regional nuclear stability, and the
war on terrorism. Previously, Jones served in the US Arms Control
and Disarmament Agency in the negotiations of the INF and START
Treaties. Prior to government service, Jones was Senior Fellow
and Principal Director of Nuclear Policy Projects at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies, and Associate Professor
of Political Science at Columbia University, where he received
his PhD. He has long-standing experience with regional and nuclear
security issues in the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia.
He was born in India and has lived in both India and Pakistan
while conducting research on urbanization and domestic politics,
and in recent years has worked extensively on security and military
issues in South Asia.On foreign areas, he has long-standing exposure
to regional and nuclear security issues, and the problems of terrorism
in the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. Some of his recent
books and monographs include: Conventional Military Imbalance
and Strategic Stability in South Asia, March 2005; Escalation
Control and the Nuclear Option in South Asia, co-ed. with Michael
Krepon and Ziad Haider (2004) and Religious Radicalism and Nuclear
Confrontation in South Asia (2004).
Mr. S. Gopal served as Special Secretary in the Cabinet
Secretariat, Government of India. Major part of his career was
concerned with strategic and security issues relevant to Indian
interests. He was the Founder-Director of the Institute of Contemporary
Studies, Bangalore. He is currently a Senior Associate at the
National Institute of Advanced Studies and Visiting Professor
at the Department of Geopolitics, Manipal University, Manipal.
- 14 October 2009
Speaker: Prof N Shantha Mohan
Topic: CEDAW, Substantive Equality and Governance
Chairperson: Dr Carol Upadhya
Abstract: The first section of the paper will profile the
prevailing political system in India and the situation of women
in these political institutions; from the village to the national.
The second section of the paper will outline the enriching experience
of collectively evolving the rights approach and the substantive
equality framework facilitated by IWRAW – Asia Pacific through
its baseline study on “Political Participation of Women in
India” undertaken by a core group of members representing
several organizations. Section three will outline the ways in
which CEDAW and the substantive equality framework has been employed
in our research, intervention and advocacy activities in relation
to our work in engendering local governance and enhancing women’s
participation in politics.
The research component attempts to redefine the parameters
of good and engendered governance. This section will also discuss
the indicators of disparity and discrimination against women,
causes and impact on the participation of women in politics
and their relevance in advocating state action and therefore
for women’s human rights.
Our advocacy in the Provincial State of Karnataka and in India
has been enormous. Based on the findings of our research and
the outcomes of the interventions made to engender governance,
several strategies for advocacy have been adopted to influence
policy, make reforms and facilitate women’s participation.
An enabling environment is necessary to promote women’s
participation both within the parties and the institutions of
governance, particularly in the context of the increased criminalisation,
communalisation and corruption in politics. They will be discussed
under two broad sub sections.
One, awareness building among elected representatives, members
of national political parties, civil society organizations,
bureaucrats and the communities regarding CEDAW, constraints
faced by women and interventions and measures to be taken to
facilitate their effective participation in politics and contributing
to the Alternative Report (India’s Initial and First Periodic
Report) to CEDAW. Two, seeking and utilizing spaces within the
state machinery to advocate with the state to make commitments
in their policies, laws, programmes, schemes, etc. introducing
CEDAW and the substantive equality framework, setting up the
high level Inter-Ministerial CEDAW Committee and facilitating
the nation state in writing the Second and Third Periodic Report
to CEDAW, thus providing the space to negotiate with and draw
commitments from the State.
The last section makes a critical analysis of the opportunities
and challenges faced in using CEDAW in our research and advocacy
activities and summarise some of the learnings.
- 28 October 2009
Speaker: Dr Rajesh Kasturirangan
Topic: “Conceptualization: The Anatomy of a 'Sense'-Organ”
Chairperson: Prof Sangeetha Menon
Abstract: We perform conceptual acts throughout our daily
lives; we are always judging others, guessing their intentions,
agreeing or opposing their views and so on. These conceptual acts
have phenomenological as well as formal richness. Yet, when cognitive
scientists have investigated conceptualization, they have highlighted
the formal side of conceptualization to the detriment of the phenomenal.
This talk attempts to correct the imbalance between the phenomenal
and formal approaches to conceptualization by making the claim
that we need to shift from the usual dichotomies of cognitive
science and epistemology such as the formal/empirical and the
rationalist/empiricist divides. In particular, I consider conceptualization
as a 'sense'-organ, i.e., an organ that makes sense of the world
around us. Further, if the Chomskian 'Universal Grammar' is a
language organ modeled on the kidney, then conceptualization should
be modeled on the breath or blood, i.e., having a specific functional
role, but spatially distributed in a way that the kidney is not.
This act of conceptual breathing, continuously enters and leaves
the mind/body complex. As a result, the distinctions of inner-outer,
mind and world are not as important as usually understood. The
goal of my talk is to sketch out the anatomy of the 'sense'-organ
using a range of examples and conceptual arguments.
- 11 November 2009
Speaker: Prof Anindya Sinha
Topic: “A Cultured Mind? Phenotypic Flexibility, Behavioural
Traditions and Distributed Cognition in Wild Bonnet Macaques”
Chairperson: Dr. Sindhu Radhakrishna
Abstrac
Phenotypic flexibility, or the within-genotype context-dependent
variation in behaviour expressed by single reproductively mature
individuals during their lifetimes, often impart a selective
advantage to organisms and profoundly influence their survival
and reproduction. Another phenomenon, apparently not under direct
genetic control, is behavioural inheritance whereby higher animals
are able to acquire information from the behaviour of others
by social learning, and, through their own modified behaviour,
transmit such information between individuals and across generations.
This talk will examine the impact of phenotypic flexibility,
behavioural inheritance and cultural traditions in shaping the
structure and dynamics of a primate society – that of the
bonnet macaque, a cercopithecine primate endemic to peninsular
India. I will also briefly reflect on how the phenomena of social
learning and phenotypic flexibility contribute to our understanding
of distributed cognition, a relatively new approach that treats
communicative interactions as directly observable cognitive
events rather than using behaviour as a basis for inferences
to invisible mental events such as intentions, in primates.
- 13 November 2009@4.00 pm
Children's Day Celebration
Runaway children and their rehabilitation: Screening of two short
films by Shalini Raghaviah and a discussion More
- 16 November 2009@4.00pm
Speaker: Dr. Geoffrey Forden,Principal Research Scientist
in MIT' Program on
Science, Technology and Society, U S A
Topic: The International Missile Proliferation Consortium:
The Cases of Iran and North Korea
Chairperson: Prof. S Chandrashekar
Abstract: The past two years have seen a flurry of missile
development activity in both Iran and North Korea. While both
countries have used these launches to further their understanding
of missile technologies, the launches have also given outside
observers unprecedented insight into how these countries are progressing.
A series of videos released by Iran of its missile production
lines and rocket launches together with several leaked secret
internal Iranian memos discussing their missile development program
are used to understand the level of indigenous production capacities
and the level of foreign assistance from countries such as North
Korea and China. Photo-comparisons between Iran's Safir two-stage
satellite launch vehicle and North Korea's U'nha-2 indicate that
both used the same last stage for orbit insertion. The launch
history of this stage, a failure and then a success for Iran and
then a failure for North Korea indicate that not only is Iran
solving its own problems but is probably not sharing the solutions
with its partners. This strategic decision on Iran's part is also
indicated by the secret Iranian memos, which shed light on the
interesting internal dynamics of this international missile development
consortium. A unique satellite image taken during the launch of
North Korea's U'nha-2 is used to estimate the trajectory flown
by that missile as it passed through both the speed of sound and
the point of maximum dynamic pressure. North Korea took pains
to fly the U'nha-2 through both these events with nearly zero
angle of attack. It is possible that this represents a lesson
learned the hard way when the DPRK's 2006 satellite launch attempt
ended in a catastrophic failure forty-some seconds after launch.
- 17 November 2009
Public Lecture
Speaker: Dr. Geoffrey Forden,Principal Research Scientist
in MIT' Program on
Science, Technology and Society, U S A
Topic: How China Loses a War in Space - and the Consequences
for All of Us
Abstract: China's destruction of an obsolete weather satellite
in January 2007 gave ample evidence that they are prepared to
challenge rivals, both the United States and regional rivals,
in space. This is particularly worrying for the United States
because its armed forces have become so dependent on satellites.
For instance, the US military uses satellites to not only relay
the orders to drop bombs but also to actually guide them to their
target. This dependence on space assets has many worried that
the US could be especially vulnerable to anti-satellite (ASAT)
attacks by the Chinese in an attempt to negate the conventional
military advantage the US has. However, the US dependence on space
has produced so much redundancy that the US could ride out the
largest space attack China could throw at it. In addition, simple
defensive maneuvers could all but eliminate the threat from China's
ASAT. On the other hand, China could easily eliminate the space
assets of its regional rivals both in low-Earth orbit and in Geostationary
orbit. The solution to these threats is a global partnership of
all nations, including China, that guarantees the continued flow
of information to any nation whose satellites are destroyed by
the actions of another. Eliminating the military utility of ASATs
also eliminates the threats to peaceful uses of space that arises
from the inevitable space debris generated in such a space war. More
- 18 November 2009
Speaker: Prof Sangeetha Menon
Topic: Brain, Self and their Interrelations: Fewer answers,
more questions”
Chairperson: Dr. Rajesh Kasturirangan
Abstract: Brain is arguably the most important part of the human
body studied to understand the working of sensation, emotion,
and consciousness. The single unit of information and experience
that connects sensation, emotion, and consciousness is agreed
to be the “self”. There are two major streams of discussion
on the self. Self is debated as a cognitive concept that helps
tie the missing ends between the physical and psychological functions;
and, self is argued to be the locus of conscious experience. However
different the arguments for these two positions are, it is agreed
that human behaviours, attitudes and emotions are intricately
tied to the neural structures on one side, and the indivisible
experiential self on the other. Brain and self are the common
threads that are used by neuropsychiatry, neuropharmacology, and
philosophy to get some hold on one of the most intractable problems
of humankind, namely, “consciousness.”
Is there a common issue in brain and self studies that appears
over and again? Yes. That is the attempt to explain the unity,
continuity, and adherence of our experience, whether it is sensory
or mental. To address the unity, adherence, and continuity of
experience is to address the inter-relations between the self
and the brain. There are fewer answers and more questions towards
understanding the brain-self interrelations: Where and how in
the brain is the “self” housed? How does the self
make adaptive changes in one’s personality corresponding
to changes in the brain? How does the self influence and alter
neurochemical functions of the brain? Can the brain address
its structural and functional challenges without recourse to
the self? Can there be a self without the interface of the brain
and the limbic system?
In this lecture I will explore the question whether the brain
and the self constantly challenge each other. With examples
from current research in brain studies, neuropsychology, and
neuropsychiatry, I will try to show that the significant problem
in consciousness studies is perhaps not the “hard problem,”
but to trace ways in which the brain challenges the self, and
the self challenges the brain. Such an effort will help us understand
the dynamic nature of both the brain and the self.
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25 November 2009
Speaker: Prof. K. Ramachandra
Topic: Analytic Theory of Numbers
Chairperson: Mr. Kishor Bhat
Abstract:
Analytic Number Theory is known for theorems that can be states in a way which can be understood by school children. A Prime number is a number that only has itself and 1 as factors.
One famous question is whether between two square numbers (e.g.: 4, 9, 16, 25, etc.) there exists a prime. We will not solve this problem but discuss a related problem from which this almost follows as a consequence.
It is a well-established theorem that every number other than one can be expressed uniquely as a product of prime numbers (e.g.: 12 = 2*2*3, 21 = 3*7, 1182 = 2*3*197, etc.). Let L(n) be the number of prime factors (not necessarily distinct). So L(12) = 3, L(21) = 2, L(1182) = 3, etc.
For a given number, let’s say 100, we can make a list of values of L(n) for all numbers less than 100. Out of that list, separate the numbers into two groups, one where L(n) is odd and one where L(n) is even. The difference between the two is called D(100).
QUESTION: Is the fourth power of D(N) less than the cube of N?
The Riemann Hypothesis is only a little stronger than the question stated above. We will discuss the relationship between the above question and the question of primes between squares. Many more recent results which are absolute will also be discussed. These will not depend upon any unproved conjectures.
- 2 December 2009
Speaker: Prof. S. Ranganathan
Topic: “Ancient Alloys and Modern Science”
Chairperson: Prof. D.P. Sen Gupta
Abstract:
Nearly 5000 binary combinations are offered by alloying elements. If one embarks today to discover structural materials at ambient temperature on an experimental and computational combination using modern tools, we will arrive at two systems as the most promising - copper-tin and iron-carbon. These were, of course, empirically developed over millennia and gave the names “Bronze Age” and “Iron Age” to our civilizations. In fact, the unraveling of the properties of these alloys led to the paradigm of modern materials science. In turn science is throwing fresh light on the treatments employed to work on brittle ultra high carbon wootz steels and high tin-bronzes. The lecture will discuss these two systems with emphasis on Indian contributions. A brief description of a third system-Copper-Gold – will be given to highlight optical and acoustic properties and the first application of surface engineering in antiquity in MesoAmerica.
- 9 December 2009
Speaker: Prof. Dilip Ahuja and Prof. D.P. Sen Gupta
Topic: “Potential Electricity Savings from Changes in Indian Standard Time”
Abstract:
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has just awarded a project to NIAS to estimate electricity savings by changes in Indian Standard Time. Since there are three binary choices to be made there are eight possibilities in all. These correspond to having one time zone for the entire country versus two; the use of annually cycling daylight saving time or not; and thirdly, having the time for a zone aligned along its mid-longitude versus aligned along an eastern edge. Since we are at the start of the project, the intention is to engage in a discussion and solicit the views of the seminar participants rather than presenting a finished set of results.
- 11 December 2009@11.00 am
Special Lecture
Speaker: Prof Raanan Katzir
Topic: “Climate change and Agriculture- The Israeli Experience”
About the speaker:
Prof Katzir is a world-renowned agronomist and has more than forty years of working experience with the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture. In the last twenty-five years Prof Katzir has specialized in the field of Sustainable Agriculture, focusing on sustainable management of natural resources with the aim of enhancing agricultural production and food security. Currently he is the Director of the Sustainable Agriculture Consulting Group (SACOG), Israel.
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16 December 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Dr. Rahul De’
Topic: “Caste Structures and E-Governance in a Developing Country”
Chairperson: Prof. A.R. Vasavi
Abstract:
Castes, or endogamous kinship relationships, are prevalent in communities across the world and particularly in developing countries. Caste plays a strong role in determining community structures and political power. However, the role of caste as a factor in shaping e-governance design and outcomes is absent in the literature. This paper addresses this particular gap by examining some cases from India. The paper specifically considers whether the priorities of dominant caste groups determine e-governance design and implementations, to the exclusion of marginal and non-dominant castes. Further, it examines if e-governance introductions change or affect the relations of caste groups. The research relies on Structuration theory to provide a framework through which to study these issues. Data from three case studies from India are used to conduct the analysis, and these include the Bhoomi project from Karnataka, the Gyandoot project from Madhya Pradesh, and the VKC project from Puducherry. All three are information kiosk-based projects for providing e-governance services for citizens living in villages and rural areas.
About the speaker:
Dr. Rahul De’ is the Hewlett-Packard Chair Professor in ICT for Sustainable Economic Development at IIM Bangalore. He has a B.Tech. (1983) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, an MBA (1985) from the University of Delhi, and a Ph.D. (1993) from the Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, U.S.A. Since 1990, he has taught Information Systems and Management Science courses in various universities in the United States, India, Spain, France and Sweden. Dr. De’s research interests are in E-governance and applications of information and communication technologies for development. He is interested in the impacts of open source software and its role in government. He also works in applied Artificial Intelligence. He has published over 40 articles in international journals, refereed conference proceedings and as chapters in books. In September 2009, he received the Outstanding Paper Award for the most interdisciplinary and innovative research contribution for his paper “Caste Structures and E-Governance in a Developing Country” at the Eight International Conference on Electronic Government, EGOV 2009, at Linz, Austria.
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16 December 2009@ 2.00 pm
Special Lecture
Speaker: Prof. Roland Lardinois
Topic: “Scholars and Prophets Genealogy of the Sociology of India in France 19th-20th century.”
Abstract:
This presentation draws on my book, L’Invention de l’Inde. Entre ésotérisme et science (Paris, CNRS Editions, 2007), which deals with the genealogy of the sociology of India that Louis Dumont initiated. In order to understand Dumont’s project, which he developed after World War II, we situate it within the long term history of India scholarship in France from the beginning of the 19th century. On the one hand, we analyse the institutionalisation of orientalist scholarship in the university and its related establishments (Société asiatique, Collège de France, Ecole pratique des hautes études, Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient, Musée Guimet). On the other hand, we study the intellectual debates that went on regarding the comprehension of India’s society. In order to break with the academic ethnocentrism inherent in many studies of Orientalism, we consider at the same time the scholars and the non-scholars who have debated about India since the 19th century. We trace the historical genealogy of this specific field of cultural production, the field of scholarship on India, and we call into question its social and ideological groundings. Dumont then takes place within an intellectual space in which we encounter Sanskrit philologists like Eugène Burnouf, Emile Senart and Sylvain Lévi, sociologists like Célestin Bouglé, Marcel Mauss, Arthur Hocart or MacKim Marriot; we also encounter Catholic conservative thinkers like Louis de Bonald and Tocqueville, tenants of esotericism like René Guénon as well as writers and poets like Romain Rolland and René Daumal. All these people shared a questioning of the modern world that came out in the aftermath of the French Revolution. India was then considered as a counter example to France, as a traditional religious society whose understanding might give sense to the social, political and ideological transformations that were going on in France. Sketching the genealogy of the sociology of India is also contributing to the debates that are developing within the entire discipline in its most contemporaneous aspects.
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16 December 2009@ 6.00 pm
Public Lecture
Speaker: Prof. Ramakrishna Ramaswamy
Topic: “Women in Science: The Lilavati's Daughters Project”
Abstract:
At this time, all over the world, there is a serious enquiry into the causes behind the low representation, and low participation, of women in many areas of academics, particularly in the sciences. The Indian Academy of Sciences constituted a "Women in Science" panel to examine the question in the Indian context, and one of the outcomes was the book, Lilavati's Daughters, a collection of biographical and autobiographical essays by about one hundred women scientists who live and work in India (including some of the peakers at this conference). In this talk, I will describe the WiS panel initiatives and some of what we have learned as a result of putting this book together.
About the speaker:
Ramakrishna Ramaswamy is Professor in the School of Physical Sciences and in the Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He works in the area of nonlinear science and computational systems biology. He co-edited the book Lilavati's Daughters: The Women Scientists of India.
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21 December 2009@ 3.30 pm
Public Lecture
Speaker: Prof. Vasudha Narayanan
Topic: “Mapping Cosmos, Creating Communities: Sacralizing and Sharing Temple Space outside India”
Abstract:
From revering Vishnu, (“all pervading”) whose name evokes notions of space, to having names of villages and towns as part of one’s official name, space and place are closely tied to notions of religious and cultural identity in India. My talk will focus on how sacred spaces are created and shared in Hindu temples—specifically what can be called “prestige” temples-- outside the sub-continent. One the one hand, “sacrality” is multi-dimensional and not limited to a hierophany or identifying a space or place with a cosmogonic narrative; on the other, we can ask how the creation, ordering, and sharing of these sacred spaces are connected with issues of temporal “authenticity” and power. “Prestige” temples outside of India display their identities largely through their consecration of space and through their architecture.
I will be using a comparative approach, not just geographically, but also in a diachronic way, to look at these temples as isomorphisms and suggest that perhaps there are ways in which studies of “showcase” temples in London or Malibu, and the institutions which Coedes calls “state temples” in the Khmer empire, can illumine each other.
My talk will be organized around two sets of ideas:
1. The mapping of the cosmos on the temple space and the “embodiment” of such spaces. While the temple as the cosmos is one important historical paradigm, other structures and tropes govern issues of orientation, with temples and deities consecrated facing particular directions. The temple, then, is said to be in “harmony” with the universe. Almost all the temples in the Khmer empire face east, with the exception of the Vishnu temple, Angkor Wat, which faces west, like many other Vishnu temples in south India. Directionality has now become an important signifier of authenticity. If there is any feature that is common to almost all temples built in recent years outside India, it is that they face (or try to face) east—a form of “vastu-lite,” so to speak. “Authenticity” is also created in the ways in which the land in which the temple is built is perceived as sacred and, sometimes, even mythically contiguous with India. Here, I will briefly note the ways the space is sacralized ritually.
2. How do the physical temple spaces create religious identity? One may ask: what kinds of identity and power structures are expressed by the "prestige" temples and the shared spaces? By bringing various communities together in common spaces, the temples mask and reveal ruptures and hierarchies, cover and create boundaries, and re-“present” Hindu traditions in monolithic and pluralistic ways. The spaces are shared in a number of ways: (a) between activities deemed as religious ritual/ spiritual leadership and those seen as integral to the creation of community and transmission of culture (as in dance schools, health fairs, blood drives, language classes, visiting gurus and SAT classes sharing temple spaces); (b) between sectarian movements and even *some* religious traditions (combinations of Saiva/ Vaishnava/ Buddhist/ Jain/ Sikh in Thailand, Cambodia, Europe and North America;) (c) religious and local political markers; (d) and in ancient Khmer temples, between what can be called in the post-(western) enlightenment era as the “sacred” and the “secular.” However, some kinds of shared ritual spaces --like dargahs, which are important for both Muslims and Hindus- are not important for Hindus outside the sub-continent.
About the speaker:Vasudha Narayanan is Distinguished Professor, Department of Religion, at the University of Florida and a past President of the American Academy of Religion (2001-2002). She was educated at the Universities of Madras and Bombay in India, and at Harvard University. Her fields of interest are the Sri Vaishnava tradition; Hindu traditions in India, Cambodia, and America; visual and expressive cultures in the study of the Hindu traditions; and gender issues. She is currently working on Hindu temples and traditions in Cambodia. She is the author or editor of seven books and over ninety articles, chapters in books, and encyclopedia entries. Her research has been supported by grants and fellowships from several organizations including the Centre for Khmer Studies (2007); the American Council of Learned Societies (2004-2005); National Endowment for the Humanities (1987, 1989-90, and 1998-99), the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (1991-92), the American Institute of Indian Studies/ Smithsonian, and the Social Science Research Council. She was the president of the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies from 1996-1998.
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23 December 2009
Wednesday Talk
Speaker: Dr. Yumna Siddiqi
Topic: “Migration and the Inheritance of loss”
Chairperson: Ms. Sahana Udupa
About the Speaker & Abstract:
Dr. Yumna Siddiqi teaches post-colonial studies in the United States. She will speak to us on Kiran Desai’s book “Inheritance of Loss” the winner of “2006 Man Booker Prize”, and her representation of colonialism and globalization.
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30 December 2009@9.30 am
Music Programme presented by Swarnali Majumdar and Rahul Mukhopadhyay.
Title: "Tagore as seen by Ray and Ghatak"
This will be an exploration of the use of Tagore's songs by two contemporaneous filmakers who approached their art very differently--Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak. Performances of a selection of Tagore's songs as used in some of the films by these two directors will be interspersed with clippings from their movies and discussions on their approach to Tagore.
- Associates' Programme Time: 6.00 pm Venue:
J R D Tata Auditorium
- PhD Students Seminar Time: 2 pm Venue: NIAS
Lecture Hall
- Public Lecture Time: 6 pm, J R D Tata Auditorium
- Wednesday Talk Time: 9.30 am Venue: J R D Tata Auditorium
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