The M.S. Gore Policy Research Group, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, is pleased to invite you to the Prof. Rajni Kothari Memorial Lecture Series, beginning on 30th November, 2016.

The M.S. Gore Policy Research Group is a student forum for policy-related research and advocacy at the Centre for Public Policy, Habitat & Human Development, School of Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Prof. Rajni Kothari (16 August 1928 – 19 January 2015) was a celebrated political scientist, academic- activist, author of the classic “Politics in India” and founder of Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and Lokayan. Rajni Kothari, scholar extraordinaire, preeminent political theorist and a visionary beyond compare, single-handedly revolutionized the study of politics in the country. His intellectual prowess and unwavering activism gave the country lasting institutions and ideals which have inspired countless generations of students and academicians and continue to do so

The lecture series includes a set of interactive panel discussions with some of the most celebrated thinkers and scholars in India and abroad;

• India’s Foreign Policy; A Paradigmatic Shift?
  by Ambassador Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House
  on 30th November, 2016 at Bhabha Hall
  
  
• The Decline of the Congress System; Rise of a BJP-Dominated System?
  by Prof.  Pradeep Chibber, Professor, Indo-American Community Chair in India Studies, and Director of the Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley,
  on 14th December, 2016, 11AM-1PM
  
  
• India’s Democracy: Paradoxes for Reflection
  by Prof. Ashutosh Varshney, Sol Goldman Professor for Political Science, Brown University
  on 20th December, 2016, 11AM-1PM at the New Library Conference Hall
  
  
• Middle Class and Indian Democracy
  by Shiv Visvanathan, Noted Sociologist
  on 25th January, 2017, 11AM-1PM
  
  
• India; an Election-only democracy?
  by Prof. Suhas Palshikar, Co-Director, Lokniti, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
  on 8th February, 2017, 11AM-1PM
  
  
• Politics in India
  by Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President, Centre for Policy Research
  in February, 2017 (Date and Time to be announced)
  
  
• Concluding Lecture: Rethinking Rajni Kothari
  by Prof. Ashis Nandy, Leading Public Intellectual,  Social Theorist and Honorary Fellow of CSDS with Uma Nandy reminiscing about life of Rajni Kothari
  in February, 2017 (Date and time to be announced)

We request your participation in this initiative by the students of Development Studies and look forward to your continuous support to the M.S. Gore Policy Research Group.

Prof. Ashwani Kumar, PRG Mentor &  Dr. Sandhya Iyer, PRG Coordinator    
M.S. Gore Policy Research Group