I was a bumpkin from the backwoods of mofussil Bengal at about the time of independence. Mr. Prem Bhatia was then Special Representative with the Statesman, and we youngsters would eagerly wait for his regular…
Prem Bhatia Memorial Lectures
On August 11, each year, in addition to felicication of award winners, the Trust hosts a lecture by an eminent personality on a topical subject.
The nineteen lectures to date have included distinguished speakers such as Dr Karan Singh, Dr M S Swaminathan, the late Prof A M Khusro, Justice Venkatachalliah, Mr Soli Sorabji, Prof Deepak Nayyar, Prof Dipankar Gupta, the late Mr Lakshman Kadirgamar, Prof Zoya Hasan, Mr Ashok H Desai, Mr K S Bajpai, Prof Gowher Rizvi, Prof Ashok Mitra, Ms Ayesha Siddiqa, Mr Chandrashekar Das Gupta, Mr Shiv Shankar Menon, Dr Y V Reddy, Mr Shyam Saran, Mr T N Ninan and Mr Pratap Bhanu Mehta, all of whom have enlightened the audience on various political, economic and social events in the country.
Government in the Twenty First Century: Some Challenges of Governance and Democracy in India
Prof. Gowher Rizvi
August 11, 2007
I am most grateful to the chairman and trustees of the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust for doing me the honor of delivering the Prem Bhatia Lecture for 2007. It is a singular honor and I…
India Engages with the World
K Shankar Bajpai
August 11, 2006
The honour of being invited to deliver the Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture is both flattering and humbling. It makes one proud to be asked to join the galaxy of truly eminent speakers who have preceded…
Dangers to Indian Democracy
Ashok H Desai
August 11, 2005
It is a special honour to be called upon to deliver the Tenth Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture. 1.1 It is a double honour. Firstly, we have an opportunity to recall the remarkable person after whom…
The Indian Polity Today and the Road Ahead
August 11, 2004
It’s a great honour to have been asked to deliver the 9th Prem Bhatia Memorial lecture. Prem Bhatia’s reputation as an upright journalist, editor and commentator should serve as an inspiration for us all. I,…
The World Order After Iraq
Hon. Lakshman Kadirgamar
August 11, 2003
LL.B (Hons) (Ceylon); B. Litt(Oxon); D. Litt (hc) (Univ. Sri Lanka at Sabaragamuwa); Attorney, Barrister; President’s Counsel; Member of Parliament; Hony. Master of the Inner Temple; Member. Policy Advisory Commission, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO);…
The Limits of Tolerance: Prospects of Secularism in India After Gujarat
Prof. Dipankar Gupta
August 11, 2002
I am indeed very honoured that I have been asked to deliver the 7th Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture. To speak in the memory of a public figure of such eminence and dignity is surely a…
Democracy and Development: The Indian Experience
Prof. Deepak Nayyar
August 11, 2001
I would like to thank the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust for the invitation to deliver this lecture. And I consider it an honour to be in your midst this evening. The theme that I have…
Press Freedom: Problems, Perils & Paradoxes
Soli J Sorabjee
August 11, 2000
In my talk this evening I would like to address the problems, paradoxes and perils concerning the Freedom of the Press. I shall do so frankly and bluntly attempting to follow the example of our…
The Father of the Rice Revolution and current holder of the UNESCO chair in Eco-Technology
Prof. M. S. Swaminathan
August 11, 1999
Delivering the 4th Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture on Media, Hunger & the Environments at India International Center on August 11, 1999. Prof. Swaminathan said first there was a need to force the Central and State…