Another Future for Asia: A Useless and Doomed Analysis of an Idea
VIEW EVENT DETAILSThe Future of Asia Series
Edition One: "Migrations"
Presented by Asia Society India Centre and Mohile Parikh Center
Ashis Nandy, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for the Study of Developing Societies and Chairperson of the Committee for Cultural Choices and Global Futures, joined in conversation with Kumar Ketkar, Senior Journalist and Editor-in-Chief, Divya Marathi, will trace how the ideas of an "Asian future" and that of the diverse but compatible "futures of Asian societies" during colonial times have gradually given way to a uniform, steamrolled future created through a globalized idea of development where even isolated, impotent, symbolic dissent from such a future is feared as a dangerous threat and a security hazard.
The example and success of Japan has prompted China and India to opt for a similar model of development and they too have been conspicuously successful in their efforts in recent times. But the success has given them rather limited self-confidence — limited by the standardised vision of a post-Westphalian nation-state. Can we be ourselves in our official idea of a future world? Can the deepening of democracy be a protection, at least in India? Do cultures exist for states or states exist for cultures? Is there life beyond strategic studies and comparative economic growth?
Ashis Nandy is a political psychologist and sociologist of science who has worked on cultures of knowledge, visions, and dialogue of civilizations. He has co-authored a number of human rights reports and is active in movements for peace, alternative sciences and technologies, and cultural survival. He is a member of the Executive Councils of the World Future Studies Federation, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, the International Network for Cultural Alternatives to Development, and the People's Union for Civil Liberties. Nandy has been a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at the Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., a Charles Wallace Fellow at the University of Hull, and a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities, University of Edinburgh. Among his books are Alternative Sciences, At the Edge of Psychology, The Intimate Enemy, The Tao of Cricket, The Illegitimacy of Nationalism, and The Savage Freud and Other Essays in Possible and Retrievable Selves.
Kumar Ketkar is a senior journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Divya Marathi, a sister publication of Daily News and Analysis (DNA). He is a recipient of the Padmashree, the highest civilian award given by the Indian government. Ketkar has also been Editor of Loksatta, Senior Editor of Indian Express Newspapers, Editor-in-Chief of Lokmat, Editor of The Maharashtra Times, Resident Editor for The Daily Observer and a Staff Reporter and Special Correspondent for The Economic Times. Has keen interest in history, anthropology and social issues. He has reported from the US, Soviet Union, UK, Germany, China, Israel, Vietnam, Hong Kong on the collapse of Soviet Union, the integration of two Germanys, Hong Kong's integration with mainland China, four Presidential elections in the US, Israel's 50th anniversary and many other topics.
The Future of Asia series, co-produced by Asia Society India Centre and Mohile Parikh Center, brings together a diverse group of speakers from across the world to explore the Future of Asia from a multidisciplinary perspective. Each speaker addresses this theme through a distinct lens provided from his or her discipline, offering unique insights into what we can expect for Asia, and how we can shape a positive, sustainable future for the continent. In the inaugural year of the three-year series, speakers will share their expertise on migration and its impact on the future of Asia.
Event Details
Rangswar Hall, Y.B. Chavan Centre, Jagannath Bhosale Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai