Was Indira Gandhi a pragmatic nation-builder or an authoritarian disruptor or both? Historian Srinath Raghavan’s new book, Indira Gandhi: The Years That Transformed India, explores her complex legacy, from her central role in reshaping India’s political structure to the controversial imposition of the Emergency.

In this conversation with constitutional scholar Arun Thiruvengadam, the session will explore the making and unmaking of democratic institutions, the long shadow of the Emergency, and the resonances of Indira’s era in the India of today. A Q&A with the audience will follow.

In this episode of BIC Talks, Srinath Raghavan will be in conversation with Arun Thiruvengadam. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Jun 2025.

The years between ages 10 and 19 are marked by intense physiological, psychological, and social change. Adding to the challenges of this already turbulent phase are mobile devices and social media. These platforms often exploit insecurities, creating echo chambers and negative feedback loops. While digital life can connect us, it also has the power to isolate. The TV series Adolescence highlights the potentially dangerous consequences of these overlapping forces.

In this conversation, a panel of experts, drawing from both professional knowledge and lived experience, explores what adolescence looks like in the age of social media, particularly in urban India. Taking the TV show as a starting point, the discussion will look at the realities young people face today and consider how parents, schools, and other adults can help support individual and collective well-being.

In this episode of BIC Talks, Shekhar Sheshadri, Neena David, Saurabh Shashi Ashok, Sansita Nambiar will be in conversation with Maitri Gopalakrishna. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Jun 2025.

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What would justice look like if it spoke in a queer voice? How might legal judgments shift if they were written through the lived experiences and realities of LGBTQIA+ individuals?

In this session, we explore the bold and imaginative work of The Queer Judgments Project, an initiative that seeks to re-think, re-write, and re-invent legal judgments through queer and complementary perspectives. Emerging from a series of conversations among scholars, activists, and legal thinkers, the project asks a vital question: how could legal decisions involving sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics be expressed differently, more inclusively, more justly?

At the heart of the discussion is the project’s first major output: an edited collection that offers 26 re-imagined judgments and commentaries from across the globe. Through this collection, contributors bring their diverse disciplinary backgrounds and personal insights to bear on the law, queering traditional frameworks and imagining alternative approaches to legal reasoning.

This session will engage with the creative, critical, and deeply personal work that underpins these re-written judgments. It will reflect on how the project aims not just to critique existing legal structures but to open up new possibilities for justice that better reflect the experiences of LGBTQIA+ and other minoritized communities.

This year, BIC celebrates Pride Month through a series of programs that embrace Queerness as it is — unconforming, changing and alternative. Every program aims to embody the fluid and non-normative possibilities of existence that queerness creates, while fostering a community that welcomes difference in an unbending society, whether that be through new models of living or unique modes of self-expression. Pride, Insists Upon Itself!

In this episode of BIC Talks, Divya Kandukuri, Siddharth Narrain, Manavi Atri and Senthorun (Sen) Raj will be in conversation with Raju Behera. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Jun 2025.

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When it comes to climate change and the environment, they are part of  the problem and part of the solution – Plastics and Lithium-ion.

We cannot ignore the role these materials play in today’s world. They have revolutionized many industries even while they have been the cause of negative ecological and social impacts. Mainly because their end-of-life management remains a significant global challenge. Is it possible to bring them into the circular economy in positive and equitable ways?

This discussion is with three innovative companies that not just think so, they also walk the talk. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Presented by:

OORJA

In this episode of BIC Talks, Srinidhi Kashyap, Vishal Mehta and Darshan Virupaksh  will be in conversation with Jenny Pinto. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Jun 2025.

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What happens when a defiant chronicler and an idealist revolutionary converge in the playground that is India’s freedom struggle? Urdu newspaper Pratap, launched in pre-partition India, was a torchbearer against the British Raj. The man who publicly defended it against colonial censorship was none other than Jawaharlal Nehru.

The pen picked up by freedom fighter Virendra, the paper’s editor and the founder’s son who once walked shoulder to shoulder with stalwarts like Bhagat Singh was equally fearless despite threats by the imperial government, Indira Gandhi’s Emergency and a parcel bomb sent to Pratap’s office during terrorism in Punjab.

Virendra was first arrested in the historic Saunders murder case. He was also in jail with Bhagat Singh the day the legendary revolutionary was hanged, sharing a rare first-hand witness account. In Independent India, too footsteps filled Pratap and its editors with dread and terror.

Pratap: A Defiant Newspaper is a timely reminder of the ethos of a struggle, a template for speaking truth to power at all costs. It is the story of a perfect storm. The book is written by Virendra’s son, distinguished editor Chander Mohan and journalist granddaughter Jyotsna Mohan. Jyotsna and Azeezullah Baig will be in conversation with Maya Sharma. There will be a Q&A session with the audience.

In this episode of BIC Talks, Jyotsna Mohan and Azeezullah Baig will be in conversation with Maya Sharma. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in June 2025.

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In this refreshingly jargon-free session, Lavanya Mohan, author of Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees, gets real about why personal finance often feels confusing, boring, or just plain overwhelming.

From spending in your 20s to planning in your 40s, Lavanya’s approach is simple, meme-filled, and judgment-free. Whether you’re dealing with your first paycheck, lifestyle creep, or just trying to adult responsibly, this conversation covers how to spend smarter at every life stage—without spreadsheets or guilt.

Lavanya will be in conversation with Dipika Jaikishan, Co-Founder and COO of Basis, a platform focused on financial independence for women. Together, with their understanding of how financial literacy intersects with everyday life, especially for younger and often overwhelmed audiences, Lavanya and Dipika bring both insight and clarity to a conversation that promises to be as useful as it is fun.

Expect memes, pop culture references, stories from the book, and zero jargon. Just real talk about money—how we use it, why we fear it, and how to make it work for us.

In this episode of BIC Talks, Lavanya Mohan will be in conversation with Dipika Jaikishan. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in May 2025.

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The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has long been at the heart of India’s constitutional and cultural tensions — hailed by some as a promise of equality, and critiqued by others as a tool of homogenisation. As the political momentum around the UCC gathers pace once again, with the recent Uttarakhand legislation in the news, this session revisits the debate from a constitutional, feminist, and social justice lens.

What does “uniformity” mean in a deeply plural society? Can equality be achieved without erasing difference? How do we center the lived realities of women, religious minorities, Dalits, and Adivasis in this conversation?

In this episode of BIC Talks, Raag Yadava, Madhu Bhushan will be in conversation with Alok Prasanna. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in May 2025.

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Gurudev and Bapu explores the extraordinary exchange of letters and ideas between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore, set against the backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle. Over 25 years, their correspondence reveals sharp differences on key issues—nationalism, civil disobedience, education—but also unwavering respect and affection between the two.

Their dialogue reflects a time in India’s history marked by thoughtful disagreement and political maturity—offering insights into how principled dissent and mutual regard can coexist.

Bangalore Little Theatre was honoured to present early performances of the play at places closely associated with Gandhi and Tagore—Sabarmati Ashram, Santiniketan (Visva Bharati), and Thakurbari-Jorasanko (Rabindra Bharati). It has also been staged for the President of India.

Adapted from the internationally acclaimed production with over 130 performances in India and abroad, this staging promises a compelling reflection on two great minds and the values that shaped a nation. This performance is a tribute to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s enduring legacy, presented around the time of his birth anniversary.

Supported by:

JSW

In this episode of BIC Talks, Vijay Padaki does a dramatised presentation of the Tagore-Gandhi Exchanges. This is an excerpt from a performance that took place in the BIC premises in May 2025.

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From boasting of a lone International Master (IM) in Manuel Aaron in 1962, India has come a long way in the world of chess, particularly in the last two-and-half decades of the new Millennium. Today, India has 85 Grandmasters, including three women, 23 Woman Grand Masters, 140 International Masters and 42 Woman International Masters while the list of FIDE masters is growing by the day.

In the top 10 of any category or age group, Indians figure so prominently that they are second only to the US and China in the men’s and women’s section respectively. The double-gold at the 2024 Olympiad and India’s superb performance in the Candidates added to its growing reputation as a superpower.

But if you look from an historic perspective, our champions of today are merely continuing the legacy of a 5,000-year-old tradition which can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization when chess (called Chaturanga then) was, among other things, used for war stimulation.

According to legend, Ravan’s wife Mandodari taught him Chaturanga so that he could plan battle strategies. Later, Chaturanga became Chatrang in Persian and Shatranj in Arabic before travelling to Spain and the rest of the western world. In the modern era, chess is looked at in different ways. A gymnasium of the mind. A cerebral tug-of-war.

For India, Anand can be the best reference point to start any debate involving chess. In fact, Indian chess can be neatly divided into Pre-Anand and Post-Anand eras. The Pre-Anand period was nascent with not many players around, no infrastructure to talk about or any support from the government or the private sector. Indian chess style was one of the many variants of the official chess as recognized by the ruling body FIDE. By the time Anand became India’s first Grandmaster in 1987 and triggered the post-Anand era, chess was a rapidly growing sport. Let’s look at some figures. Till the start of the new Millennium, India had just three GMs with Dibyendu Barua (1991) and Pravin Thipsay (1997) following in the footsteps of Anand. The first decade of the new century produced 20 GMs and the next 10 a staggering 44. The present decade has already witnessed 16 GMs to take the tally to 85.

In this episode of BIC Talks, MS Thej Kumar, Aravind Shastry, Manisha Mohite and Saritha M Reddy will be in conversation with Vijay Mruthyunjaya. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in May 2025.

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All Our Loves: Journeys with Polyamory in India is an eye-opening book on polyamory—the practice of being in love, with or without sexual intimacies with more than one person simultaneously, with the consent of all. For anyone who has ever dreamed of love, sex, and companionship beyond the limits of traditional monogamy, this groundbreaking exploration navigates the infinite possibilities that polyamory can offer within the complex realities in India.

The discussion on the book will revolve around dispelling myths about the practice and understanding the skills necessary to live a fulfilling and responsible polyamorous life. Arundhati will also shed light on negotiating jealousy, coping with breakups and honouring boundaries. As practicing polyamorists she and the discussants will share their experiences, struggles and joys and ways to define relationships on their own terms.

If you are polyamorous, have a partner who is, or are just curious – this conversation will open up ways to foster honest intimacy without guilt, fear or shame; find supportive partners and community; enable practices of safe sex, and much more.

In collaboration with:

ALEPH

In this episode of BIC Talks, Arundhati Ghosh, Basit Manham and Anu P will be in conversation with Priya Ramani. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in May 2025.

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