Speaker: Mr. R. L. Narayan, High Commissioner of India Date
of the Event: Sunday, March 30, 2008
Topic:
"India: The largest democracy in the world--Her challenges
and promise": Mr. Narayan, the High Commissioner
of India spoke about — See the synopsis
of his talk below.
Mr.
R. L. Narayan, High Commissioner for India in Canada, is a
career diplomat, having joined the Indian Foreign Service
in 1972 after obtaining Masters degree in Economics. He has
held senior level appointments in the Indian Ministry of Commerce
and Ministry of External Affairs.
Having
had foreign postings in Moscow (two times), Washington, Belgrade,
Bangkok, Doha, Warsaw, Kuala Lumpur, he has been India’s
Amabassador to Qatar and Poland and High Commissioner in Malaysia.
Currently, Mr. Narayan is India’s High Commissioner
in Canada since the beginning of 2007.
Mr.
Narayan and his wife have a grown-up son. They enjoy social
life and actively take part in community activities.
ICFC
DISCLAIMER: The content and views expressed in this presentation
and the Q&A session are entirely those of the speaker
and individual members of the audience. ICFC has no responsibility
for any comments and interpretations.
Synopsis
of the Talk on "India:
The largest democracy in the world--Her challenges and promise"
India
is the second most populous nation in the world, but easily
the most diverse in terms of ethnicity, culture, language
and religion. At the dawn of independence in 1947, poverty,
illiteracy and the traumas of partition caused analysts to
raise several questions about India’s future as a unified
and integrated country, let alone its evolution into the democratic
and forward-looking polity which it is today. How has democracy
taken such firm root in a society as diverse as India? What
is its future in an era when minority and coalition Governments,
competing ideologies and rising expectations have become the
rule? Can affluence continue to coexist with inequality and
can modernity be overlaid on the age-old divisions of caste,
creed and community? As India seeks a dynamic, sustainable
and inclusive growth paradigm, what are the challenges it
faces in maintaining its open and democratic framework? How
can these challenges be overcome to achieve our 2020 vision
of ignited minds powering India towards knowledge-driven double-digit
growth enabling us to eliminate poverty within the lifetime
of the current generation? How will India’s external
environment impact upon this and what role will the far-flung
Indian diaspora play in the process?
Synopsis
of the Talk on "India:
The largest democracy in the world--Her challenges and promise"