Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 5, 2007|Volume 36, Number 5

Among the participants in the "India 2050" panel were (from left) President Richard C. Levin; Nandan Nilekani, co-chair of the board of Infosys Technologies Ltd.; and Roopa Purushothaman, director of Future Capital Research and co-author of "Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050."

‘Incredible India@60’: Yale hosts panels on nation’s future, women leaders

Yale’s expanding engagement with India was highlighted during the “Incredible India@60” program held Sept. 23-26 in New York City.

The program, which celebrated 60 years of a democratic, independent India, was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the government of India, including eight of its ministries. It coincided with the United Nations General Assembly and the Clinton Global Initiative meetings.

Yale was the only university partner for the campaign which also included The Asia Society, the Clinton Global Initiative and the Council on Foreign Relations among others. The program was aimed at members of the American public, the Indian immigrant diaspora, and the international business, governmental and media communities.

The University convened two panels to examine the challenges and opportunities that India will face in the coming decades and the rise of women leaders in all facets of India and its global diaspora. The panels — “India 2050: A Grand Strategy for India Rising” on Sept. 24 and “Women and Global Leadership” on Sept. 25 — were held at the Yale Club of New York City.

More than 300 invited guests, students and members of the media attended each Yale panel, and thousands of participants attended the more than 50 separate performances, meetings and other events held during the celebration. Both Yale panels will be broadcast in India on network television during October.

“Yale University’s collaboration with CII signals the growing interest that India’s emergence holds for all Americans,” said President Richard C. Levin. “The study of India and South Asia has blossomed at Yale during the last decade, and we expect expanded exchanges and partnerships with India in the years to come. The topics of the panel discussions in New York City reflect the values of critical engagement, leadership and public service that Yale has long sought to instill in our students.”

Nandan Nilekani, co-chair of the board of Infosys Technologies Ltd. and chair of the Incredible India@60 steering committee, said: “The Confederation of Indian Industry was very pleased to partner with Yale University for these two very important panel discussions. As we celebrate India’s 60 years of democracy and explosive growth, we were pleased to join with our distinguished panelists, as together we dissected India’s future challenges and opportunities and redefined the leadership roles of women both within India and around the globe.”

Levin moderated the session on “India 2050” which featured as panelists Nilekani; Thomas Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times; Ramachandra Guha, historian and author of “India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy”; Roopa Purushothaman, director of Future Capital Research and co-author of “Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050”; T.N. Srinivasan, the Samuel C. Park Jr. Professor of Economics at Yale; and Ernesto Zedillo, the former president of Mexico (1994-2000) and director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization.

The panelists discussed what India must do to leverage its advantages to continue to meet its promise; what the nation can do to capitalize on its social and economic gains to more equitably address the disparities faced by its population; and what failures could prevent India from fulfilling its ambitions. They also shared their imagination and vision of India in 2050.

Margaret Warner, senior correspondent for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" moderated the panel on "Women and Global Leadership," which included Indra Nooyi, chair of the board and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. Both women are Yale trustees.

Margaret Warner, senior correspondent for “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” on PBS, moderated the session on “Women and Global Leadership” which featured as panelists Shabana Azmi, actress and social activist; Naina Lal Kidwai, chief executive officer, HSBC India; Rohini Nilekani, chair of The Arghyam Trust, The Akshara Foundation and Pratham Books; and Indra Nooyi, chair of the board and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. Linda Koch Lorimer, Yale vice president and University secretary, introduced the panelists. Both Nooyi and Warner are also members of the Yale Corporation.

The panel was inspired by the fact that the ascent of India on the world stage has been marked by the rise of women leaders in all facets of India and its diaspora, and that women have figured critically as change agents and as consumers in India’s growth. It brought together four of the most influential women in the arts, the corporate world and civil society to consider women’s leadership in India and globally.

Yale’s Expanding Engagement with India

The University’s historic ties to India are well-known as its namesake, Elihu Yale, lived and worked there for nearly three decades. Yale served the British East India Company between 1670 and 1699, and administered Fort St. George in Madras (today’s Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu) as its governor between 1687 and 1692. In 1718, Yale donated to the Collegiate School of Connecticut three bales of goods, 417 books, a portrait of King George I, and a set of royal arms. Madras cotton, Kanchipuram silk and other textiles from India were among the bales of goods, and their sale raised 562 English pounds for the construction of the University’s first building.

Today, there are more than 300 students and scholars from India at Yale; they constitute the third-largest segment of the international community on campus, and complement the large number of students, faculty and scholars of Indian ancestry also at the University.

The place of India in the Yale curriculum has continued to grow since Levin visited India on an official trip in January of 2005. Yale’s Schools of Architecture, Management and Forestry & Environmental Studies have conducted study trips to India since 2006, and in the summer of 2007, more than 50 Yale students were in India undertaking internships, research, language study and social service. In May 2007, the faculty of Yale College approved the creation of a new degree concentration in South Asian Studies which takes advantage of Yale’s faculty strength and student interest in the region.

Yale has major research collaborations with India in public health, forestry and environmental studies, business, and in a range of fields in the arts and sciences. This October, Yale will inaugurate the India-Yale Parliamentary Leadership Program, which will bring 15 members of India’s parliament to Yale and the United States for training.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Yale team achieves major advances in quantum computers

Yale poll reveals growing concern about global warming

‘Incredible India@60’: Yale hosts panels on nation’s future . . .

Parents' Weekend

Special language tours offered during Parents’ Weekend

Yale endowment earns 28% return in 2006-2007

Study sheds new light on genetic differences in humans

Emilie Townes is named to associate dean at the Divinity School

Faculty members win fellowships for use of technology in curricula

Conference to honor legacy of Israeli poet

Festival invites public to enjoy area artists’ creative offerings

Evolution of ‘the city beautiful’ is focus of new exhibition

Noted theologians to give public talks during Convocation

Yale singers will bring Beinecke manuscript to musical life . . .

Winners of Graduate School’s Wilbur Cross Medals to present talks

Global experts gather to discuss ways to curb poverty . . .

‘Summer Heat’

Yale Press acquires the renowned Anchor Bible Series from Doubleday

Jane Savage named director of best practices

New digital mammography van hits the streets to provide screenings

Manuscripts and Archives hosts an introduction to its resources, services

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes