Big Announcement: Takshashila Introduces Graduate Certificate in Liberal Arts
Dear Reader,
Hope you are well. We are delighted to announce our latest course - Graduate Certificate in Liberal Arts - starting in February 2023.
In this edition, we also bring to you our work on India’s defence budget constraints, issues with the appointment of members to the Armed Forces Tribunal, the future of the semiconductor industry, and three special podcasts on Australia’s involvement in the Indo-Pacific, conservation of languages, and Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover!
Takshashila’s New GCLA
Many of us trained in technical and professional domains and having mastered our day jobs are often left yearning for intellectual stimulation that goes beyond our career tracks. Studying the liberal arts, for one, fosters a certain type of thinking and outlook, enabling one to explore new interests in life.
Recognising that opportunities to learn subjects in the liberal arts are not accessible for those of us trained in traditional disciplines, Takshashila is excited to announce a 12-week Graduate Certificate in the Liberal Arts (GCLA) programme.
Watch this short intro:
GCLA offers the opportunity of a lifetime to acquire practical knowledge and skills derived from the liberal arts. Learn how to appreciate a work of art, understand the nuances of Indian psychology, explore facets of political philosophy, perfect the skills to become a wine connoisseur, and learn to understand and interpret India’s finest temple architecture.
The programme is the first of its kind that will round up an influential section of people who yearn for intellectual stimulation & cultural refinement. The course will be conducted in person in Bengaluru by internationally renowned faculty. Only 20 spots are open!
National Security Strategy in Hard Times
Bloomsbury’s ‘In Hard Times: Security In A Time of Insecurity’, edited by Manoj Joshi, Praveen Swami and Nishtha Gautam received an official release last week on The Print’s SoftCover, an online venue to launch non-fiction books. Pranay Kotasthane has contributed a chapter in the book titled ‘Neither Guns nor Butter: The Inconvenient Truth of India’s Defence Financing’.
Reviewing the book for India Today, Tirtho Bannerjee writes about Pranay’s chapter:
Pranay Kotasthane puts it aptly when he says: At the heart of all defence planning is an economic story: wealth underpins military power. There has been a perceptible dip in resources funding defence (guns) and development (butter). And even if the defence expenditure is raised to 2.5 per cent of GDP for the next 10 years, resources for defence modernisation will still be woefully inadequate.
A government struggling with economic constraints has to pay attention towards 'butter' first -- as it begs immediacy -- and 'guns' takes a backseat. However, how far can we give short shrift to 'guns' amid the changing threat perceptions as we stare at a two-front threat -- from a belligerent China on the northern side, and a hostile neighbour -- Pakistan -- on the west?
Head to Bloomsbury, Amazon or Flipkart to get your copy!
Armed Forces Tribunal Selection Process
In his weekly column for The Print, Lt. Gen. Prakash Menon raises questions on the change in appointment and selection criteria for members of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT):
One, the original formulation of restricting administrative members to military personnel was based on the supposition that because it deals with the Armed Forces, the specialised experience and knowledge would be particularly useful in carrying out their functions. It is difficult to believe that such functions can be carried out better by a person who lacks the experience, however proficient they may be in other fields. The AFT is as much a Specialist Tribunal. As the old saying goes, ‘Render unto Caesar that are Caesar’s…’ Conversely, would they agree to appoint Armed Forces officers with knowledge or experience in the required domains as members of other departmental tribunals?
Charting The Future of the Semiconductor Industry
Pranay Kotasthane, Deputy Director of the Takshashila Institution, was joined by Murali Annavaram, Navakanta Bhat and Sanjay Palsamudram in conversation with Narayan Ramachandran on Charting the Future of the Semiconductor Industry, held at the Bangalore International Centre on 17th November 2022.
Watch the video from the event here:
Big Week at All Things Policy
All Things Policy, our daily podcast, witnessed some significant activity last week with three big-ticket episodes for our listeners to pick from:
Manoj Kewalramani spoke to Tim Watts, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, about the principles underpinning the country’s approach to the Indo-Pacific region, developments related to the Quad and AUKUS and the future of the India-Australia relationship.
In another episode, Vasanthi Hariprakash, journalist, radio personality, media entrepreneur and founder of Pickle Jar, spoke to Sowmya Nandan & Shrikrishna Upadhaya about why we should conserve our languages and dialects. In Vasanthi’s words:
Losing a link with one’s own language is like losing a slice of culture every day. Slowly. It is like the peanut butter you started slathering on the kids’ bread, instead of the sugar inside the hot ghee-filled chapati amma made.
And finally, Sachin Kalbag hosted Karthik Srinivasan, renowned social media consultant and author, and spoke about what Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter means for political discourse in particular and the evolution of social media in general.
Book Lounge: The Sheathed Sword
Takshashila held a Book Lounge event last week on ‘The Sheathed Sword: From Nuclear Bring to No First Use’. Nitin Pai, Director, Takshashila was in conversation with the editors of the book, Lt. Gen. Prakash Menon, Director of Takshashila’s Strategic Studies Programme and Aditya Ramanathan, Research Fellow at Takshashila.
They discussed strategic nuclear deterrence in the modern world, the dangers of unintended nuclear war caused by hair-trigger alerts, India and China’s no-first-use policies and the role a global no-first-use (GNFU) pledge (championed by Takshashila) can play in reducing the risks of catastrophic nuclear disasters.
The Sheathed Sword has a collection of essays from top nuclear experts from over 10 countries who rigorously analyse the GNFU proposition.
That’s all from us this week. Take care!