Mumbai : Exclusive IFCCI, Sciences Po Panel Discussion With Dr. Christophe Jaffrelot

The Indo-French Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IFCCI) in association with Sciences Po had organized a panel discussion on Nation Building and Nationalism : A comparison between Europe and India on 12th of December 2018 in Mumbai.

The session commenced with Dr Vanessa Scherrer, Vice President – International Affairs at Sciences Po giving a brief about the university, stating that over 50% of the students come from outside of France and it has been consistently ranked 4th internationally among research universities for Politics and International studies. Their alumni include Heads of State, French Presidents and Prime Ministers, Heads of International Organizations and so on. In India, they have a strong network of 150 alumni who have all excelled in their respective fields.

Dr. Christophe Jaffrelot, Professor at Sciences Po then took the stage to explain in brief about Nationalism and the importance of Nation Building. The talk was then proceeded by a panel discussion including Dr. Christophe Jaffrelot, Professor at Sciences Po, Mr. RavinMirchandani, Chairman of Ador Powerton & Honorary Representative of IFCCI in Pune and moderated by Mr. Sidharth Bhatia, Founder Editor of The Wire. The discussion was based on how India and most of the European countries have a two-fold definition of nationalism and nation-building. Nationalism is a bicephal figure with a territorial and secular face on one hand and ethnic one on the other. Nation-building also offers a dual pattern, with a centralized power vs a federal model. The floor was then opened to questions to the audience.

The discussion had about 60+ members of the Indo-French industry which included some alumnus from Sciences Po. The discussion concluded with a networking cocktail.