Countries throughout Southasia face immense challenges of addressing the needs of their people – whether it is the poverty that stunts the children, the political instability that stifles productivity, the lack of delivery of social justice or the absence of rule of law. Corruption has become almost endemic, development is not participatory, and intolerance and violence are on the increase. At the middle of the last century, each of our countries were led by statesmen and -women who not only changed the destiny of our nations but also transformed the world. Such leadership seems to be missing in present times, whether inside or outside the political spectrum. Everywhere, we hear the call for visionaries even as we fail to harness our demographic diversity and natural resources. Why is this so? Are the societies of Southasia meant merely to undergo bouts of indignation? What can ordinary citizens do, actively, to change this?

Diplomat, writer and thinker Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who also carries the familial legacy of the Mahatma, will address these and other issues at the ASD-Himal Southasian Lecture.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi was the Governor of West Bengal serving from 2004 to 2009. As a former member of the Indian Administrative Service, he held positions in different capacities in Tamil Nadu. He also served as the Secretary to the President of India and as High Commissioner to South Africa and Sri Lanka, among other administrative and diplomatic posts.

Gandhi graduated with a master’s degree in Literature from St. Stephen’s College of Delhi University. He has authored one novel (Saranam – “Refuge” in English) and a play in verse (Dara Shukoh). His other books are – “Gandhi and South Africa”, “Koi Acchha Sa Ladka” (translation into Hindustani of Vikram Seth’s novel ‘A Suitable Boy’), “Gandhi and Sri Lanka”, “Nehru and Sri Lanka”, “India House, Colombo – Portrait of a Residence”, “Gandhi Is Gone. Who Will Guide Us Now?” (Edited), “A Frank Friendship/ Gandhi and Bengal: A Descriptive Chronology” (compiled and edited).

He is the Chairman of Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai since December 2011. He was appointed the chairman of governing body of Indian Institute of Advanced Study, and president of its society on March 5, 2012.

He is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari.

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The lecture was delivered in Kathmandu on 18 December 2012 as part of the ASD/Himal Southasian Lecture series.