Pavan Varma, former Indian diplomat will be speaking on ‘Hinduism’ on Thursday, January 11 at 5.30pm at the International Centre Goa (ICG), Dona Paula. The programme which is scheduled between 5.30pm and 7pm, is free and open to the public. This event has jointly been organised by the ICG and Bika Utsav.
Addressing the mediapersons at the ICG on Monday, Anil Gupta of Bika Utsav said: “Pavan Varma is one of India’s foremost thinkers and authors. The people of Goa must not lose this opportunity of listening to him.”
Yatin Kakodkar, president ICG said, “Varma is a very popular speaker. We are privileged to host his talk at the ICG.”
A multifaceted personality, Varma is an alumnus of the St Stephen’s college and Delhi University. He joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1976 and served as press secretary to the President of India, high commissioner in Cyprus, director of the Nehru Centre in London, director general of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), and ambassador to Bhutan.
In his political career, Varma has been a Rajya Sabha MP, national spokesperson of the Janata Dal United JD (U) (2016-20) and national vice-president of the All-India Trinamool Congress (2021-22).
A distinguished writer, Varma is the author of several books on contemporary India. These include, The Great Indian Middle Class (1998), Being Indian: The Truth About Why the 21st Century Will Be India’s (2004) and more recently, The Great Hindu Civilisation: Achievement, Neglect, Bias and the Way Forward (2021). An accomplished translator, Varma has translated the poems of Kaifi Azmi, Gulzar and Atal Behari Vajpayee.
