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    Detailed Curriculum Vitaé

     

     

    Name: Makarand R. PARANJAPE

     

    Present Position and Designation: Professor of English, Centre for Linguistics and English, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

     

     

    Office Address:              Centre for Linguistics and English,

    School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies,
    Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi – 110067, INDIA

     

    Phone (O):  91-11-2610 7676 and 2616 7557  x-4663; direct:  2670 4663

                  Fax: 91-11-2610 6025 or 2332 9718:  Attn:  Prof. Makarand Paranjape

    E-Mail: makarand@mail.jnu.ac.in

    Residence:  N-16/B Saket, New Delhi – 110017, INDIA

    Phone (R): 91-11-2686 8146 and 2651 8437

     

     

    EDUCATION

    • Ph.D. in English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

                              Speciality:  Indian English literature

                              Ph.D Topic:  "Mysticism in Indian English Poetry"

     

    1983      M.A. in English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

     

    1980      B.A. (Hons.) in English, St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi

     

    ACADEMIC HONOURS

    From 1991 to present

     

    September 2004:  Invited speaker and participant at Kosmopolis, the festival of the city of Barcelona

    July 2004:  Coordinator and Chair of the Local Societies Initiative programme on Science and Spirituality:  The Delhi Dialogues.

    March 2004 onwards:  Coordinator of the UGC Special Assistance Programme awarded to the Centre of Linguistics and English, JNU

    March-April 2004:  Joint-Coordinator, China-India Intercultural Film Festival

    May-June 2003              Mellon Fellow, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, USA

    April 2002          IFUSS Fellow in Residence at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA

    Fall 2001            Visiting Professor, Ball State University, Muncie, USA

    April 2001          Invited speaker and participant the International Workshop of artists and writers, Sao Paolo, Brazil.

    March 2001       Joint Coordinator of the China-India Intercultural Dialogue

    February 2001   Invited speaker in “A Dialogue among Civilizations,” organised by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran.

      • Invited speaker for two consecutive years at the World Cultural Summit at the Chateau de Versailles, Versailles, France

    October 2000:  Invited participant in the international workshop to draft the Charter

    of Human Responsibilities in Syros, Greece.

    Summer 2000    Shastri Indo-Canadian Faculty Research Fellow at the

    Deptartment of English, University of Calgary

    Summer 1997    Recipient of the Middle Award, American Studies Research Centre,

    Hyderabad

    Summer1996    Visiting Professor, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla

    Summer 1993   The British Council Visitor to the UK as a sponsored participant at the

    Cambridge Seminar, University of Cambridge

    1991-1993   Homi Bhabha Fellow for Literature

     

    At the University of Illinois

    1985  "Distinction" in the Ph.D. Examination.

    1983  "Distinction" in Ph.D. Special Field Examination

    1982                  First rank and highest score in the Masters Comprehensive Examination.

    1980-1985   5.0 G.P.A. on a 5 point scale.

    1980    Recipient of the J. N. Tata Endowment Scholarship

     

    At the University of Delhi
    •   First Division in B.A. (Hons.); Aggregate marks: 61.75%; rank:  4th in the University

    1979  First rank in the University (shared) in 2nd year B.A (Hons.); Marks: 65%

    1978  First rank in the University in 1st year B.A. (Hons.); Marks: 66%

     

    At the Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore

    1975      Second rank in school.

                  Prize for Best Character and Influence in School.

     

    Other Points

    1985  Awarded Ph.D at the age of twenty-four.

    1986  Promoted from Fellow to Lecturer in English at the University of Hyderabad with   eleven increments.

    1989  Appointed Reader at the University of Hyderabad at the age of twenty-nine.

    1999  Appointed Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University at the age of thirty-eight, one of  the youngest full professors of English in India.

     

    SPECIAL ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

    2001 onwards:  Member of the International Editorial Advisory Board of E.S.:  Revista de Filologia Inglesa, University of Valladolid, Spain.

     

    2002 onwards:  General Editor of a series of reprints of rare Indian English titles published by the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi

     

    2002 onwards:  Founding Editor, Evam  Forum on Indian Representations, an international bi-annual journal.

     

    TEACHING EXPERIENCE

    Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

    1999 onwards: Professor of English, Centre of Linguistics and English, School of Language, Literature, and Culture Studies, teaching courses to M.A. and M.Phil students, and guiding doctoral research. Teach M.A. courses such as “American Literature,” “Indian Literature in English/Translation,” “Readings in Literary Theory and Criticism,” “Colonial Discourse/Postcolonial Literature,” and M.Phil courses such as “Research Methodology,” “Introduction to Contemporary Literary Theory,” “Literature in India,” and so on.

     

    Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi

    1994 – 1999: Associate Professor, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences. Taught a variety of courses including “English in Practice,” “Introduction to Literature,” “American Literature,”  “Indian Writing in English,” “Workshop in Creative Writing,” “Modern Indian Fiction in Translation,” and “Science and Humanism” at the Undergraduate level, and “Contemporary Critical Theory” and “Indian Writing in English” at the Pre-Doctoral level.

     

    University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad

    1989 – 1994  Reader, Department of English.

    1987 – 1989  Lecturer, Department of English.

    1986 – 1987  Fellow, Department of English.

    Taught a variety of M.A. and M. Phil courses including “Commonwealth Literature,” “17th Century Literature,” “Victorian Literature,” “Literary Theory and Criticism,” “Indian Writing in English,” a Special Author course on Sarojini Naidu, and “Introduction to Research Methodology.”

     

    University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

    1980-1986  Teaching Assistant, Department of English.

    Taught a variety of courses including “Introduction to Rhetoric,” “Rhetoric for Engineers,” “Advanced Rhetoric,” “Introduction to Literature,” and “Film as Literature.”

     

    OTHER ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

    Research Guidance

    Guided four M.Phil theses at the University of Hyderabad and eight at JNU; at present, I have six students pursuing their Ph.D with me.

     

    Examiner

    Have served as a paper-setter and examiner for M.A. English in various universities including Osmania University, Gulbarga University, Punjabi University, the Jamia Milia Islamia, and the North-Eastern Hill University.

     

    Have examined M.Phil and Ph.D thesis at various universities including University of Western Australia, Perth; La Trobe University, Melbourne; Karnataka University, Osmania University, University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Bangalore University, Jamia Milia Islamia, University of Pune, Trivandrum University, M.S. University of Baroda, Aligarh Muslim University, Punjabi University, Patiala, M.D. University, Rohtak, Goa University, and so on.

     

     

    MEMBERSHIP OF SOCIETIES

    Modern Language Association, Association for Commonwealth Language and Literature Studies, Indian Association for English Studies, American Studies Research Centre, Indian Association of Commonwealth Language and Literature Studies, Indian Association of Commonwealth Studies, Poetry Society (India), Poetry Circle (Bombay), Indian Secular Society, Indian Association for Cultural Freedom, the Alliance for a Responsible, Plural, and United World, and so on.

     

    INVITED TALKS and READINGS (India and abroad)

    (In chronological order)

     

    • "Indian Poetry in English: Texts and Contexts," at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, August 1986.
    • "Jawaharlal Nehru and Literature," All India Radio, 12 November 1986.
    • "The Mystical Poetry of J. Krishnamurti," at the Hyderabad Poetry Society, 29 November 1987."'English Studies' and the Search for Alternatives," Department of English, Gulbarga University, 13 January 1988.
    • Two lectures each on Commonwealth literature and Indian English literature for the Academic Staff College, University of Hyderabad, 24-25 March 1988.
    • Lecture on "Rammohun Roy and the Indian Renaissance" at the Institute for Human Study, Hyderabad, 7 June 1988.
    • Two lectures on Indian English literature for the Academic Staff College, University of Hyderabad, 9 September 1988.
    • Four lectures at the Academic Staff College, Guwahati University, Guwahati, 23-24 March 1989.
    • "Politics and the Indian English Novel," Dept. of English, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 28 March 1989.
    • Poetry reading at Kavi Bharati, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, 10-12 October 1990.
    • "Issues in Development: The Women's Movement," I.I.T., Bombay, 23 January 1991.
    • "Towards a Theory of Decolonization," I.I.T., Bombay, 24 January 1991.
    • Poetry reading at the TELI conference, Golconda Hotel, 11 March 1991.
    • "The Colonized as the Colonizer and the Colonizer as the Colonized," Department of English, Karnatak University, Dharwad, 15 July 1991.
    • Poetry reading at Walden Bookshop, Hyderabad. 23 July 1991.
    • Seven lectures at the Academic Staff College, Poona University, 18-23 November 1991.
    • Poetry reading organised by the Poetry Society (India), New Delhi, 10 April 1992.
    • Six lectures at the Academic Staff College, Lucknow University, 21-23 September 1992.
    • Lecture on Anglo-Indian literature at the P.G. Department of English, SNDT Women's University, Bombay, 9 October 1992.
    • "Sarojini Naidu and the Problematic of Post-Colonial Literature" at the P.G. Department of English, SNDT Women's University, Bombay, 12 April 1993.
    • "Hind Svaraj Revisioned" at the Foreign Languages Bldg., University of Illinois, USA, 3 May 1993.
    • Poetry reading. Department of English, University of Illinois, USA, 4 May 1993.
    • Participated in a discussion of contemporary Indian English literature at the Nehru Centre, London, 21 June 1993.
    • Talk on "Indian Literature" at the IIT-Delhi chapter of SPIC-MACAY on 9 May 1994.
    • Invited talk on Contemporary Indian English Poetry at Lady Shri Ram College, August 1994.
    • Invited to conduct a workshop on the writing of poetry at Lady Shri R College, New Delhi, October 1994.
    • "Myths and Monuments in My Poetry" – an invited talk to a SPIC-MACAY group, I.I.T., October 1994.
    • "Towards an Indigenous Tradition in Criticism" – an invited talk at the Jamia Milia Islamia, 5 November 1994.
    • "On Secularism." Invited NSS lecture at Karakorum Hostel, IIT, January 1995.
    • "Trends in Recent Indian English Poetry"--invited talk at Christchurch College, Kanpur, 20 January 1995.
    • Three lectures at the Academic Staff College, Lucknow University, 17-18 February 1995.
    • "Sahitya aur Itihas Darshan." Invited talk at the JNU Literary Society, JNU, 14 March 1995.
    • Gave two readings from my poetry and fiction respectively at the VIIth ISCS conference, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, 27-28 March 1995, and chaired a session on creative writing.
    • Gave a reading from my poetry and fiction at the 10th Triennial ACLALS Conference, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 14-18 August 1995.
    • "Indian English Fiction Today" – invited plenary lecture at the UGC seminar at the Department of English, Kakatiya University, Warangal, 26 August 1995.
    • Read Marathi translations of my poems in the poetry reading of the Sarvajanic Ganesh Mahotsav at the Constitution Club, New Delhi, 2 September 1995.
    • Conducted a discussion on Anand Patwardhan's documentary, Father, Son and Holy War at Karakoram Hostel, 16 September 1995.
    • "Postcolonial Consciousness and Literary Studies" – an invited plenary lecture to the Khalsa College Literary Society, 22 September 1995.
    • Coordinator of a panel discussion on Mahatma Gandhi's Hind Swaraj in the Senate Room, I.I.T., Delhi, 27 September 1995.
    • Discussant in a seminar on Identity, CSDS, Delhi, 1-2 November 1995.
    • Discussant at the Reinterpreting Romanticism Seminar, British Council and Sahitya Akademi, 7 December 1995.
    • Participated in a lecture-discussion session with Raimundo Panniker at the IGNCA, 10-12 January 1996.
    • Six lectures at the Academic Staff College, Goa University, 22-24 January 1996.
    • Invited panellist in a seminar on Mahatma Gandhi in Jamia Milia Islamia, 29 January 1996.
    • Lecture on "Keats and India," English Department, Kurukshetra University, 10 February 1996.
    • Talk on "Indian Civilization: Prospects for the 21st Century – I," Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 17 March 1996.
    • Four lectures at the Academic Staff College, University of Hyderabad, 28-31 March 1996.
    • Talk on "Indian Civilization: Prospects for the 21st Century – II," Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 14 April 1996
    • Talk on "The Distinctive Features of Indian Civilization," Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 21 April 1996.
    • Talk on "Indian Civilization and the Western Impact," Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 12 May 1996.   
    • Talk on "Indian Civilization: Prospects for the 21st Century – III," Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 16 June 1996.
    • Talk on "Foundations of Indian Culture – I," Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 21 June 1996.
    • Talk on "Foundations of Indian Culture – II," Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 21 July 1996.
    • Talk on "Foundations of Indian Culture – III," Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 4 August 1996.
    • Invited participant in an international conference on "The History of Science and Civilizations," at NISTADS, New Delhi, 2-4 September 1996.
    • Invited participant in a poets' meet on "Environment and Poetry," Administrative Block, Pragati Maidan, 14 August 1996; the programme was repeated at the India International Centre, 12 September, 1996.
    • Invited participant in a seminar on "Information Revolution, Globalisation and One World," the Old Anchor Resort, Goa, 15-18 November 1996; also chaired a session.
    • Two lectures and a poetry reading at the Academic Staff College, University of Mumbai: "Domesticating Postmodernism," "Derrida, Deconstruction, Poststructuralism," and poetry reading, 16-17 December 1996.
    • "The Dharma of Technology," University of Roorkie, 24 January 1997 as a part of Virasat, the SPIC-MACAY festival.
    • Invited participant in a panel discussion with Shri Pandurang Shastri Athavale at Suraj Kund, 27-29 January 1997.
    • "Woman as Power," B.D. Arya Women's College, Jalandhar, 1 February 1997, as a part of Virasat.
    • "Education for Excellence: An Integral View" invited talk at a seminar on "Pursuit of Excellence," Mothers' International School, New Delhi, 8 February 1997.
    • Invited participant in a panel discussion on Hind Swaraj at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, 1 March 1997.
    • "Towards a Trans-Civilizational Approach to American Studies," American Studies Research Centre, Hyderabad, 1 July 1997.
    • One talk, "How Poetry Happens" and one reading at the Kodaikanal International School, 8-9 August, 1997, followed by a public reading at the Kodaikanal Club on 10 August 1997.
    • Three lectures at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram as a part of the special lecture series to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Sri Aurobindo's birth: "Sri Aurobindo and the Future of India," "Sri Aurobindo and His Followers," and "Sri Aurobindo and His Contemporaries," 15-16 August 1997.
    • Talk on "On the Meaning of India," at the India International Centre, 4 September 1997.
    • Talk on "On Indian Culture" invited special lecture at the Apeejay School, Pitampura, 9 September 1997.
    • "Surpassing Humanity: Sri Aurobindo's Vision of Evolution," invited lecture at a conference on "Sri Aurobindo's Vision of the Future of Humanity," Sri Aurobindo Ashram-Delhi Branch, 23 November 1997.
    • "Sadhana aur aam jeevan" at the Sadhbhavana Satsang, Munirka, Sunday, 8 March 1998.
    • Conducted three workshops at the Tibetan schools in Dharamsala and Mcleodsganj: one workshop at the lower Tibetan Childrens' Village, for primary and secondary school children; the theme was "Non-violence." Two workshops at the higher Tibetan Childrens' Village, Mcleodsganj, one for high school children, and another for their teachers. Dates: 12-14 April 1998. The workshops were arranged by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
    • Gave a reading of my poetry and fiction at the Centre for Creative Writing and Translation, Calcutta University, on 18 April 1998.
    • "Kuch baat hai ki hasti mitati nahin hamari." Invited lecture at the Bharatiya Sanskriti Samsad, Calcutta, on 18 April 1998.
    • Invited lecture on "Theorising Postcolonialism" at Jadavpur University, Centre for European Studies, 20 April 1998.
    • Invited reading at the Sahitya Akademi, Calcutta, 20 April 1998.
    • "Gender and Literature: A Writer's Perspective" at the Refresher Course on Womens' Studies, University of Delhi, 28 April 1998.
    • Special lecture on "Sri Aurobindo and His Yoga" for students of All India Institute of Medical Sciences at the Sunday satsang, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 3 May 1998.
    • Gave a poetry reading at the CIEFL, Hyderabad, on 9 July 1998.
    • Gave a poetry reading at the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, New Delhi, on 25 July 1998.
    • Invited speaker in a panel discussion on Relating to Reality by Madhava Ashish at the India International Centre, 27 July 1998.
    • Co-ordinated a panel discussion on Sri Aurobindo broadcast on All India Radio on 13 August 1998.
    • Special invited lecture on "Foundations of Indian Culture" at the Central Institute of Education, University of Delhi, 19 August 1998.
    • Invited Participant in a seminar on "The Future of Educational Television," at the Consortium of Educational Communication, New Delhi, 4 September 1998.
    • Special invited lecture on "Bharatiya Vidya: Its Meaning and Relevance" at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan School, 18th September 1998.
    • Special invited lecture on "Foundations of Indian Culture – Indian Art," at College of Art, 23 September 1998.
    • Chaired a lecture by Manoj Das on "Sri Aurobindo's Vision of the Future," at the India Habitat Centre, 12 October 1998.
    • Special invited lecture on "Foundations of Indian Culture – The Spiritual Dimension" at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, 23 October 1998.
    • Invited participant in a workshop on "Culture, Pluralism, and Sustainability" organized by Pipal Tree, Bangalore, 20-22 December 1998.
    • Invited participant in a workshop on "Pluralism, Conflict Resolution and Communal Harmony" organized by Pipal Tree, Bangalore, 15-17 January 1999.
    • Coordinator and panelist in "Colloquium on Indian Criticism" organized jointly by the Sahitya Akademi and the India International Centre, New Delhi, 18 January 1999.
    • Five lectures on Cultural Criticism at the Refresher Course on the same topic at the University of Goa, Goa, 26-28 January 1999.
    • Participated in a workshop on "A Different India" organized by the Humanist Movement, Mumbai, 29 January 1999.
    • Invited participant in a poetry reading at the national seminar on "Home and Abroad: Indian Literature in English/Translation" at the University of Delhi, Delhi, 24 February 1999.
    • Panelist in a discussion on approaches to teaching British Literature at a Refresher Course at the University of Delhi, Delhi, 6 March 1999.
    • Special invited lecture on "Postcolonial Perspectives on British Literature" at the Refresher Course at the University of Delhi, Delhi, 13 March 1999.
    • Poetry reading (with Keki N. Daruwalla) at the national seminar on "Towards the 21st Century: An Appraisal of Indian English Writing of the 1990s," 19 March 1999.
    • Invited participant in a South Asian regional workshop of the Alliance for a Responsible and United World, Bangalore, 25-28 March 1999.
    • Interviewed and videotaped in "Hard Talk" at the national conference on "Recent Indian Poetry in English" organized by the Sahitya Akademi and the University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 30-31 March 1999. Also gave a reading of my poetry in the same event on 30 March 1999.
    • Panelist in a discussion on the Impact of Popular Literature on the Reading Habits of the Public, AIR National Channel, 27 April 1999.
    • Invited participant and speaker at the World Faiths Development Dialogue discussion on Spirituality and Development, India International Centre, 6 June 1999.
    • Four lectures at the Refresher Course in Commonwealth Literature, Saurashtra University, Rajkot, 22-24 June 1999.
    • Lecture on Raja Rao to the postgraduate students of the English Department, Saurashtra University, Rajkot, 25 June 1999.
    • . Lecture on "How to Improve Your English" to the students of the Kelvani College, Rajkot, 25 June 1999.
    • "Compulsive Consumption: Its Causes and Its Cures." Invited talk at the Navadarshanam Study Circle, 18 July 1999.
    • Invited participant in a panel discussion organized by Project for Economic Education, India International Centre, 25 July 1999.
    • "Tradition and the Challenge of Change" at "Paramapara – A millennium event on the classical dances of India, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, 20 September 1999.
    • “Rethinking American Studies,” special invited lecture at the Dept. of Evening Studies, Punjab University, Chandigarh, 21 September 1999.
    • “Spirituality and Development.” Special invited lecture at the National Foundation of India, the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, 27 October 1999.
    • “Indian Education: Lessons from the Past, Challenges for the Future,” at Apeejay School, Faridabad, 23 October 1999.
    • Five lectures on the teaching of Literary Theory in the Refresher Course at the University of Mumbai, December 1999.
    • "Challenges for Humanity in the New Millennium," invited special lecture given to the officers and ladies of the 22st Infantry Division at the divisional headquarters, Meerut, 4 January 2000.
    • Discussant for a lecture on "The Message of Sri Aurobindo" by Dr. Karan Singh, India International Centre, 11 January 2000.
    • Chaired a lecture by Professor Michael Palencia-Roth on "Contrastive Literature: The Need to Dewesternize Literary Analysis," School of Language, Literature, and Culture Studies, JNU, New Delhi, 10 February 2000.
    • Inaugural remarks at “Alternatives for the Youth in the 21st Century,” a workshop organized by the Debating Club and NSS, JNU, and the Alliance for a Responsible, Plural and United World, JNU, 14-15 March 2000.
    • Invited participant in a panel discussion on “Re-viewing Reviewing,” organized by Katha and Sahitya Akademi, 22 April 2000.
    • Invited participant in a “The Call of the Time:  Globalization, Leadership, Love,” an international workshop organized by the Brahma Kumaris at the Academy for a Better World, Mt. Abu, Rajasthan, 10-13 February 2001.
    • Invited speaker at the launch of So Many Births: Three Decades of Poetry by K. Satchidanandan. 14 February 2001, India International Centre, New Delhi.
    • Invited Discussant in the annual festival of letters of the Sahitya Akademi in a national seminar on “Women’s Writing,” 24 February 2001, India International Centre, New Delhi.
    • Invited speaker on “The Impact of Globalization on Indian Culture” at the McGill McConnell Program for Canadian Voluntary Sector Leaders, Hyatt Regency Hotel, 29 March 2001.
    • Reading from and launch of Used Book at the India International Centre, 14 April 2001.
    • Invited participant in the follow-up workshop on “Decolonizing English Education” at the North Gujarat University, Patan, 19-21 April 2001.
    • Invited speaker on “The Culture of the Indian Diaspora: Problems and Challenges in the 21st Century” in a panel discussion on “The Indian Diaspora: Problems and Challenges in the 21st Century,” Centre for the Study of Social Systems, JNU, 25 April 2001.
    • Invited participant in the international poetry reading at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, 12th July 2001.
    • Poetry reading at Bekelouw's bookstore sponsored by the New South Wales Writers Centre, Sydney, 16 July 2001.
    • Poetry reading at the Elliot's Bay Bookstore, Seattle, 23 July 2001.
    • Invited public lecture at University of Massachusettes-Dartmouth on "Altered Desti/Nations: Mahatma Gandhi and Postcolonial Cultures" October 1, 2001, in a program organized by the Center for Indic Studies on the eve of the 132nd birth anniversary of Gandhi.
    • Invited poetry reading at Bryant College, Providence, Rhode Island, on the evening of October 1, 2001.
    • Invited talk and reading at the Department of English, Rhode Island College, Providence, on October 2, 2001.
    • Invited talk at the Department of English, Ball State University, on “Postcolonial Prepositions and the Cultural Logic of Vernacular India,” 26th October 2001.
    • Invited talk at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on “English India and It’s Others,” Lucy Ellis Lounge, Foreign Languages Building, Urbana, 29th October 2001.
    • Invited presentation on “U.S. Studies in India:  Prospect and Retrospect” by the International Forum on U.S. Studies, University of Iowa, 5th November 2001.
    • Invited lecture on “Postcolonial India:  English and It’s Con/texts” at the Department of Enlighs, University of Saarland, Saarbruken, Germany, 18th December 2001.
    • Invited lecture on “Fire  and Shame:  The Cultural Politics of Re-presenting India” at the South Asia Institute, Heidelburg, 19th December 2001.
    • Poetry reading at the national seminar on “Recent Indian English Literature:  Mapping Indianness” at Dayanand College, Ajmer, 3rd January 2002.
    • Invited participant in a panel discussion on “India—Just Another Five Letter Word” at Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, 12th January 2002.
    • Invited poetry reading sponsored by Bharatiya Jnanpith, India International Centre, Friday, 15th February 2002.
    • “Representing India:  Indian English and Its Con/texts” at the Department of English, National University of Singapore, 31st January 2002.
    • Chaired a lecture by Michael Fisher on “Early Indian Writers of English,” Sahitya Akademi, 8th March 2002.
    • Public lecture on “Fire and Lajja:  Two Ways of Seeing India” at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, 24th April 2002.
    • Gave a poetry reading and chaired a session of readings at the USACLALS conference at the University of Santa Clara, 26-28 April 2002.
    • Invited talk on “Gnosis and Alternative Postcolonialisms” at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2nd July 2002.
    • “The Reality of Myths in Indian Traditions”—TV interview and discussion with Professor Harsha Dehejia, Carleton University, Ottawa, 5th July 2002.
    • Invited lecture on “Gnosis, Post-Occidental Reason and Postcolonial Futures” at the University of Munich, Munich, Germany 15th July 2002.
    • Chaired a session and gave a reading at the international conference on “Peripheral Centres, Central Peripheries:  Anglophone India and Its Diaspora(s),” University of Saarbrucken, Saarbrucken, Germany, 29-31 August 2002.
    • Participant in the planning workshop on the China-India Inter-cultural Dialogue, 2nd September 2002.
    • Special plenary talk on “Dharma and Communalism” at the Pipal Tree Workshop on Communal Harmony, Fireflies Ashram, Bangalore, 4-6 October 2002.
    • “Indian English Literature vs. Bhasha Literature.”  Special invited public lecture as a part of the National Book Trust North East Book Festival, Duliajan, Assam, 8th November 2002.
    • Two lectures on “Literary Theory after Structuralism” and “Postcolonial Theory” at the Academic Staff College, Jamia Millia Islamia, 14th November 2002.
    • Short talk as Guest of Honour at Renaissance Artists’ and Writers’ Association (RAWA) musical and dance drama, Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi, 16th November 2002.
    • Gave a public reading and talk at the Monash Cultural Institute, downtown Melbourne, on 2nd December 2002, and launched Chandani Lokuge’s edition of Cornelia Sorabji’s Love and Life Behind the Pardah on 3th December 2002.
    • Participated in three workshops at the World Social Forum 2003, Porto Allegre, 23-28th January 2003
    • Invited participant in “Russia and India:  Dialogue of Civilizations in a Globalizing World,” 6th February 2003, Le Meridian Hotel, New Delhi.
    • Inaugural Address at the UGC Refresher Course on “Teaching Literature Today,” Panjab University, Chandigarh, 20th February 2003.
    • “Nation and Society:  India’s Quest for Svaraj.” Invited lecture at the Refresher Course in Sociology at the Academic Staff College, JNU, 30th July 2003.
    • Invited speaker in discussion on Guru by Your Bedside by S. D. Pandey.  Chair:  Dr. Karan Singh, India International Centre, 12th September 2003.
    • Coordinated a panel discussion on “What Life Means to Me” with participants from various Delhi schools for the project “Attending to Life” organized by the Foundation for Human Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,19th September 2003, India Habitat Centre.
    • Three talks on “English Studies:  An Indian Stock Taking” at the Refresher Course on “English Studies Today” 7-9 November 2003, Punjab University, Chandigarh.
    • Invited poetry reading at the Department of English, University of Hyderabad, 8th November 2003.
    • Two talks and a workshop at the Refresher Course at the Centre for Women’s Studies, Benaras Hindu University, 19-21 December 2003
    • Invited speaker in a panel on “Deconstructing Binaries:  Signs and Language” at the Refresher Course on Women’s Studies, University of Delhi, South Campus, 17th Feb 2004.
    • “Bollywood:  Dreams and Realites” at Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 8th April 2004.
    • “Split Wide Open” presentation and discussion of film at the Charles Leopold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humankind, Paris, 22nd May 2004.
    • “Indian Representations in Literary Texts,” invited talk organised by Prasthutha, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 8th July 2004.
    • Poetry reading at the ACLALS Triannual Conference, Hyderabad, 4-9 August 2004.
    • “Postcolonial India: Dimensions of Change,” School of English, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 31st August 2004.
    • “The “Post” in Post-colonial,” Dept. of English, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia, 5th September 2004.
    • “Globalising India:  Facing the West” invited talk at the Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, 13th Sepbember 2004.
    • “Swami Vivekananda’s Contemporary Relevance” (Hindi Talk), Hanuman Mandir, Munirka, 26th September 2004.
    • Participant in the launch of Partial Disclosure, a collection of poems by Makarand Paranjape, India Habitat Centre on 1st November 2004.
    • “Swami Vivekananda:  Today and Tomorrow.”  Invited lecture at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, 29th November 2004.
    • Participant in the launch of Dharma and Development edited by Makarand Paranjape at the India International Centre on 10th December 2004.
    • Speaker in the panel on Optimal Globalization at the India International Centre, 11th December 2004.

    Special Activities

    Have been conducting Study Camps for Sri Aurobindo Ashram-Delhi Branch at Van Niwas, Naini Tal. In June 1997, I conducted a 10-day camp on "The Foundations of Indian Culture." In May 1998, I conducted a 10-day camp on "Orientation for a Spiritual Education."

     

    Conducted a series of workshops on topics such as Non-violence, education, and gender for students of the Tibetan Central Schools at Kalimpong, Darjeeling, and Sonada from 9-11 May 1998. The workshops were arranged by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

     

    Conducted a series of workshops for students and teachers of the SOS Tibetan Children's Village, a workshop for students of the Tibetan Central School, and one for the monks and teachers of the Sera Monastery, all at the Tibetan settlement in May 1998. The workshops were arranged at Bylokuppe, Karnataka, by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

     

    Coordinated and organized the first Infinity Foundation award, including a panel discussion on “Indian Thought:  Asymmetries in Perception,” 8th October 2002, India International Centre, New Delhi.

     

     

    Lecture Series

    August 1996 to April 1999: On Sri Aurobindo's Foundations of Indian Culture at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch, on the 1st Sunday of each month.

     

    From October 1999 onwards: On “Savitri: The Epic of Consciousness,” at Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch, on the 1st Sunday of each month.

     

    March 2003, UGC Visiting Fellow, Saurashtra University, Rajkot.

     

     

    PARTICIPATION IN SEMINARS, CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA, etc., and PAPERS PRESENTED

    (In chronological order)

     

    Outside India

    • "Towards Contextualizing Indian English Poetry," at 5th South Asian Language Analysis Roundtable, University of Illinois, Urbana, 21 May 1983.
    • "Modernism in Contemporary Indian English Poetry," at 12th Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 5 November 1983.
    • "Method and Meaning in J. Krishnamurti's Commentaries on Living at 14th Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2 November 1985.
    • "The Ideology of Form: Notes on the Third World Novel" at the Silver Jubilee ACLALS Conference, University of Kent-Canterbury, England, 24-31 August 1989.
    • Invited participant at the Cambridge Seminar on contemporary British literature, 7-16 June 1993.
    • "Minority and Ethnicity in Indian English literature." At the 10th Triennial ACLALS Conference, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 17 August 1995; also participated in a panel discussion on "Inscribing India/Africa" on 16 August 1995 in the same conference.
    • "Seeing with Three Eyes: Raja Rao and the Gandhian Way" at "Word as Mantra: The Art of Raja Rao." Symposium honouring Raja Rao, University of Texas at Austin, USA, 24 March 1997.
    • "Combining the Psycho-Spiritual and the Socio-Political: A New Praxis for the New Millennium," at the international workshop on "Interwovenness and Sustainable Societies," Tagaytay, Philippines, 28 October-1 November 1998.
    • "Dependency and Blocked Development: Indian English Literature and the World Culture-System" at the 11th ACLALS Triennial Conference, 1-6 December 1998, Kaula Lumpur, Malaysia; also participated in a World Poetry Reading, Plenary Writers' Forum, and Chaired a session during the conference.
    • "Empires and Diasporas: Some Preliminary Reflections" at "Complicities: Connections & Divisions," Ninth Biennial Symposium on Literatures and Cultures of the Asia-Pacific Region, 8-11 December 1999, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
    • “South Asian Canadian Literature: Some Types” at the CACLALS annual seminar, University of Alberta, Edmonton, 26-28 May 2000.
    • “Spiritual Values in a Time of Globalisation,” World Cultural Summit, Chateau de Versailles, Versailles, 17 June 2000.
    • Invited participant in the Youth Workshop of the Alliance for a Responsible, Plural, and United World, Kathmandu, 10-12 July 2000.
    • Invited plenary lecture on “The Role of Spirituality in the Work of the Alliance” at a workshop on “Cultural Values and Sustainable Alternatives,” AFCOD, Bangkok, 4-7 October 2000.
    • Invited contributor and participant in a workshop on a “Charter for a Responsible, Plural and United World,” organized by POLIS at Syros, Greece, 30 October-4 November 2000.
    • Plenary Address on “Modern Indian Spirituality: Challenges and Opportunities” at the International Conference on Contemporary India, University of Valladolid, Spain, 15-19 November 2000.
    • Plenary Address on “The Present Cultural Crisis and India’s Civilizational Resources” at the “Dialogue Among Asian Civilization,” Tehran, 17-18 February 2001.
    • Special invited lecture on “Contemporary India: Continuity and Change” at the Northeast Normal University, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China, on 15 March 2001.
    • Invited speaker and participant in an international meeting on “Art and Cultural Identity in the Construction of a United World,” Ita Pesserica da Sarra, Sao Paolo, Brazil, 29 April-3 May 2001.
    • Chaired two sessions, presented a paper, "Bright Myths to Lie Beside on Cold Nights: Resistance and Reconciliation in South Asian Australia," and gave a reading at the 12th Triennial Conference of the Association of Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies conference at Canberra, Australia, 9-14 July 2001.
    • Chaired a panel on "Caribbean Literature: Home and Exile" and presented a paper, "The New Orientalists? Reflections of Contemporary Representations of India" at the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association annual convention at Vancouver, Canada, October 11-13, 2001.
    • Organized and chaired a panel entitled "Losses, Retrievals, and Anxieties of Hope: Trans/forming Indian Identities," in which he also presented a paper on "Translated Id/entities" at the 30 Annual Conference on South Asian at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, October 19-21, 2001.
    • Invited participant in the World Citizens Assembly, Lille, France from 1-10 December 2001; represented Indian academics and was the rapporteur for the South Asia region.
    • Invited participant in “Multiversity—Recapturing Worlds,” organized by Justice International, Penang, 1-3 February 2002.
    • Invited Plenary Speaker, Chair of a session, and poet at the USACLALS Annual Conference, Santa Clara University, 26-28 April 2002; the plenary address was on “Postcolonial Prepositions and the Logic of Vernacular India.”
    • “The Third Eye and Two Ways of (Un)knowing:  Gnosis, Alternative Modernities, and Postcolonial Futures,” at the international colloquium on “Completing the Global Renaissance:  the Indic Contributions,” Menla Centre and Columbia University, New York, 24-29 July 2002.
    • “Indian Anglophony, Diasporan Polycentricism, and Postcolonial Futures” at the international conference on “Peripheral Centres, Central Peripheries:  Anglophone India and Its Diasporas,” University of Saarbrucken, Saarbrucken, Germany, 30th August 2002.
    • “Asian Identities, Postcolonial Futures, and Bombay Dreams,” keynote address at the international conference on “Cultural Flows in a Globalizing Asia,” Monash Univeristy, Clayton, Australia, 29th November-1st December 2002.
    • Featured Speaker in the Artists Workshop, World Social Forum, Porto Allegre, 24-28 January 2003.
    • Invited participant and speaker in “Cross Cultural Dialogue—Retrospective and Perspective,” Peking University, 26-28 February 2003.
    • With support by Japan Foundation, visited universities in Tokyo and Kyoto, 28 September to 3rd October 2004
    • Invited participant and speaker in the workshop of the Alliance for a Responsible, Plural World, 26-27 October 2003, Ambassador Hotel, Bangkok.
    • As Joint-Coordinator of the China-India Intercultural Dialogue, headed an Indian delegation consisting of Dev Benegal, Nandita Das, L.S. Tochhwang, and Shohini Ghosh, to China to take part in the Festival of Indian Films at Goungzhou, China, 5-11 April 2004.
    • Invited participant at the Metanexus annual conference on Religion and Spirituality at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 5-9 June 2004.
    • “Still Searching for Svaraj: India after Gandhi” at an international conference on “Gandhi, Non-Violence, Modernity” at Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University, Canberra, 1-3 September 2004.
    • Invited speaker at Kosmopolis, the literary and cultural festival organized by the city of Barcelona; spoke on “The Amorous Turn:  Romantic Moments in Indian Artistic Traditions” (with Felicity Hand’s Catalan translation), 17th September 2004.

    In India

     

    • "The Political Background and Sources of Raja Rao's Comrade Kirillov" at UGC conference on "Image of India in the Indian Novel in English," University of Poona, 12-15 March 1986.
    • "Indian Thought in M. Anantanarayanan's The Silver Pilgrimage," at UGC conference on "The Impact of Indian Thought on the Anglo-Indian and Indo-Anglian Novel," Osmania University, 9-12 October 1986.
    • "Raja Rammohun Roy's Response to the West," at CIEFL conference on the Nineteenth Century, Hyderabad, 10-12 December 1987.
    • "The Golden Gate and the Quest for Self-realization," at IACLALS symposium, Dhvanyaloka, Mysore, 23-25 December 1987.
    • "The Caste of the Indian English Novel," at the symposium on "Caste and the Indian Novel," Dhvanyaloka, Mysore, 30 May-1 June 1988.
    • "The Invasion of Theory – An Indian Response" at the 37th All India English Teachers' Conference, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, 24-26 November 1988.
    • "Raja Rao's Latest Gambit: A Note on the Form of The Chessmaster and His Moves at the National Comparative Literature Conference, Telugu University, Hyderabad, 26-28 December 1988.
    • "Michael Madhusudan Dutt, or What You Will," at the 2nd seminar on Nineteenth Century, ASRC, Hyderabad, 4-6 March 1989.
    • "T. S. Eliot through Indian Eyes: Mulk Raj Anand's Conversations in Bloomsbury," at the Sahitya Akademi and Dhvanyaloka seminar on T S Eliot and India, Mysore, 5-8 April 1989.
    • "Towards Redefining Boundaries: The Indo-Canadian Experience in Days and Nights in Calcutta," at the seminar on "Post-Colonial Preoccupations in Canadian and Indian Fiction," Institute of English, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, 17-18 November 1989.
    • "`Howzatt Umpire! Ten Meditations on Indian English'" at international seminar on Indian English, CIEFL, Hyderabad, 14-16 February 1990.
    • "A Critique of Indian Criticism: Options and Challenges" at the Samavaya on "The Critical Time," Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, 17-20 February 1990.
    • "`Indianness' – Concept and Problems at the national seminar on "Indian Literature: Concept and Problems," University of Hyderabad, 14-16 March 1990.
    • "The Absence of Erotics: A Poet's Search for Eros" at Kavi Bharati 2, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, 12-14 October 1990.
    • "Swami Vivekananda's Letters: An Introductory Reading," at Seminar on the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda' Tradition, Ramakrishna Math, Hyderabad, 1-2 December 1990.
    • "Towards a Theory of Decolonization: Strategies of Resistance," at International Conference on Commonwealth Literature, Utkal University, 28-31 January 1991.
    • "Beyond English: The Ultimate Agendas of TELI," at Seminar on the Teaching of English Literature in India, Department of English, University of Hyderabad, 7-12 March 1991.
    • "Raja Rao's Chessmaster: A Review of Reviews and an Introduction," at Seminar on Indian English Fiction, 1980-1990, at Bombay University, 18-20 March 1991.
    • "Postmodernism and India: Some Preliminary Animadversions." In a conference on Postmodernism: Narration and Difference, Dept. of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of Delhi, 27-28 October 1991.
    • "Syllabus Reform and the Ideology of English Studies in India" at workshop on the English Honours Course: Content and Discontent conducted by the English Association, University of Delhi, 18-19 December 1991.
    • "Metamorphosis as Metaphor: Shape-Shifting in Girish Karnad's Plays." The Golay Memorial Seminar, University of Poona, 3-4 July 1992.
    • "Indo-Anglian as Anglo-Indian: Ideology, Cultural Politics, and Cross-Cultural Representation." Seminar on Anglo-Indian Literature: Post-Colonial Perspectives." University of Bombay, 8 October 1992.
    • "Present Responsibilities: Towards an Agenda for Indian English Criticism." Hindu College, New Delhi, 23 October 1992.
    • "Tradition, Modernity, Postmodernity: Challenges in Theory." Sahitya Akademi Colloquium on Young Writing in India, 20-23 February 1993.
    • "Feminism and Commonwealth Literature." Keynote address at the annual ISCS Conference, S.N. Vanita Mahavidyalaya, Hyderabad, October 1993.
    • "Poetry Makes Us, We Don't Make Poetry: Some Reflections on How I Work as a Poet," at the North Eastern Zone Culture Centre-Sahitya Akademi Poets' Meet, Shillong, 29 July 1994.
    • "Coping with Postcolonialism" at IACLALS-IIAS seminar on "Interrogating Postcolonialism: Theory, Text and Context," Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 3-5 October 1994.
    • "Contemporary Criticism: Some Notes" at a conference on Contemporary Literatures, Dept. of English, M.D. University, Rohtak, 8-9 November 1994; also chaired a session on criticism.
    • "Beyond Nativism: Towards a Modern Indian Tradition of Criticism" at Sahitya Akademi-IIT-Kanpur seminar on Nativism in Indian Literature," 21-22 January 1995, Kanpur.
    • "Impact of Reviewing on Creative Writing – A Personal Perspective." The Book Review Seminar on Critical Reviewing, India International Centre, New Delhi, 27-28 February 1995.
    • "Indian Criticism: In Search of Theory." At a seminar by the same title at Deshbandhu College, New Delhi, 14 March 1995.
    • "After Modernism: Recent Trends in Indian English Poetry." Plenary address at the VII ISCS conference, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, 27-29 March 1995.
    • "How to Read Hind Swaraj" at the 125th Anniversary Celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi, Bhopal, 3-4 October 1995.
    • "Vaidhata ki khoj mein: Alochana ki rah" at Samavaya – III, 17-18 November 1995, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal.
    • "Beyond Postmodernism" in the Sahitya Akademi annual seminar, Bangalore, 26-28 February 1996.
    • "Neo-Gandhian Praxis: A Personal Report," at Indian Institute of Advanced Study National Seminar on Interpretations of Gandhi, New Delhi, 21-23 March 1996.
    • "Dominance and Dissent: Interrogating the Terms of Discourse" at a national seminar on Dalit and Gender Challenges to Hindu Nationalism, Centre for the Study of Social Systems, JNU, 4-6 April 1996.
    • "Towards a Poetics of the Indian English Novel," three lectures as Visiting Professor, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 21 June-11 July 1996.
    • "Spiritual Sites as Sources of Social Transformation," at the Silver Jubilee International Conference on "Social Criticism, Cultural Creativity and the Contemporary Dialectics of Transformation," Madras Institute of Development Studies, 4-8 December 1996.
    • "Postmodernism and its Discontents," at a symposium on "Postmodernist Philosophy in Indian Context," at the Democratic Forum, Karnal, 12 January 1997.
    • "Trends in Indian English Fiction," at the Indo-Nepal Writers' Colloquium, India International Centre, 21 January 1997.
    • "Theorising Postcolonialism: An Indian Note," at an international seminar on "Postcolonialisms: Canada and India," Centre for Canadian Studies, M.S. University, Baroda, 19-21 February 1997.
    • "Svaraj and Postmodernism" at the Sahitya Akademi national seminar on "Beyond Creativity: Problems facing the Cultural Life of India at the Turn of the Century," New Delhi, 22 February 1997.
    • "On A. K. Saran's Traditional Thought," at a symposium organized by the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, 13-14 March 1997.
    • "Secularism vs. Hindu Nationalism: Interrogating the Terms of the Debate," at an international seminar on "Dharma: The Categorial Imperative," Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 16-22 July 1997.
    • "The Dharma of Secularism," at a seminar on "Towards a Secular India: Problems and Possibilities," M.D. University, Rohtak, 15 September 1997.
    • "From Absent Authority to Present Responsibility: An Agenda for Indian (English) Criticism," at a seminar on Literary and Cultural Criticism in India, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 4-6 November 1997.
    • Invited Discussant in a seminar on "Do We Need a Postcolonial Theory?" at the Jamia Milia Islamia, 14 January 1998; responded to papers by S.N.F. Jafri, Paul Sharrad, and Ania Loomba.
    • "Sruti, Smriti and the Individual" in a seminar on "Parampara and the Individual," Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, 21 January 1998.
    • "Contrasting Peace Perspectives: Kant and Gandhi – A Transcivilizational Note," in a seminar on Kant and Gandhi, Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi, 23 January 1998.
    • Invited panellist in a discussion on the New Age, India International Centre, New Delhi, 27 January 1998.
    • "Critical Approaches to Indian English Literature" in a seminar on "Indo-German Perspectives on Indian English Literature," University of Bombay, 7 February 1998.
    • "Indian English Literature: Common Myths and Misconceptions" at the national seminar on "Rethinking Indian English Literature," at M. S. University of Baroda, 14-16 February 1998.
    • "The State of Poetry: Reflections on the Identity of Indian English Poetry," at the national seminar on "Indian Poetry after Independence: Towards a History of Sensibility," held as a part of the Annual Festival of Letters of the Sahitya Akademi, 14-16 March 1998.
    • "Journeys to Sacred India: The Pilgrimage as a mode of Travel," invited special lecture at the national seminar on "Travel Writing and the Empire," University of Hyderabad, 20-23 March 1998.
    • "The Dharma of Technology" at a seminar on "Interface between Science, Religion and Development" organized by the Integrated Human Development Services Foundation, New Delhi, 5 April 1998.
    • Valedictory Address, "The Challenge of the Contemporary" at the national seminar on "Debating the Contemporary: Issues in Indian English Fiction" at the Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, 6-7 November 1998.
    •  Keynote address on "Modernism and its Discontents" at the Saurashtra English Teachers' Conference on "Indian English Poetry," 13 February 1999.
    • "The Teleology of Indian English" at the national seminar on "Home and Abroad: Indian Literature in English/Translation," Department of English, University of Delhi, 24 February 1999.
    • "Appraising the Contemporary: Some Issues and Problems" at the national seminar on "Towards the 21st Century: An Appraisal of Indian English Writing of the 1990s" at the Department of English, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, 20 March 1999.
    • "Pilgrims and Other Travellers" at Didriksha, an International Congress on Culture, Travel and Tourism, Bharat Kala Bhavan, Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 8 April 1999.
    • Theme paper on the seminar on "Mahatma Gandhi and His Contemporaries" sponsored by the Indian Council for Philosophical Research and the Indian Insititute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 13 April 1999.
    • "The Pedagogy of the Translated," at "Anuvad-Vivad," a seminar on Translation Theory and Practice, organised by IACLALS, Sahitya Akademi, and Telugu University, CIEFL, Hyderabad, 27-29 September 1999.
    • "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and World Literature," Keynote address at international seminar on Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Dwelling in the House of World Literature, Max Mueller Bhavan and University of Mumbai, Mumbai, 30 September 1999.
    • "The Relevance of Mahatma Gandhi’s Educational Philosophy for the 21st Century," at a national seminar on "Education for the New Millennium," organized by Dharma Bharathi at Gandhi Ashram, Sevagram, 8-11 October 1999.
    • "Empowering Alternatives: The Media," at the Pipal Tree-Japan Foundation Workshop on Media Alterantives, Bangalore, 10-12 December 1999.
    • "A Nation in the (Un)making: A Postnationalist Critique" at the national seminar on "The Making of a Nation: Culture, Literature and Politics," Dept. of Evening Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 14-15 January 2000.
    • "Post-positions: A Selfish Review" at national seminar on "Interrogating the Post-Condition: Theory, Texts and Contexts," Punjabi University, Patiala, 20-21 January 2000.
    • “The Idea of India in Indian Literature,” at a seminar at Bhagat Singh College, New Delhi, 23 February 2000.
    • “Indian Literature and its (Dis)locations” a presentation at a seminar on “Locating Indian Literatures,” Department of English, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 26 February 2000.
    •  “`Indian Sensibility` in Indian English Poetry,” at a seminar on “Indian Sensibility in Modern Indian Poetry,” Department of English, Dyal Singh College (Evening), New Delhi, 29 February 2000.
    • Invited participant at a “Cross-cultural Dialogue on Knowledge and Livelihoods in the Contexts of Globalization” organized by the Inter-Cultural Institute Montreal and Pipal Tree, Bangalore, 9-12 March 2000, Bangalore.
    • “Rethinking America: A Trans-Civilizational Approach” at an international seminar on “Rediscovering America: American Studies in the New Millennium,” at the Indo-US Centre for International Studies, Hyderabad, 15-18 March 2000.
    • Invited participant in a Dialogue on “Siksha Swaraj ki Or,” at the Gandhi Peace Foundation, 24-25 March 2000.
    • “Displaced Relations: Homelands, Empires, Diasporas” at a seminar on “Writing Indian Diaspora: Echoes in Canadian Literature,” Centre of Linguistics and English, JNU, 11-12 April 2000.
    • “The Poetics and Politics of Translation” at a Translation Workshop organised by Katha and CLE, JNU, 13 April 2000.
    • Invited participant in a meeting on “Reviewing Reviewing” Katha and Sahitya Akademi, 22 April 2000.
    • Chaired a talk by Shri Bezborouah, Secretary, Tourism, on “Tourism and Spirituality,” India International Centre, 9 May 2000.
    • Invited participant and chair in a Workshop on Global Media Alternatives organized by Pipal Tree, Bangalore, 9-14 December 2000.
    • Valedictory Address in Third International Conference on Theory on “The Future of Tradition,” Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada Univeristy, Aurangabad, 15-18 December 2000.
    • Valedictory Address at the national seminar of Decolonizing English Education, North Gujarat University, Patan, 16-18 January 2001
    • Inaugural Address on “Kiran Nagarkar and the Tradition of Indian English Fiction” at national seminar on Kiran Nagarkar, University of Mumbai, 7 March 2001 Mumbai.
    • Special Plenary address on “Indian English and its Con/texts” at the national seminar on “Recent Indian English Literature:  Mapping Indianness,” Dayand College, Ajmer, 3-5 January 2002.
    • Invited participant in “At Home in the World” international writers festival in India, New Delhi 18-23 February 2002.  (Attended selected sessions.)
    • “Agonized Fragments:  Modernity and the Pains of Duality” at “Saundarya—The Second International Colloquium:  The Aesthetics of the Modern,” Jawaharlal Nehru University, 18-20 February 2002.
    •  “Decolonizing Indian Criticism:  A Survey of Possibilities” at the National Seminar of the Sahitya Akademi on “The State of Criticism in India,” Rabindra Bhavan, 21-23 February 2002.
    • “Problematising Translation” in the panel on “Theories of Translation” in national workshop on “Translation:  Theory and Practice,” Centre for Sanskrit Studies, JNU, 4th March 2002.
    • “Sri Aurobindo and the Discovery of the Supermind” at the National Consultation Seminar on Yoga and Consciousness in Indian Culture, ICPR and CSC, 18-20 March 2002.
    • “Situating the Contemporary Indian Novel.”  Keynote address in a seminar on the same topic, Department of Evening Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 23rd March 2002.
    • “Natyotpatti:  The Origin of Drama” at the ICPR seminar on Value Education and the Dramatic Arts, India International Centre, 5th April 2002.
    • “Svadhyaya and Development” at the one-day conference on “Spirituality and Development,” Ford Foundation, New Delhi, 23rd September 2002.
    • Presented a paper, “Bombay Dreams and Realities:  Bollywood and Postcolonial Futures,” and chaired a session at a conference on “21st Century Reality:  Language, Culture and Technology,” organized by the Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University and the Central Institute of Indian Languages, 28-30 October 2002, India International Centre, New Delhi.
    • Chaired a session in the National Seminar on Travel Writing, organized by the Goa Kala Academy and the Sahitya Akademi, Goa, 12th December 2002.
    • Inaugural Addresss on “Reworlding the Home:  Colonialism, Culture, and Change,” and chaired a session at the national conference on “Home and the World:  Literary and Cultural Encounters in Colonial and Postcolonial India,” Calcutta University, Calcutta, 17th-18th December 2002.
    • Guest of honour, chair of a session and valedictory speaker at an international seminar on “Indian Diasporic Experience:  History, Culture and Identity,” North Gujarat University, Patan, 20th-22nd December 2002.
    • Chaired the Prof. R. N. Srivastava Memorial Lecture delivered by Professor Braj B. Kachru at the Department of Linguistics, Delhi University, 14th February 2003.