{"id":267,"date":"2016-09-20T08:04:55","date_gmt":"2016-09-20T08:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cwds.ac.in\/?page_id=267"},"modified":"2026-04-11T10:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T10:03:56","slug":"lectures","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/backupp.com\/cwds\/seminar-and-conferences\/lectures\/","title":{"rendered":"J.P.Naik Memorial Lectures"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"31st J.P.Naik Memorial Lecture
\nThe Challenges of Communication: Can the Past Provide Answers?<\/strong>
\nSpeaker: Prof. Kumkum Roy, Retired Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 4 April, 2025, IIC, New Delhi<\/p>\n

Kumkum Roy did her PhD in Ancient Indian History from the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi. She taught for several years in Satyawati Co-educational College, Delhi University, and at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her specialization is in ancient Indian history. Her areas of interest include histories of political institutions and processes, and issues of gender. Her publications include The Emergence of Monarchy in North India, The Power of Gender and the Gender of Power, and A Historical Dictionary of Ancient India. She is also interested in issues of pedagogy at various levels.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"30th J.P.Naik Memorial Lecture
\nTime to Introspect, Revisit: 50 Years of the Committee on the Status of Women in India<\/strong>
\nSpeaker: S.Muralidhar, Former Chief Justice, High Court of Orissa
\nDate: 13th April, 2024
\nVideo link: https:\/\/youtu.be\/8YEc9TQoWiA?si=rfW4q8vy6sH5dqPM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

S.Muralidhar did his school and college education in Chennai. He completed B.Sc in Chemistry from the Vivekananda College, Chennai in 1981 and BL from the University of Madras in 1984, securing the first rank. He did LL.M\u00a0 from the Nagpur University in 1990, again securing the first rank. Justice Muralidhar was awarded a Ph. D by the University of Delhi in February 2003 for a Doctoral Programme entitled “Legal Aid and the Criminal Justice System in India”.<\/p>\n

Muralidhar began his law practice in Chennai in September 1984. In July 1987 he shifted his practice to Delhi. He practiced in the Supreme Court of India and the Delhi High Court for nearly two decades. He was an Advocate-on-record in the Supreme Court of India. He conducted several pro bono and PIL cases. He was active as a lawyer for the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. Apart from being the counsel for the Election Commission of India and the National Human Rights Commission, he was a part-time member of the Law Commission from December 2002 till May 2006.<\/p>\n

Muralidhar was appointed as a Judge of High Court of Delhi on 29 May 2006. He became the Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa on 4th January 2021 and retired on 7th August 2023. As a judge he delivered judgments in every branch of law including constitutional, commercial, arbitration law, tax and criminal laws. Many of the judgments have contributed to the development of law in that field. As Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa, he spearheaded reforms on the administrative and judicial fronts both in the High Court and the district courts. The notable initiatives included the establishment of state-of-the-art centres for digitisation of records of the courts and the setting up of the Centre for Judicial Archives and the Museum of Justice in Cuttack.<\/p>\n

On 17 October 2023 Muralidhar was designated as Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India and has since returned to practice.<\/p>\n

\"\"29th J.P.Naik Memorial Lecture
\nWill prenatal sex selection ever stop?
\n<\/strong>Speaker: Christophe Z Guilmoto, Senior Fellow in Demography, Centre des Sciences Humaines, New Delhi
\nDate: 3rd February, 2023
\nVideo link: https:\/\/youtu.be\/aoksoTBpVNs<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Abstract:<\/p>\n

Prenatal sex selection proved initially difficult to identify after high proportions of male births were first noticed in some Asian countries in the 1980s. It first took years for statisticians to agree on the magnitude of sex imbalances at birth and the role played by sex-selective abortions in them, and even more years for governments to acknowledge the presence of deliberate elimination of female births. The interpretation of a phenomenon observed in India\u2013but also from Albania to South Korea\u2013was no easier in view of the cultural, economic and political diversity of affected countries and the multiplicity of potential local factors, ranging from family planning policies and dowry to political crises or conflicts. While son preference (or daughter aversion) is at the core of prenatal sex selection, we need to recognize the contributions of other factors such as smaller family size (the so-called fertility squeeze effect) and the emergence of prenatal sex diagnosis tools such as ultrasound.<\/p>\n

But can the retrospective understanding of the emergence of prenatal sex selection help us to foresee its future evolution? It is time to wonder if after decades of sex imbalances at birth in several countries from Eastern Europe to Eastern Asia, we are in a better position to anticipate the future course of sex selection. As is common with demographic matters, government interventions are expected to correct population issues and the gradual introduction of policies targeting sex selection\u2014starting with India\u2019s Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act rolled out as early as 1994\u2014was supposed to reduce the propensity of couples to resort to sex selection. But in view of the modest effectiveness of these policies, the prognosis for future reductions in sex imbalances at birth may appear less optimistic. After all, fertility in many affected countries has become or remained very low\u2014often below the replacement level\u2014and should continue to exert pressure on parents who want a son. Similarly, access to sex-selective technologies has gradually improved due to the expansion of the private healthcare system. Finally, there is no forceful theory for a downturn in son preference as women\u2019s condition was on the whole already improving decades ago.
\nThis presentation will look at the various trajectories of the sex ratio at birth across the world to try and decipher its specific patterns. We show that somewhat independently of the pace of local socioeconomic change or of government interventions, sex imbalances appear to invariably level off at a high plateau level\u2014corresponding to a deficit of female births of 5-15%\u2014and to start declining subsequently. This regular patterning can be even replicated statistically by using Bayesian tools and the latest forecasts point to a future downturn of prenatal sex selection and its probable disappearance within the next two decades.<\/p>\n

We will argue that factors endogenous to the initial rise of sex-selective abortions may account for its ultimate downturn and a return to normalcy. While offering a somewhat optimistic assessment of the apparently spontaneous evolution of sex imbalances, this interpretation should not minimize their lasting impact of the age and sex structures of affected populations or underemphasize the massive marriage squeeze mounting in countries such as China or India.<\/p>\n