Investigating the Rich Past of India - Netherlands Relations
Investigating the Rich Past of India - Netherlands Relations
by
Professor Venu Rajamony IFS (Retd)
(Former Ambassador of India to the Netherlands)
Date : 10th September, 2021, Friday, 4.00PM (IST)
Abstract
The Lecture will go down byways of past events to present vivid snapshots of India-Netherlands relations.It will bring to life the compelling personalities whose contributions shaped the Indo-Dutch discourse and try to string together nuggets of little known historical connections that India and the Netherlands share. The presentation will cover the story of India and the Netherlands from past to present, narrating the account of the Suriname Indians in the Netherlands, highlighting the success of Dutch Companies in India and that of Indian Companies in the Netherlands, and will make many more surprising revelations. Above all, it will be argued that India and the Netherlands share a cultural resilience which is capable of outlasting change.
About the speaker
A career diplomat with thirty four years of experience, scholar of international relations and former journalist, Professor Venu Rajamony is a well known public speaker, author and patron of arts and culture. He is currently Professor of Diplomatic Practice at the Jindal Global Law School of the O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana.
Professor Rajamony was Ambassador of India to the Netherlands from 2017 to 2020. He was also the Permanent Representative of India to the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague, and responsible for India’s relations with the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Professor Rajamony held the office of Press Secretary to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee from 2012 to 2017.
Professor Rajamony authored two books – What We Can Learn From The Dutch – Rebuilding Kerala post 2018 Floods (2019) and India and the Netherlands – Past, Present and Future. The latter was released by the King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander in September 2019. Malayalam translation of the former book titled -Pralayam, Prathirodham, Punarnirmanam – Padikkaam Dutch Paadangal was released by the Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan in January 2021.