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10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (UTC+5.5)
The Contemporary Relevance of Systems of Evidence in Smrti-s
SPEAKERS
The INDICA Center for Indic Studies in Law & Justice (CISLJ) presents a conversation with Dr Divya Bharti on the 5th of November (Sat) 2022 at IST 1000 hrs. Following from the title of the talk, The contemporary relevance of systems of evidence in Smrti-s, Dr Bharti will present her analysis of how systems of evidence found in Smrti texts can be seen to be relevant in contemporary times. According to Dr Bharti, while one can read some similarities between systems of evidence in Smrti texts and a contemporary system such as the Indian Evidence Act, there are also some points of divergence, the reasons for which are multiple. Divergences notwithstanding though, the fact that ‘evidence’ forms a basic and an important basis of a judicial decision or judgement in both systems allows for the possibility of a comparative analysis of the two systems and exploring ways in which some facets of the Smrti texts vis-a-vis evidence and its treatment could be relevant in contemporary times. This conversation will be primarily in Hindi.
Speakers
Dr Divya Bharti
Assistant Professor at the Department of Sanskrit, Faculty of Arts, Banaras Hindu University
Dr Divya Bharti is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Sanskrit, Faculty of Arts, Banaras Hindu University (BHU). She has completed her MA, MPhil, and PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The titles of her MPhil and PhD are दण्डसंहिता: एक अध्ययन (याज्ञवलक्य स्मृति एवं नारद स्मृति के सन्दर्भ में) and प्रमुख धर्मसूत्रों एवं स्मृतियों में प्रमाण व्यवस्था का मूल्यांकन (व्यवहाराध्याय के संदर्भ में) respectively. She is the author of the book धर्मशास्त्रीय दंड संहिता: आधुनिक परिप्रेक्ष्य which was published in 2018 by Sanjay Prakashan (New Delhi). She has received prizes from JNU on behalf of the National Human Rights Commission and the Election Commission of India for her essays (in 2014) and debates (in 2012), respectively. She is a member of a project currently underway on creating an Indian Law Lexicon.
Megh Kalyanasundaram
Host, Director – Special Projects
Megh Kalyanasundaram is an Indian citizen with close to nine years of lived experience in China, an alumnus of ISB and is currently Director Special Projects at INDICA. His post-graduate specialization in Strategy, Leadership and Marketing included a study of research methods. His professional experience includes stints as a Market Leader at a Global Fortune 50 firm, as Head of Business Development at a leading Indian talent development multinational and he has served a term on the Board of a Shanghai-based not-for-profit. His academic research interests and 20+ papers span some aspects of ancient Indian chronology, Indian Knowledge Systems, Landscape in Indic texts, Ancient Indian Jurisprudence, Ideas of India and Philosophy. For his creative contribution to the first edition of the International Day of Yoga, he was invited by the Permanent Mission of India in the United Nations to attend the inaugural event at the UN. Other professional and pro-bono pursuits have included building differentiated digital platforms for Indic texts targeted at specific learning and research needs and music. His research-based compositional Sanskrit album 'Bhārata and her Kāśmīra' has been listed by the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA) while his subsequent album 'Indian Knowledge Systems and Yāskācārya's Nirukta' has recently been accepted for listing by the Vedic Heritage Portal. In 2022, Megh was invited by the National Museum Institute (NMI) to contribute content for multiple projects currently underway at NMI, including ones on Jammu Kashmir & Ladakh and Kedarnath.