Indic Book Club, a global, multi city, horizontal network of Academics, Authors, Artists & Activists nurtured by Indic Academy, made its debut on the USA soil in Houston on Sunday, Feb 19^th 2017. On a serene evening, over 30 Houstonian Intellectuals and activists gathered at Bhojan restaurant, where Dr Pankaj Jain delivered an eye opening talk on “Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities”. To build on the momentum and in keeping with the motto of Indic Book Club “READ WRITE RE” , the International Book Launch of Dr Radhakrishna Pillai’s book “Inside Chanakya’s Mind” by Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University Dr Sanjay Vasant Deshmukh is scheduled to take place in Houston on Thursday, Feb 23^rd.

Dr. Jain’s talk was moderated by Ms. Sunanda Vashisht, Co-Founder of MyIndMakers (www.myind.net). The talk began with an introduction to FISI by its USA National Coordinator Achalesh Amar, who spoke about the need for Intellectual Renaissance rooted in Indic traditions. This was followed by a brief introduction of Indic Book Club by Pramod Kumar Buravalli, Co-Founder of MyIndMakers and Global Coordinator for IBC.

Dr. Pankaj Jain (http://philosophy.unt.edu/people/faculty/pankaj-jain) is currently the Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at University of North Texas’s College of Arts and Sciences. He began his talk with the history of the Bishnoi Community in South Asia and the genesis of the “Swadhyaya Movement”. Dr. Jain engaged the audience with a distinct sense of humor, peppered his talk with many North Indian colloquial terms related to Nature Worship and mentioned the history of socio-cultural movements such as Chipko. Dr Jain also talked about Krutibhakti and how it is deeply embedded in Indic traditions. At the culmination, Ms. Sunanda Vashisht engaged the audience in a lively Q & A session. The talk was beamed live on Facebook and questions were asked all the way from Singapore.

Kavita Tewary who listened to the talk observed “For me this lecture was a beautiful reminder of how rich our dharma and culture is, a strong rejoinder that we are just custodians of this planet (and not the owners). It is time to re-connect with the roots”.

About Friends of India Society (FISI)

The Friends of India Society of International (FISI) brings together friends of India worldwide to safeguard the interests of India and people of Indian origin. FISI was founded in 1975 to safeguard Indian democratic institutions and ideals in the aftermath of “emergency rule.”  The FISI is now an international association of the friends of India – drawn from among the Indian diaspora and the public in which the Indian diaspora resides. FISI under the leadership of Shri Rajiv Varma as International Coordinator, seeks to help India to meet all challenges by advancing an accurate picture of India and the Indian diaspora, their achievements and contributions to world civilization and the global family.

About Indic Book Club (IBC)

Indic Book Club is a global, multi city, horizontal network of Academics, Authors, Artists & Activists nurtured by Indic Academy. Indic Academy, a Not for Profit Trust established in 2016 in Hyderabad, India is partnering with Friends of India Society (FISI) to launch Indic Book Clubs across cities in the Americas. More details about Dr Jain’s concluded talk, upcoming talks in Houston and other cities can be found at (https://www.facebook.com/Indicbookclub/) and also at https://www.academia.edu/7100150/Sustainability_of_Cultures_Cultures_of_Sustainability