Webinar in Panjab University on the theme “Russia-Ukraine Crisis and Implications for India”
Koral ‘Purnoor’, Demokretic Front, Chandigarh May 13, 2022 :
Department of Defence and National Security, Panjab University Chandigarh organised a webinar on the theme “Russia-Ukraine Crisis and Implications for India” delivered by Prof Shrikant Paranjpe, from Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune.
The speaker is currently a Research Fellow, Centre for Military Studies, Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, Savitribai Phule Pune University. He was a Fulbright Fellow (Post-Doctoral, Research) at the George Washington University, Washington D.C. during 1985-86. He was also a Jawaharlal Nehru National Fellow (ICSSR) during 2016-17. He has numbers of national and international publications to his academic credits.
Dr. Jaskaran Singh Waraich, Chairperson of the department initiated the proceeding of the webinar by welcoming the speaker as well as faculty, research scholars, and the students of the department. The Chairperson also introduced the speaker to the participants while highlighting the significance of the theme of the lecture.
Prof. Shrikant Paranjpe, in his opening remarks pointed out that Ukrainian crisis is an outcome of contesting regional and global interests of Russia and the United States of America. In his address, he emphasized that the media narratives have been dominated by the pro-west perspective on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine Crisis which proves the failure of Russia in building-up the world public opinion in their favour.
He made an appeal to the academia to diversify their sources of information to bring out a broader perspective on the crisis. The speaker commended the Indian Foreign Ministry for emphatically explaining its stand on the War. But, he expressed his dissatisfaction over the menial role being played by the Indian media in explaining India’s stand on the issue, rather it appears shadowed by the western propaganda and narratives.
In his concluding remarks, Prof. Paranjpe said that the crisis would lead to uncertain geo-political and security environment in the world in general and Europe in particular. He asserted that this war has also challenged the established dollar-dominance in the existing world economic web. Furthermore, he was of the view that US will continue to remain relevant hard and soft power in the foreseeable future.
