The stage is set for a war of words at St Xavier’s College.
After a four year hiatus, the St Xavier’s College (Calcutta) Alumni Association presents Fr Joris Memorial Nihil Ultra Trophy National Debate, in association with CDC and partnered by The Telegraph, will be back on Saturday.
The 28th edition of the debate will be held on the college grounds, not the auditorium, because of Covid.
The motion: “This House believes that it is necessary to re-narrate our History”.
Anand Ranganathan, professor at JNU; Desh Ratan Nigam, lawyer and RSS ideologue; Sanjeev Sanyal, principal economic adviser to the Union finance ministry; and Lalitha Kumaramangalam, BJP leader and former chairperson of the National Commission for Women, will speak for the motion.
Mani Shankar Aiyar, former diplomat, former Congress MP and former Union minister; Jawhar Sircar, former bureaucrat and Rajya Sabha MP; Manish Tewari, Congress MP in the Lok Sabha and lawyer; and Sanjay Jha, former Congress spokesperson, will speak against it.
“Father Joris is an icon of the St Xavier’s institution. We organise this debate to remember him. Some of the best minds will take part. We are looking forward to an enlightening session,” said principal Father Dominic Savio.
The debate will be moderated by Kunal Sarkar, cardiac surgeon and president of the Calcutta Debating Circle. “I think what is very critical about the topic is that this spans across political spectrums,” said Sarkar, an exXaverian.
“This debate started in 1985…. We are happy that it is coming back,” said Firdausul Hasan, secretary of the alumni association.