Mr Ashok K. Kantha is an Honorary Fellow and former Director (2017- 22) of the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi; a Distinguished Fellow at Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi; and Chair of the Core Group on China of the Confederation of Indian Industry. A career diplomat, Kantha was the Ambassador of India to China until January 2016. Prior to this, he was Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi with responsibility for about 65 countries in India’s extended neighbourhood. His previous assignments include the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka and Malaysia, the Consul General in Hong Kong, and the Deputy Chief of Mission in Kathmandu (Nepal). Earlier, Kantha served in different capacities at Indian Missions in Singapore, China and the USA, and at headquarters in New Delhi. In his diplomatic career spanning over 38 years, Kantha specialized in India’s neighbourhood and Asian affairs, with a particular focus on China. Apart from three assignments in China, he served as Joint Secretary (East Asia) and Director (China) at the Ministry of External Affairs for periods of four years each. He has an advanced certificate in the Chinese language from the National University of Singapore.  

About the Chair
Dr Bhaswati Sarkar is a Professor at the Centre for European Studies (CES), School of International Studies, JNU. She is currently the Chairperson of the Centre. She did her graduation and post-graduation in Political Science. Her interest areas are nation, nationalism, democracy, immigration, minority rights, European integration, European identity and India-EU relations. She also keenly follows political developments in Asia particularly related to Indian foreign policy. She currently holds the Jean Monnet Chair on ‘Democracy, Diversity and European Identity in the European Union’ and was also awarded the Jean Monnet Module ‘Understanding European Integration Through the Regional Lens’. She has several publications to her credit and regularly participates in national and international conferences.

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