BG Verghese Memorial Lecture

The Media Foundation instituted the BG Verghese Memorial Lecture in 2015 in memory of the legendary editor BG Verghese, who passed away in December 2014. Verghese, one of the founders of TMF, and also its chairperson, had remained the organisation’s guiding light until his passing.

In the 10 years since its inception, the memorial lecture, which is supported by the Verghese family and the India International Centre, New Delhi, has been delivered by a number of eminent personalities such as former Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Justice AP Shah, Justice Madan Lokur, former Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari, former Union minister for environment Jairam Ramesh, former Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian Alan Rusbridger, among others.

The BG Verghese Memorial Lecture 2024 was delivered by editor and author TN Ninan on Work and Wages: Old Challenges in the Age of Automation and AI

B G Verghese

BG VERGHESE (1927-2014), editor extraordinaire and staunch upholder of the freedom of the press, started his career with The Times of India and later became editor of Hindustan Times and The Indian Express. A recipient of the Magsaysay Award (1975), Verghese was uncompromising in his commitment to free speech and the citizen’s  right to know. He was information advisor to the Prime Minister (1966-69) and a Gandhi Peace Foundation Fellow. 

Verghese had a keen and enduring interest in developmental reporting and the social transformation it can help bring about. He wrote a number of books, including Reorienting India: Rage, Reconciliation and Security (2008), First Draft: Witness to the Making of Modern India (2010) and Post Haste: Quintessential India (2014).

Read more about BG Verghese at https://www.bgverghese.com/

TMF Chairperson Bharat Bhushan with TN Ninan
TMF Chair Bharat Bhushan with TN Ninan
Mr Ninan mingles with the audience
Mr Ninan mingles with the audience
Mr Ninan mingles with the audience
Mr Ninan mingles with the audience
A snapshot of the audience at the lecture held at the India International Centre in March 2024.
The audience at the 2024 Memorial Lecture
Prof Purushottam Agrawal delivers the 2023 BG Verghese Memorial Lecture
Prof Purushottam Agrawal delivers the 2023 BG Verghese Memorial Lecture
TMF Chairperson Bharat Bhushan with TN Ninan
TMF Chair Bharat Bhushan with TN Ninan
Mr Ninan mingles with the audience
Mr Ninan mingles with the audience
Mr Ninan mingles with the audience
Mr Ninan mingles with the audience
A snapshot of the audience at the lecture held at the India International Centre in March 2024.
The audience at the 2024 Memorial Lecture
Prof Purushottam Agrawal delivers the 2023 BG Verghese Memorial Lecture
Prof Purushottam Agrawal delivers the 2023 BG Verghese Memorial Lecture
TMF Chairperson Bharat Bhushan with TN Ninan
Mr Ninan mingles with the audience
Mr Ninan mingles with the audience
A snapshot of the audience at the lecture held at the India International Centre in March 2024.
Prof Purushottam Agrawal delivers the 2023 BG Verghese Memorial Lecture

WATCH

TN Ninan, editor and author, on ‘Work and Wages: Old Challenges in the Age of Automation and AI’

2024

Professor Purushotam Agrawal on ‘Nafrat Se Itni Mohabbat Kyon? (Why Is There So Much Love for Hate?)’

2023

Dr K. Srinath Reddy, president Public Health Foundation of India, on ‘Health Beyond Covid––An Agenda Awaits’

2022

Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian, on ‘What Journalists Can and Should Learn from Social Media’ (Online)

2021

Justice Madan Lokur on ‘Preserving and Protecting Fundamental rights ­–Freedom of Speech, Expression and Right to Protest’ (Online)

2020

Hamid Ansari, former Vice-President of India, on ‘Journalism in Times of Strident Nationalism’

2019