London, April 19, 2014 The Empire Debate in September by Parvathi Menon Focus on Indo-British ties in Court Hall One; to mark 400th year Has the Indo-British encounter, spanning four centuries of intense historical engagement, had a positive outcome? In what is being billed as the Empire Debate, the good, bad and ugly of the complex, and till 1947, unequal relationship between the two countries will be thrashed out in no less historic a venue than Court Hall One of the Supreme Court in London this September. The event, organised by the Indo-British Heritage Trust in association with the Supreme Court, is the highlight of the Trust's Project 400 initiative, which comprises a series of events that will roll out this year to mark the 400th year of the bilateral relationship. It was in 1614 that Sir Thomas Roe was appointed ambassador to the Mughal Court by King James I, the official start as it were of a turbulent relationship between the countries. The envoy met Emperor Jahangir in 1616, extracting from him trading rights for the English East India Company.The debate will be held before an audience of 80, the seating capacity of Court Room One, the main courtroom in the Supreme Court. Built in 1913, the room is generally used for appeals of the greatest legal or constitutional importance. "We are very pleased to be helping the Indo-British Heritage Trust mark the anniversary and to host their debate on the nature of Empire," said Ben Wilson, Head of Communications of the Supreme Court. Calling it a topic "which warrants vigorous and informed discussion," he said that the September event "will coincide with a special exhibition we are creating to explore the history of the Judicial Committee and its role at the crossroads of the British Empire." "Most of the writing on the Indo-British relationship is so one-sided. It has everything to do with the British in India, but very little on how Indians have contributed to British society," said Kusoom Vadgama, the feisty 81-year-old founder of the Trust. An optometrist by profession but whose mission is to set right what she believes is a one-sided perception of the ties that bind the two countries, Ms. Vadgama is an indefatigable champion of her cause. Apart from the seminars and exhibitions that are in the pipeline of Project 400, the Trust plans an online oral history library. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/the-empire-debate-in-september/article5927304.ece ---- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar