Sundeep Waslekar
Encyclopedia
Sundeep Waslekar is an Indian thought leader on conflict resolution and global future. He is the President of Strategic Foresight Group
and has authored three books on governance
and several research reports on managing future challenges. Sundeep Waslekar is known for developing innovative policy concepts for peaceful change and his ideas have been discussed by the European Parliament
, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and House of Lords
, the Indian Parliament, forums of the United Nations
, World Economic Forum
meetings at Davos and Dead Sea, and other institutions.
. As soon as he graduated from Mumbai University, he published an independent article on reforming global financial system
in Financial Express
. It generated interest in international academic circles. When he was 20, he was invited to an international seminar on North South Dialogue hosted by Liberal International
to present his views. Later on, he was awarded a full scholarship to read Philosophy
, Politics
and Economics
(PPE) at St. John’s College, Oxford University. While at Oxford, he was invited by several institutions in Europe and North America to deliver talks on global development issues. When he completed his studies, Indira Gandhi
, who was then Prime Minister of India
, wrote to him, which encouraged him to return home.
work. In the 1980s, he contributed essays and features to more than 50 newspapers and periodicals including leading magazines in India and provincial newspapers in North America
such as the Ottawa Citizen
, San Jose Mercury News
, Hamilton Spectator and Toledo Blade.
When the United Nations declared 1986 as the International Year of Peace, he led an Eight Nation Peace Mission from Rome to Ottawa at the age of 27. He was received by the Commonwealth Secretary General in London and several leaders on the way. When he arrived in Ottawa, the Mayor went to welcome him on the outskirts of the city and renamed the Inter-provincial Bridge between Quebec
and Ontario
as Boulevard de la Paix for a day.
On his return to India in 1986, he joined the Centre for Policy Research to work on economic collaboration as means of conflict resolution
in South Asia
. His monographs on breaking deadlock in economic ties between India
and Pakistan
as well as India and Sri Lanka
attracted attention of the policy makers. In 1991, he founded International Centre for Peace Initiatives, the first conflict resolution institution in South Asia. Under its auspices, he was engaged in track two diplomatic efforts between India and Pakistan, as well as between leaders of various Kashmiri movements and India’s national leaders. He was also one of the pioneers of unofficial dialogues between South Asian parliamentarians and also between editors of indigenous language
media in the region. His strategy was to extend the constituency of peace from the elite in the capitals to institutions of common citizens. At the end of the 1990s, he gradually withdrew from this work as many civil society organisations came up in South Asia to promote dialogue and understanding between politicians, journalists and representatives of grass-root level organisations.
Following the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the War on Terror
, he facilitated dialogues between Western and Islamic leaders, hosted by the Strategic Foresight Group
, in collaboration with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament and the League of Arab States. In addition, he held consultations with Heads of Governments, foreign ministers and heads of counter-terrorism units in multilateral organisations. Three years of roundtables and consultations resulted in various policy proposals, particularly including the concept of an Inclusive and Semi-Permanent Conference for the Middle East
.
In 2009, he launched dialogue processes to use water to promote mutual stakes and collaboration between traditional enemies in the Middle East and Asia.
In the first decade of the 21st century, Sundeep Waslekar and his colleague Ilmas Futehally led the Strategic Foresight Group
to develop a comprehensive approach to measure the Cost of conflict
as a tool to sensitise public opinion about absurdity of wars and to create demand for peace. The cost of conflict concept was presented by Paul Collier
, International Alert
and other experts and institutions. However, Waslekar and Futehally inspired the Strategic Foresight Group
to compute costs on economic, social, political, psychological, diplomatic, environmental, and a large number of other parameters. Their approach particularly emphasises opportunity costs. From 2004 to 2009, they prepared cost of conflict models for India-Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Middle East. The opportunity cost
in the Middle East was estimated at staggering $12 trillion from 1991 to 2010.
after the fall of the former Soviet Union.
In the second half of the 1990s, he wrote two books on India and the neighbouring countries - South Asian Drama: Travails of Misgovernance, and Dharma Rajya: Path-breaking Reforms for India’s Governance.
In 2002, he developed a new categorisation of the Indian economy based on consumption patterns rather than income levels.
In 2005, he was associated with the initiative of Paul Martin
, then Canada’s Prime Minister, to create a G-20 framework for global governance. It was labelled as L-20 and fructified only at the end of 2008 in response to international financial crisis.
Benefit Speech in Dubai, when he presented the concept of An Inclusive World as a framework for collaborative and harmonious global future based on co-existence of all cultures.
In an article in India’s The Economic Times
in August 2007 and in the Strategic Foresight Group
report on Emerging Issues: 2011-2020 in January 2008, Waslekar warned about the possibility of the collapse of the global financial system. The Emerging Issues report identifies 20 drivers of change that will impact the next decade.
In his speeches at conferences of the Aspen Institute
Italy and the Bertelsmann Foundation
organised to reflect on global economic crisis in 2009, he presented ideas for a bold new framework for economically inclusive and environmentally sustainable future of the world.
In 2011, he co-authored a book of essays Big Questions of Our Time with Ilmas Futehally. The book raises important questions that will face humanity from 2010-2060 over a wide spectrum of issues from philosophy to politics and science to security.
Though written in Marathi, the book has important messages for audiences across India. It analyses challenges to India’s future, which are currently outside the discourse in the media, and explains several strategies for the advancement of society, particularly economically weak sections of population. The book is easy to read, non-academic, and draws from personal experiences and anecdotes. The book was on the top of the bestseller list for several months, and saw four editions coming out in less than six months .
"The choice they have to make is the choice between the danger of devastation and the promise of peace," said Sundeep Waslekar (By Jonathan Lynn, Reuters, Geneva, January 23, 2009)
“The critical question facing humanity is how to extend prosperity to the three billion people of the world living in the periphery... The change I want to see is that the world is which is governed by power-driven agendas shifts to the way of collaborative problem-solving.” (Sundeep Waslekar on Challenges of the Globalised World, video series of Bertelsmann Stiftung, June 11, 2009)
Strategic Foresight Group
Strategic Foresight Group is a think tank based in India that works on issues of global importance and relevance. It was established in 2002 to create new forms of intellectual capital. It identifies emerging trends across sectors at regional and global levels and enables policy-makers to respond...
and has authored three books on governance
Governance
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
and several research reports on managing future challenges. Sundeep Waslekar is known for developing innovative policy concepts for peaceful change and his ideas have been discussed by the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, the Indian Parliament, forums of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
meetings at Davos and Dead Sea, and other institutions.
Education
Sundeep Waslekar spent his childhood in Dombivli, a suburb of Mumbai, India. He obtained the Master of Commerce degree from University of MumbaiUniversity of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
. As soon as he graduated from Mumbai University, he published an independent article on reforming global financial system
Financial system
In finance, the financial system is the system that allows the transfer of money between savers and borrowers. A financial system can operate on a global, regional or firm specific level...
in Financial Express
Financial Express
The Financial Express is an Indian English-language business newspaper. It is published by the Indian Express group since 1961. The FE specialises in India and international business and financial news....
. It generated interest in international academic circles. When he was 20, he was invited to an international seminar on North South Dialogue hosted by Liberal International
Liberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
to present his views. Later on, he was awarded a full scholarship to read Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, Politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
(PPE) at St. John’s College, Oxford University. While at Oxford, he was invited by several institutions in Europe and North America to deliver talks on global development issues. When he completed his studies, Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
, who was then Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
, wrote to him, which encouraged him to return home.
Peace processes
Sundeep Waslekar spent early years of his career developing writing skills and participating in international peacePeace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
work. In the 1980s, he contributed essays and features to more than 50 newspapers and periodicals including leading magazines in India and provincial newspapers in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
such as the Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
, San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
, Hamilton Spectator and Toledo Blade.
When the United Nations declared 1986 as the International Year of Peace, he led an Eight Nation Peace Mission from Rome to Ottawa at the age of 27. He was received by the Commonwealth Secretary General in London and several leaders on the way. When he arrived in Ottawa, the Mayor went to welcome him on the outskirts of the city and renamed the Inter-provincial Bridge between Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
as Boulevard de la Paix for a day.
On his return to India in 1986, he joined the Centre for Policy Research to work on economic collaboration as means of conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
. His monographs on breaking deadlock in economic ties between India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
as well as India and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
attracted attention of the policy makers. In 1991, he founded International Centre for Peace Initiatives, the first conflict resolution institution in South Asia. Under its auspices, he was engaged in track two diplomatic efforts between India and Pakistan, as well as between leaders of various Kashmiri movements and India’s national leaders. He was also one of the pioneers of unofficial dialogues between South Asian parliamentarians and also between editors of indigenous language
Indigenous language
An indigenous language or autochthonous language is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples but has been reduced to the status of a minority language. This language would be from a linguistically distinct community that has been settled in the area for many generations...
media in the region. His strategy was to extend the constituency of peace from the elite in the capitals to institutions of common citizens. At the end of the 1990s, he gradually withdrew from this work as many civil society organisations came up in South Asia to promote dialogue and understanding between politicians, journalists and representatives of grass-root level organisations.
Following the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, he facilitated dialogues between Western and Islamic leaders, hosted by the Strategic Foresight Group
Strategic Foresight Group
Strategic Foresight Group is a think tank based in India that works on issues of global importance and relevance. It was established in 2002 to create new forms of intellectual capital. It identifies emerging trends across sectors at regional and global levels and enables policy-makers to respond...
, in collaboration with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament and the League of Arab States. In addition, he held consultations with Heads of Governments, foreign ministers and heads of counter-terrorism units in multilateral organisations. Three years of roundtables and consultations resulted in various policy proposals, particularly including the concept of an Inclusive and Semi-Permanent Conference for the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
In 2009, he launched dialogue processes to use water to promote mutual stakes and collaboration between traditional enemies in the Middle East and Asia.
In the first decade of the 21st century, Sundeep Waslekar and his colleague Ilmas Futehally led the Strategic Foresight Group
Strategic Foresight Group
Strategic Foresight Group is a think tank based in India that works on issues of global importance and relevance. It was established in 2002 to create new forms of intellectual capital. It identifies emerging trends across sectors at regional and global levels and enables policy-makers to respond...
to develop a comprehensive approach to measure the Cost of conflict
Cost of conflict
Cost of Conflict is a tool which attempts to calculate the price of conflict to the human race. The idea is to examine this cost, not only in terms of the deaths and casualties and the economic costs borne by the people involved, but also the social, developmental, environmental and strategic costs...
as a tool to sensitise public opinion about absurdity of wars and to create demand for peace. The cost of conflict concept was presented by Paul Collier
Paul Collier
Paul Collier, CBE is a Professor of Economics, Director for the Centre for the Study of African Economies at The University of Oxford and Fellow of St Antony's College. From 1998 – 2003 he was the director of the Development Research Group of the World Bank.-Life:Collier is a specialist in...
, International Alert
International Alert
International Alert is a London-based charity and international non-governmental organisation working to prevent and end violent conflict across the globe that marked its 20th anniversary in 2006...
and other experts and institutions. However, Waslekar and Futehally inspired the Strategic Foresight Group
Strategic Foresight Group
Strategic Foresight Group is a think tank based in India that works on issues of global importance and relevance. It was established in 2002 to create new forms of intellectual capital. It identifies emerging trends across sectors at regional and global levels and enables policy-makers to respond...
to compute costs on economic, social, political, psychological, diplomatic, environmental, and a large number of other parameters. Their approach particularly emphasises opportunity costs. From 2004 to 2009, they prepared cost of conflict models for India-Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Middle East. The opportunity cost
Opportunity cost
Opportunity cost is the cost of any activity measured in terms of the value of the best alternative that is not chosen . It is the sacrifice related to the second best choice available to someone, or group, who has picked among several mutually exclusive choices. The opportunity cost is also the...
in the Middle East was estimated at staggering $12 trillion from 1991 to 2010.
Governance
Waslekar has been addressing governance issues at global, regional and national levels since 1990. During the period when the world was in transition, from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the end of the First Gulf War in 1991, he sought perspectives from 40 world leaders across all continents to prepare a blueprint of the architecture of global governance in the post Cold War era. His book, The New World Order, was one of the first international efforts to define global governanceGlobal governance
Global governance or world governance is the political interaction of transnational actors aimed at solving problems that affect more than one state or region when there is no power of enforcing compliance. The modern question of world governance exists in the context of globalization...
after the fall of the former Soviet Union.
In the second half of the 1990s, he wrote two books on India and the neighbouring countries - South Asian Drama: Travails of Misgovernance, and Dharma Rajya: Path-breaking Reforms for India’s Governance.
In 2002, he developed a new categorisation of the Indian economy based on consumption patterns rather than income levels.
In 2005, he was associated with the initiative of Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, then Canada’s Prime Minister, to create a G-20 framework for global governance. It was labelled as L-20 and fructified only at the end of 2008 in response to international financial crisis.
Global future
Sundeep Waslekar has earned a reputation for his ability to take a sweeping look at human history, analyse emerging trends and draw long-term conclusions for global future. In December 2005, he was invited to deliver the Nelson MandelaNelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
Benefit Speech in Dubai, when he presented the concept of An Inclusive World as a framework for collaborative and harmonious global future based on co-existence of all cultures.
In an article in India’s The Economic Times
The Economic Times
The Economic Times is an English-language Indian daily newspaper published by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.. The Economic Times was started in 1961. It is the most popular and widely read financial daily in India, read by more than 8 lakh people...
in August 2007 and in the Strategic Foresight Group
Strategic Foresight Group
Strategic Foresight Group is a think tank based in India that works on issues of global importance and relevance. It was established in 2002 to create new forms of intellectual capital. It identifies emerging trends across sectors at regional and global levels and enables policy-makers to respond...
report on Emerging Issues: 2011-2020 in January 2008, Waslekar warned about the possibility of the collapse of the global financial system. The Emerging Issues report identifies 20 drivers of change that will impact the next decade.
In his speeches at conferences of the Aspen Institute
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...
Italy and the Bertelsmann Foundation
Bertelsmann Foundation
The Bertelsmann Foundation is the largest private operating non-profit foundation in Germany, created in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn. The Bertelsmann Foundation holds 77.4 percent of Bertelsmann AG....
organised to reflect on global economic crisis in 2009, he presented ideas for a bold new framework for economically inclusive and environmentally sustainable future of the world.
In 2011, he co-authored a book of essays Big Questions of Our Time with Ilmas Futehally. The book raises important questions that will face humanity from 2010-2060 over a wide spectrum of issues from philosophy to politics and science to security.
Eka Dishecha Shodh
Eka Dishecha Shodh - (A book in Marathi by Sundeep Waslekar published by Rajhans Publications)Though written in Marathi, the book has important messages for audiences across India. It analyses challenges to India’s future, which are currently outside the discourse in the media, and explains several strategies for the advancement of society, particularly economically weak sections of population. The book is easy to read, non-academic, and draws from personal experiences and anecdotes. The book was on the top of the bestseller list for several months, and saw four editions coming out in less than six months .
Partial bibliography
- The New World Order, 1991, Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd ISBN 81-220-0241-2
- South Asian Drama: Travails of Misgovernance, 1996, Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd ISBN 81-220-0416-4
- Dharma Rajya: Path-breaking Reforms for India’s Governance, 1998, Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd ISBN 81-220-0528-4
- The Final Settlement http://www.strategicforesight.com/finalsettlement/index.htm: Restructuring India-Pakistan Relations, 2005, International Centre for Peace Initiatives ISBN 81-88262-06-4
- An Inclusive World: In which the West, Islam and the Rest have a stake, 2007, Strategic Foresight Group ISBN 81-88262-09-9
- Cost of Conflict in the Middle East http://www.strategicforesight.com/COCME%20-%20preface-contents.pdf, co-authored with Ilmas Futehally, 2009, Strategic Foresight Group ISBN 978-81-88262-12-0
- Eka dishecha Shodh (एका दिशेचा शोध)
Quotes
“We need an inclusive world not merely because of the fear of our survival. We need it because hope is feasible. We need it because dreaming is good and aspirations are essential. We need it because every citizen of the earth can become a participant. We need it because the tomorrow is ours. We need it because the impossible is often possible.” (Sundeep Waslekar, Nelson Mandela Benefit Speech, Dubai, December 16, 2005)"The choice they have to make is the choice between the danger of devastation and the promise of peace," said Sundeep Waslekar (By Jonathan Lynn, Reuters, Geneva, January 23, 2009)
“The critical question facing humanity is how to extend prosperity to the three billion people of the world living in the periphery... The change I want to see is that the world is which is governed by power-driven agendas shifts to the way of collaborative problem-solving.” (Sundeep Waslekar on Challenges of the Globalised World, video series of Bertelsmann Stiftung, June 11, 2009)
External links
- Strategic Foresight Group http://www.strategicforesight.com
- The Globalist-India’s Crisis of Values http://www.theglobalist.com/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=3922
- Bertelsmann Foundation- Shaping a Globalized World http://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/cps/rde/xchg/SID-AC279F7F-E3182CBD/bst_engl/hs.xsl/93640_95348.htm
- World Economic Forum- Middle East Summit http://www.weforum.org/pdf/summitreports/middleeast2007/peace.htm
- Horasis http://www.horasis.org