Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will interact with students at Columbia University and the University of Chicago during his visit to the United States next week, Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda said.
In an interview with PTI, Pitroda said the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha would participate in a fireside chat on global student movements at Columbia University on November 17, followed by a discussion on geopolitics and global affairs at the University of Chicago on November 18.
Elaborating on the Columbia University engagement, Pitroda said the discussion would focus on the global rise of student movements, their significance, their impact on democracy and how they are perceived in India. It would also explore issues raised by students, including education, employment, the economy and the environment.
"One is a fireside chat at Columbia University mainly on the global rise of the student movement, what it means, how it is seen in India, the impact on democracy, their demands on education, employment, economy and environment. It'll be a fireside chat on 17th at the University, which will be broadcast, I'm sure, at the right time," Pitroda said.
The second engagement, scheduled for November 18 at the University of Chicago, will be a conversation with noted academic and geopolitics expert Professor Robert Pape, Pitroda said. The discussion is expected to cover international affairs, particularly developments in the Middle East and the Iran war.
"And the second one on the 18th November is at University of Chicago with a very distinguished professor Dr. (Robert) Pape, who is very well known in the geopolitics area. He has a very unique view on the Middle East, Iran war and all that. So the second conversation would be more on geopolitics and global affairs," he added.
Responding to the BJP's criticism that Gandhi raises domestic political issues on international platforms, Pitroda argued that national and global affairs could no longer be viewed in isolation, given the free flow of information across borders.
"I think we need to be aware of the fact that in this world where all 8 billion people are connected, there is nothing local. Local events are global and global events become local. So you can't shield information. Information has no borders," he said.
Pitroda also defended Gandhi's overseas visits against criticism from the BJP, arguing that India's position as the world's largest democracy made engagement with the international community important.
"If you look at the world over, there are very few young global leaders. In addition, India is the largest democracy in the world. Indian democracy is a larger global public good and it is our moral responsibility to remain connected with the world. Somebody has to do it. It's a responsibility," he said.
