"Urban Ethos and Pathos" | Across ethnic and regional identities

The thoughts and views expressed in Urban Ethos and Pathos relate to social and political challenges as well as governance challenges and their attempted resolutions. Having served in the government, public sector and the non-government sector, the author, Raj Liberhan is aware of the complexities and the volumes of societal concerns but is often distressed at the lack of determination to find viable answers and particularly our inability to anticipate the needs of the continuous expansion of civic services for growing populations.

The author seems to be frustrated by the use and often abuse of public spaces by fellow citizens, and why we are not more civil and conscious of the fact that my right to swing my arm ends where the other fellows’ nose begins. The way our cities are managed is appalling. This is where we live and millions more will be coming to seek opportunities, in the coming years. We are condemning them to a life of misery.

Liberhan fondly hopes that things could get better, only if we try a little harder as human beings without having to worry about the mandates from our different Gods.

Raj Liberhan has also served the Director of the India Habitat Centre (IHC), a unique institution that has built platforms for many conversations on issues of contemporary societal concerns and is a premier cultural space for citizens in the city. He was at the helm of the India Habitat Centre, for nearly twenty years, and has helped create a unique institutional mechanism where various professions and institutions dealing with different facets of habitat function, interact, and attempt to resolve habitat-related problems in a coordinated manner; and cooperate and collaborate with other national or international institutions.

He has also anchored a public discourse on a variety of issues of concern to society and built a platform for public discourse amongst the intellectuals, public-spirited citizenry and academics. The endeavour has been to facilitate conversations amongst audiences across ethnic and regional identities so that a vibrant social and cultural fabric resonates above everything else.

The author served in the Government of India’s financial services for thirty years, before moving to the non-governmental sector. He has varied experience with a significant range of responsibilities at senior levels in government, public sector and environment-based NGOs, building and sustaining organisations, programmes and missions with sector-specific objectives and services.

The book launch under the aegis of Har-Anand Publications was held in India Habitat Centre on January 7, 2020. It was preceded by a panel discussion which included Mr. Shyam Saran (India’s Former, Foreign Secretary) Dr. Kiran Karnik (Ex-President, IHC), Dr. Rajat Kathuria (Director, ICRIER), Sunit Tandon (Director, IHC) and Narendra Kumar.