The sixth edition of the ideas conclave of The Hindu Group, The Hindu Huddle, is being held in Bengaluru on June 5 and 6. It was formally inaugurated by Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday morning (June 5, 2026).
This event brings diverse panels of experts to explicate and engage with the audience on complex and pertinent issues of recent times including the impact of tariffs on the Indian economy, the role of diplomacy in managing crises such as the war in West Asia, and how artificial intelligence is reshaping multiple aspects of life, from jobs to mental health.
Themed “A world in transition” to reflect the tectonic shifts that have transformed lives over the past year and more, The Hindu Huddle has a bevy of Chief Ministers and other Ministers from across the country. The event also brings prominent and authoritative voices from across the private sector, civil society, and media to discuss and engage candidly with the audience on the changing mores of culture, technology, and business impacting issues such as balancing ecological restoration with development, the use of chatbots in mental health, and the influence of OTT platforms on acting careers, and how art holds meaning and space especially during times of socioeconomic stress.
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The post-lunch session on Day 1 of The Hindu Huddle 2026 is on ‘The Architecture of Leadership: Designing blueprints for a volatile world’.
Moderated by L.V. Navaneeth, CEO, The Hindu Group, the panel includes:
R. Ganesan, Senior Vice President & Head - Corporate Centre, L&T
Neeti Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Digital
Praveen Someshwar, MD and CEO, USL & Member, Global Diageo Executive Committee
Shailendra Katyal, VP & MD, Lenovo India
At the end of the session, N. Ram poses a question to Nirupama Rao: “You spoke about pivots. A pivot that I notice is the present Indian government’s pivot to Israel, specifically the Israel of Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu). What do you make of that?”
To this, Ambassador Rao says: “I have been reflecting on this, and don’t really have an answer as I am not a serving diplomat.”
However, she goes on to add: “I have often positioned this whole question of India’s Israel policy against the background of what our policy towards West Asia was in the decades since Independence. More than sympathy, our empathetic identification with the cause of the Palestinian people. And to me this is still very important, as a thinking Indian.”
The session concludes.
“It is a challenging time for diplomacy, but the need for it has never been greater,” says Hervé Delphin, EU Ambassador to India.
If raw power is the only game of the day, it will lead to chaos as we see in case of West Asia today, he adds.
“Externalities are for others. Diplomacy then also includes cushioning the fallout, it doesn’t mean to accept everything,” he says, in response to a question on whether diplomacy really revolves around peacekeeping alone.
“Are we able to shape the conversations? Are we able to prevent fragmentation from becoming conflicts? - These are the questions. What is the distinctive contribution we can make? We are very vocal as a country, we are argumentative, we put forth ideas. That inherent capacity needs to be demonstrated even more,” Mr. Rao says.
Highlighting India’s exports to Australia in relation to its exports globally, Mr. Green says: “I’m not going to answer if we are going to land a deal in the next few months. The key thing for us, and even for Indian negotiators, is to get a good deal, not a quick deal.” This came in response to a question on the status of the India-Australia FTA.
Ms. Rao, in her view, shares that the emerging world order is “intermediated” than being multipolar.
On India’s position, she terms it as a “pivotal power” that places value not in choosing sides, but preserving channels of communication.
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Nirupama Rao, Former Indian Ambassador to the U.S., states that there is an erosion of the world order as we know it. “We are seeing an erosion of world order. The power is diffusing rather than disappearing.”
She adds that the war on Iran has changed this conversation.
Philip Green, Australian High Commissioner to India, begins by saying that “it’s a great time to be a diplomat”.
Australia is a treaty ally of the United States, he says, adding that the country is also looking to work with Japan and even India to get through the difficult moment in regional and global conflicts.
“It is wrong to say Australia never parts company from the U.S.. Just 24 hours ago, our Prime Minister said that we have ideological difference between Australia and United States in relation to tariffs.,” he adds.
Mr. Green further says: “Rather than worry about the world where rules don’t exist, we need to protect the rules that exist and try to build them on. The global rule making order might have slowed down but it has not stopped. So for my country, defending the rules, standing by them if necessary, pushing them where we can, is enormously important.”
Hervé Delphin, EU Ambassador to India, goes first and states that the world order, as we know it from World War II, needs to be reinvented.
He also rejects the term “middle powers”, stating that the focus must be on intention and agency.
“We are trying to work with every other partner who would like to put forward proposals and take up initiatives underpinned by cooperation. The question is whether we want to gang up together against other. It has to be issue-based and inclusive, which will make the difference,” he adds.
The session - ‘The Power of Words: Diplomacy at a time of conflict’ - is moderated by The Hindu’s Suhasini Haidar. The panel of distinguished diplomats includes:
“Solutions for man-animal conflict have to be based on science, data and community participation. We have to empower rural Indians to solve man-animal conflicts,” Dr. Krithi Karanth says, in response to a question on man-animal conflicts and difficult choices to be made on a case-to-case basis.
With that, the session concludes.
“We have very progressive laws, extensive institutions to protect environment. But recently we are beginning to see environmental protection as a regulatory burden and not as a prerequisite for public health and economic growth. Ease of business mantra is overtaking everything,” Jairam Ramesh says.
“In environment and development, you cannot satisfy all sides, but balanced dissatisfaction is needed,” he adds. To this, Dr. Krithi says, “It is the willpower to do it that is needed”.
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On Dr. Krithi’s point of optimism regarding on ground work for environment, Mr. Ramesh says: “India is a land of billion cockroaches, they are going to multiple. Cockroach is part of our biodiversity.”
“Democracy is about protecting the smallest of the small community. If a particular community says something is integral to their culture, it needs to be protected. In India, protecting culture is protecting nature,” the Rajya Sabha MP articulates.
Dr. Krithi says: “We can’t make excuses for not protecting India’s environment. We are able to do a lot as a civil society on the ground. Other than tigers and elephants, which goes up to the Centre, there is a lot of political will. To me, wildlife is politically agnostic.”
To this, Mr. Ramesh says, there is great room for optimism.
“Development and environmental protection must go hand in hand. It involves making difficult choices. In the last 40 years, we have understood the public health impact of ecological imbalance,” Mr. Ramesh says.
Further, Dr. Kriti Karanth adds: “We celebrate India’s culture, heritage, history; But most Indians don’t celebrate this country for its wildlife”.
“Nicobar is a unique ecosystem. And to think you can deforest Nicobar and compensate for it by some aforestation in Haryana is flawed,” Mr. Ramesh elaborates.
The next session is with Former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh, and Dr. Krithi Karanth, CEO, Centre for Wildlife Studies.
Moderated by Gargi Rawat, Consulting Editor, NDTV, the session is on ‘From the Aravallis to the Nicobar: At the edge of ecology’.
This session is particularly special given that June 5 is observed as World Environment Day. Stay tuned!
The session with the Chinese Ambassador to India ends with Ms. Haidar asking whether Chinese President Xi would be visiting India for the upcoming BRICS Summit. To this, Mr. Feihong says he couldn’t give an exact answer or information on it at the moment.
“We will keep you informed,” he adds.
“Even if we can view the differences objectively as what I said just now, the deficit of trust remains serious. Exchanges between the policy making bodies are not enough. China and India have nearly 50 government to government dialogue mechanisms, unfortunately most of them remain stalled,” the Chinese Ambassador to India elaborates.
Terming India and China as major emerging economies with broad prospects for development, Mr. Feihong says: “These similarities just tell us we should expand our common ground and narrow differences, avoid misunderstanding and misjudgement.”
“China and India as two ancient civilisations have the wisdom and capability to find effective ways to accommodate each other’s core interest and major concerns, and properly settle differences through dialogue,” he adds.
“The leaders of our two countries play a leading role in providing strategic guidance for relations between our two countries. Both President Xi and Prime Minister Modi attach great importance to bilateral ties and view relations from the strategic and long-term perspective,” Mr. Feihong says.
He highlighted that the two leaders have led relations “from a reset and fresh start to a new level of development.”
“The diplomatic teams of two sides have been working very hard to step up communication and cooperation at various levels to advance implementation of the important common understandings between the two leaders,” he adds.
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“India-China relationship is one of the most important relationships in the world. It carries global strategic significance. I am very glad to see the gradual and tangible progress we have made in bilateral ties, such as resumption of pilgrimage for Indian citizens, restart of direct flights between different cities,” Mr. Feihong says.
Next session is with Xu Feihong, Chinese Ambassador to India, who will be talking in a session titled ‘India-China Tango: Asian powers shaping the emerging world order’.
The session is moderated by Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu.
Mr. Shivakumar, highlighting Karnataka and Bengaluru’s importance, says: “Bengaluru has biggest talent pool in Asia. We produce engineers and doctors and export them to the rest of the world. Any global universities, Karnataka and India plays a big role. Let us all work together and see every section of people on the social fabric does well.”
“The Hindu is Hindustan, Hindustan is India, India is Bharat,” he adds.
Karnataka CM Shivakumar highlights Bengaluru as Asia's largest talent hub, emphasizing its significant contributions to various professions.
“Bengaluru is a city where the world is looking at. There was a time when world leaders used to come to Delhi. Then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said now the situation had changed, world leaders are first coming to Bengaluru and then to Delhi. Likewise The Hindu also has a long history, heritage.You all (audience) read history, The Hindu writes history, we believe in making history,” Mr. Shivakumar says.
He adds: “The Hindu has not budged an inch despite political and govt pressures. Your pen is strong and it is providing direction.”
The session - ‘Government of the People: Karnataka’s tryst with equitable growth’ - will have an address by the CM of Karnataka D.K. Shivakumar
Chief Minister of Karnataka D.K. Shivakumar arrives to formally inaugurate The Hindu Huddle 2026.
“I normally have a coffee with The Hindu. Today I am starting my outreach as Chief Minister with The Hindu Huddle. It provides solutions to every walk of life,” he says.
N. Ram, in his address, throws light on the global context of the times -- from U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies and the ongoing war on Iran, to the situation in Gaza and the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026. He ties it to The Hindu Huddle’s theme of ‘A world in transition’, highlighting the crucial role of media.
“In such uncertain times before us, we need more than ever open, free, moderated, intelligent and courageous discussions. We hope that such discussions take place at The Hindu Huddle 2026,” Mr. N. Ram says.
Session 1 on ‘Beyond the Valley: The role of Kashmir in great power politics’ with J&K CM Omar Abdullah ends.
Next up, N. Ram, the Director of The Hindu Group, addresses the gathering. He intends to articulate the context of The Hindu Huddle 2026, themed “A world in transition” to reflect the tectonic shifts that have transformed lives over the past year.
‘Give us statehood, give a timeline and parameters on which it will be decided,’ says the JK CM.
“There were no private universities in J&K, nor an enabling mechanism until this year. The J&K Assembly passed the legislation allowing private universities to come and set up there. Along with asking you to come and make movies there, those of you who are part of the education, high education setup, please look at Jammu and Kashmir. There is enormous potential there,” CM Omar says, responding to a question from a young student who wished to know if there would be good college options for him in J&K in the future.
“By the time you graduate from Class 12, I assure you there will be even more opportunities for you to explore in J&K in terms of education,” he adds.
“Come and visit Kashmir. We don’t get enough visitors from the South of the Vindhyas. We are trying to encourage more people from this part of the country to come visit us.,” Omar Abdullah says.
Further, he says: “Tourism often follows movies. Look at what happened to Switzerland, thanks in part to Yash Chopra’s films. We would love to see more South Indian films shot in Kashmir. These days, your films seem to be doing better than Bollywood’s, and you have bigger budgets. So I hope more films from the south are shot in Kashmir in the future.”
Later, responding to a question from the audience on tourism, Mr. Abdullah points out: “There is a direct IndiGo flight to Srinagar. Compared with many other hill stations in north India, Srinagar is easier to reach than several other parts of the country.”
The J&K CM says he’s been privy to the ups and downs of power within a democracy several times since childhood.
“Power is a very fleeting thing. I have always told my colleagues that we are the most glorified daily wage workers in the country. Therefore, I take the trappings of the office with a large pinch of salt,” he says.
He reflects on his active political career of 30 years. “Age and experience should never be scoffed at,” Mr. Abdullah says.
“First and foremost, give us our statehood back. Give us what is rightfully ours. Empower us back as a State and we shall go forward from there. I’m not going to ask for anything more at this point in time,” J&K CM Omar Abdullah says.
He refers to Statehood as the single biggest policy change he wants from the Government of India.
“What you do with Pakistan is a different matter. Of course, it impacts us in day-to-day lives. But I’m happy to discuss all that with the government after that,” he adds.
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Dr Narayan Lakshman asks CM Abdullah to share what, in his view, would be the single biggest policy mistake India could make in Kashmir over the next decade.
To this, Mr. Abdullah says: “You’ve already made it, in 2019. You are unfortunately continuing the mistake by denying the people of J&K what is rightfully theirs - statehood.”
He refers to Ladakh and says, “You have essentially taken a part of the country that celebrated what they got in 2019. Vociferously people of Ladakh came out and said thank you, saying you have given us our freedom. Today, they are saying we were better off in 2019.”
“Article 370 was never a cause of any lack of development in Jammu and Kashmir. It’s revocation or watering down has not resulted in this massive development. If anything, it has suffered on account of 30-35 years of violence. The fact that J&K was perceived as “unsafe” to visit or to work at -- is what we paid a price for. That was the propaganda that was used,” CM Omar Abdullah says, in response to a question on the aftermath of the revocation of the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution.
Day 1 of The Hindu Huddle 2026 kicks off with the first session -- ‘Beyond the Valley: The role of Kashmir in great power politics’.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is in conversation with The Hindu’s Opinion Editor Dr. Narayan Lakshman.
Dr. Narayan Lakshman, The Hindu’s Opinion editor and the curator of The Hindu Huddle, formally welcomes the gathering.
“We are bringing, under a single roof, the most impactful global experts in the time of shifting global priorities and polarities - AI and its transformational impact on jobs and mental health; federalism, pluralism and the fight for constitutional values in India governance; and how technology, culture and new institutions are shaping the world of entertainment, art and sports - a wide range of canvas for you to enjoy,” Dr. Lakshman says.
He declares the sixth edition of The Hindu Huddle “open for dialogue”.
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Day 1 of The Hindu Huddle 2026 begins with Radhakrishnan Sreenivasan extending a warm welcome to the dignitaries and the audience.
The sixth edition of the ideas conclave of The Hindu Group, The Hindu Huddle, is being held in Bengaluru on June 5 and 6.
Today we are bringing together the following speakers:
D.K. Shivakumar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka
Omar Abdullah, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
Xu Feihong, Chinese Ambassador to India
Jairam Ramesh, Former Union Minister and Hon’ble Member of Parliament (INC), Rajya Sabha
Dr Krithi Karanth, CEO, Centre for Wildlife Studies
Hervé Delphin, EU Ambassador to India
Nirupama Rao, Former Foreign Secretary and Former Indian Ambassador to the US
Philip Green, Australian High Commissioner to India
R. Ganesan, Senior Vice President & Head - Corporate Centre, L&T
Neeti Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Digital
Praveen Someshwar, MD and CEO, USL & Member, Global Diageo Executive Committee
Shailendra Katyal, VP & MD, Lenovo India P Ltd, and Site Leader, Lenovo Group
Dr Amit Malik, Psychiatrist and Founder, AMAHA
Dr Prabha S Chandra, Professor of Psychiatry and Director, NIMHANS
Huma Qureshi, Actor
Kritika Kamra, Actor
Today highlights will include:
The Hindu Huddle 2026 opens in Bengaluru, June 5, 2026.
The Hindu Huddle will be opened by host State Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and will include other Ministers from across the country to explain the government view on vital policies. Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Telangana A. Revanth Reddy will also be speaking at the event.
This edition will bring together leading Indian and global voices to discuss some of today’s most important issues, including the role of regional parties in strengthening India’s democracy, diplomacy in times of conflict, women’s representation in Parliament, India and China’s role in shaping a new global order, balancing ecological restoration with development, the use of chatbots in mental health, the influence of OTT platforms on acting careers, and the future of work.
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Published - June 05, 2026 09:02 am IST
The Huddle / Live news / Bengaluru
Source: The Hindu - India News
