JIGYASA is a forum devoted to intellectual engagement, informed dialogue, and reflective discourse on issues of national, cultural, social, and constitutional significance. Established on 13 May 2017, the forum was conceived by Sh. Rajkumar Bhatia (ex-National President, ABVP) as a platform where individuals with a deep sense of public responsibility could come together to deliberate upon matters that shape the present and future of the nation. Its central objective is to promote meaningful, civilized, and intellectually stimulating discussions that advance social, national, and international interests while encouraging analytical thinking and collective wisdom.
The very word Jigyasa embodies the timeless human impulse to inquire, understand, and seek knowledge. It reflects an enduring curiosity and a relentless pursuit of truth and learning. Inspired by this spirit, the forum has evolved into a community of public-spirited individuals who believe that informed debate and thoughtful exchange of ideas are essential for a vibrant democracy and a progressive society.
Importantly, JIGYASA is a duly registered public trust with competent trustees that provides the forum with a formal legal identity, institutional framework, organizational structure, and continuity of vision.
It is a matter of great satisfaction that, over the course of its journey, JIGYASA has attracted the participation of several distinguished individuals, including retired judges, diplomats, senior bureaucrats, academicians, professors, and journalists, who actively contribute to and enrich its deliberations.
The members of JIGYASA come from diverse professional and intellectual backgrounds, including jurists, advocates, civil servants, technocrats, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, social activists, professionals, and students. This diversity brings together a wide spectrum of perspectives, experiences, and expertise, making discussions multidimensional and intellectually robust.
Over the years, JIGYASA has evolved into a dynamic intellectual network. The forum operates through structured digital platforms for intellectual engagement, enabling continuous and meaningful interaction among its members through dedicated discussion forums such as JIGYASA, Jigyasa Manthan, Jigyasa Chintan, Jigyasa Legal, Jigyasa Stree, and Jigyasa DU. Through these platforms, participants contribute valuable insights, drawn from their experience and knowledge, on a wide range of subjects including political, cultural, and social issues, the Indian value system, as well as contemporary national and international developments.
Through structured and respectful dialogue, members engage in examining issues from multiple viewpoints, weighing their merits and demerits with objectivity and intellectual integrity. The aim is not merely to debate, but to cultivate reasoned understanding, responsible opinion, and enlightened public consciousness.
Guided by the enduring principle of “Nation First,” JIGYASA believes that the welfare, unity, and long-term interests of India and its entire citizens must always remain paramount. In an era marked by rapid transformation and complex challenges, the forum seeks to contribute, however modestly, to the strengthening of democratic values, national cohesion, and informed public discourse.
JIGYASA is more than a discussion group; it is a collective intellectual endeavour, an ongoing journey of learning, reflection, and responsible nation-building.
Historically stating, JIGYASA was first established in 2000 under the PRAJNA PRAVAH initiative with Mananiya Baburao Vaidya as the President and Shri Rajendra Chaddha as the Secretary of JIGYASA. It started with 2 meetings and that were followed by 23 physical Seminars/Talks spread between October 2001 to June 2008. After a gap of around nine years, JIGYASA has now got evolved into an intellectually vibrant forum in its second phase that started on 13 May in the year 2017 on the initiative of Sh. Rajkumar Bhatia ji with the formation of carefully growing WhatsApp Groups. Apart from the daily enriching discussions on these WhatsApp groups on a spectrum of contemporary issues, the forum regularly organises talks on such issues by expert intellectuals and authority in the field. The talks are generally followed by interaction with the speaker. Out of more than hundred fifty such talks by eminent intellectuals, here is a list of some of the recent talks with their topics along with the names of eminent speakers that JIGYASA organised in online/offline modes.