The annual Moy Moy Memorial Lecture honors the memory of Moy Moy Chopra-McGowan, the inspiration for our pioneering work in disability. We celebrate her life and pay tribute to the incredible force for good she was by reflecting on new ways to move toward the better world we are committed to creating. The series is an eagerly awaited event in the intellectual life of the city, with speakers from a wide range of disciplines.

This year, our speaker was Dr Anand Kumar, visiting professor at six Indian and international universities, and the recipient of multiple awards, including the Banaras Hindu University Gold Medal, National Fellowship to Study Abroad, DAAD Fellowship, and Nehru-Fulbright Fellowship. Born into a family of socialist freedom fighters, Dr Kumar is also the founder volunteer of Free Thinkers, Indians for Democracy, Centre for Social Research, Parivartan and Lokshakti Abhiyan. He has served as Secretary and President of the Indian Sociological Society, and is associated with the Society for Communal Harmony, India Tibet Friendship Society, Samajwadi Samagam, Loktantrik Rashtra Nirman Abhiyan and Bharat Jodo Abhiyan.

Sandeep Khanna, Director, Therapy Services, spoke about the origins of Red Balloon. Rizwan Ali, Legal Officer, introduced our speaker. Dr Kumar delivered his lecture, ‘India Tomorrow: Towards a more Inclusive and Democratic Nation’ to a packed house of over 200 attendees that included Dehradun residents, NGO representatives, and students and staff from Dolphin Institute, Doon Paramedical College, Mount Fort Academy, Green Field School, Doon Global School, KVITBP, Summer Hill International, and government schools in the city.

Dr Kumar spoke about how we can collectively build an India that is more inclusive of all, the democratic values of our nation, the critical need for us as professionals to live up to these values, and for regular citizens to understand the system, be aware of our rights and stand up for them, while also fulfilling our duties individually and collectively.

The event concluded with Jo Chopra, our Executive Director, presenting a certificate of completion to Dr Iqra Khan, our first Latika-Adhyan Fellow.

The Latika-Adhyan Fellowship is a unique opportunity for pediatricians from recognised Indian institutions to train in Developmental Pediatrics in close collaboration with our multi-disciplinary team of therapists, psychologists and special educators working with 150 children aged 0—18 years, and their families.