The Bahá’í Chair for Studies in Development is pleased to announce the publication of the book ‘Dialogues on Development: Rethinking Development for a Just and Sustainable Future’.

As the world confronts climate instability, widening inequalities, and deep social fractures, dominant models of development—shaped by extractive growth and technocratic fixes—are proving insufficient. Dialogues on Development: Rethinking Development for a Just and Sustainable Future brings together scholars, practitioners, and thought leaders who argue that genuine progress requires a profound moral reorientation of development itself.

Drawing on diverse fields—economic policy, labour rights, cooperatives, water governance, youth leadership, pastoralism, crafts, agroecology, biodiversity, and technology—the essays expose the limits of fragmented, short-term approaches. They highlight alternatives rooted in long-term thinking, participatory governance, and a willingness to draw upon diverse ways of knowing, alongside an ethical understanding of human dignity, justice, and interdependence.

Emerging from a lecture series organized by the Bahá’í Chair for Studies in Development at Devi Ahilya University, this volume invites readers to see development not merely as a technical project but as a moral and spiritual undertaking aimed at building just, sustainable, and flourishing societies for all.

To read the contents page click here. To purchase the book click here

The Bahá’í Chair for Studies in Development at DAVV, Indore is organizing a roundtable on the theme ‘Water and Justice: Indore’s Path to a Sustainable Change‘ on 9 December 2025.

The speakers for the roundtable are Shri Priyanshu Kumath, Founder and CEO, Clean-Water (Sustainable Water Technologies Pvt. Ltd.); Shri Ambrish Kela, Co-Founder, Jaivik Setu and MD, Scientech Technologies; Shri Suresh M.G., Project Coordinator, Integrated Water Management Program, Nagrath Charitable Trust; Dr. Sandeep Narulkar, Professor of Civil Engineering, Shri G.S. Institute of Technology and Science and Dr. Niharika Shivhare, Assistant Professor, Prestige Institute for Management and Research. To read the background note click here.