The Sister Nivedita University presents Calcutta Club The Telegraph National Debate 2026 was expected to be between stability and stagnation. It turned out to be one between the spectre of demographic change and Bengal’s egalitarian ethos.

Before the debate began, journalist-author-columnist and moderator Vir Sanghvi asked for a show of hands. An overwhelming majority among the audience voted in favour of the motion — “Status quo has been the unmaking of West Bengal”.

As Sanghvi had suspected it would, the debate soon took on the shape of a political battle. This owed, to a large extent, to the side supporting the motion.

Watch Kolkata’s most anticipated intellectual showdown.