Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta would be delivering the Second Lecture in the ‘Democracy Dialogues’ series through a webinar. The topic will be ‘The Structural Contradictions of Indian Democracy and the Rise of the BJP’ on August 16, 2020 (Sunday) at 6 PM IST.
The ‘Democracy Dialogues’ lecture series is organized by the New Socialist Initiative to initiate as well as join in the on-going conversation around this theme in academic as well as activist circles. The organizers have noted that they feel that the very idea of democracy which has taken deep roots across the world, has come under the scanner for various reasons. At the same time, the world is a witness to the ascendance of the right-wing forces and fascistic demagogues via the same democratic route. There is this apparently anomalous situation in which the spread and deepening of democracy have often led to generating mass support for these reactionary and fascistic forces.
In the case of India, there have been valid concerns about the rise of authoritarian streak among Indians and how it has helped strengthen BJP’s hard right turn. The strong support for democracy here is accompanied by an increasing fascination towards majoritarian-authoritarian politics. In fact, we would like to state that a vigorous electoral democracy here has become a vehicle for Hindutva-ite counterrevolution.
Abstract: This talk explores the deep social transformations that have made the dominance of the BJP possible. It will take a longer view of the trajectory of Indian democracy and explore the profound changes in social and economic identities underway that have prepared a propitious ground for the rise of the BJP.
The Speaker: Prof Pratap Bhanu Mehta
Internationally renowned scholar and political scientist Prof Pratap Bhanu Mehta taught at Harvard, at New York University, and at JNU. He was the Vice-Chancellor of the Ashoka University till recently and has served as the President of Centre for Policy Research – a premier think tank in India. He studied at Oxford University and has a Ph.D. from Princeton University. Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta is a columnist at The New Indian Express. He is a leading public intellectual and is known for his bold and thoughtful voice for reason and justice. Among many honours and prizes to his credit, he is the recipient of the Infosys Prize, the Adisheshiah Prize, and the Amartya Sen Prize.
