Genealogy of the Constitution - Sudipta Kaviraj Delivers the MK Nambyar Annual Lecture
Details
Nov 17 2023 to Nov 17 2023 6:30 p.m.
EVENT HAS ENDED
Where
Bangalore International Centre
7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071
Event Description
The thinking on political theory that went into the making of the Indian Constitution was not derivative, but highly original. The constitution is based on a long tradition of highly original Indian political reflection. This originality lay in the framers’ forceful critique against some basic axioms of Western political theory.
As illustrations, Sudipta Kaviraj (Professor, Columbia University, and Distinguished Visiting Faculty at the NLSIU) shall present Tagore’s thinking on religion and modernity, Gandhi-Tagore-Nehru’s ideas of the nation, and Ambedkar’s late deployment of Buddhism.
Indian nationalist thought also displayed a contending tradition that accepted and elaborated on fundamental Western ideas – as in Iqbal and Savarkar. The constitution sought to develop a state-form that was based on a rejection of the European idea of a nation-state – though this is sometimes obscured, because the framers used a Western-derived language. Thus, those who believe that the constitution is ‘Western’ or colonial are in error; and their search for an alternative is based, ironically, on an imitation of modern Western ideals.
The lecture will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
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