By TCN News,
New Delhi: “The fears expressed in the first Idea of India conclave held just after the election results in 2014 were only too well-founded. India’s basic constitutional values, its cultural pluralism and its welfare state policies, all stand gravely threatened by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” speakers at the second Idea of India conclave had concluded.
On May 16 and 17, the ‘Idea of India – One Year in Office: An Evaluation’ brought together about 40 leading public intellectuals, artistes, human rights and other activists for a sober evaluation of the performance of the new government as it completed its first year in office in May 2015.
On Thursday, the videos of various speakers talking at the conclave who attempted to assess how well this government has performed were released. These talks were organised before a small invited audience, recorded and edited. “We are releasing them today and they are also uploaded online and made available for people to see and reflect on,” the organisers said.
The speakers include Abhijit Sen, Aditya Mukherjee, Amar Farooqui, Anil Choudhry, Apoorvanand, Ashish Nandy, Atul Sood, Deepak Nayyar, Dhruv Sangari, Dinesh Abrol, Farida Khan, Harsh Mander, Hartosh Singh, Indira Jaisingh, John Dayal, KM Shrimali, Mridula Mukherjee, Neelabh Misra, Neera Chandoke, Nirupam Sen, Nitya Ramakrishnan, Nivedita Menon, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Prabhat Patnaik, Prabir Purkayastha, Priya Pillai, Reetika Khera, Satish Deshpande, Seema Mustafa, Shekhar Singh, Siddharth Vardarajan, Subrat Das, Uma Chakravarthy, Utsa Patnaik, Vani Subramanian, Vijoo Krishnan, Vineeta Bal, Vrinda Grover, Yousuf Saeed and Zoya Hassan.
“The India we are part of belongs equally to all persons who make it its own – no matter what their religious faith (or the lack of it), their gender, caste, class, language, physical abilities and sexual orientation. The bedrock of the Indian republic is the promise that all its citizens can find space in which to practise their beliefs and cultures, and live freely, confident they will be equally protected by the law of the land. This collective is also convinced about the central idea of the good state as one which defends the oppressed and disadvantaged, and ensures their access to basic rights necessary for a life with dignity,” they said.
The following videos were released online on Thursday.
Environment and Development: Priya Pilai, Prabir Purkayastha, Shekhar Singh
The Social Sector: Abhijit Sen, Reetika Khera, Subrat Das
Education: Apoorvanand, Farida Khan, Zoya Hasan
The Economy: Atul Sood, Deepak Nayyar, Prabhat Patnaik
Culture and Heritage: Apoorvanand, Dhruv Sangari, Yousuf Saeed
Media: Hartosh Singh Bal, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Seema Mustafa
Secularism and Democracy: Ashish Nandy, Harsh Mander, Neera Chandoke
Law and Justice: Indira jaisingh, Nitya Ramakrishnan, Vrinda Grover
Science & Reason: Dinesh Abrol, Prabir Purkayastha, Vineeta Bal
Civic Dissent: Anil Choudhry, John Dayal, Vani Subramaniam
History: Amar Farooqui, KM Shrimali, Mridula Mukherjee
Gender and Caste: Nivedita Menon, Satish Deshpande, Uma Chakravarty
Foreign Policy: Nirupam Sen, Seema Mustafa, Siddharth Vardarajan
Constitutional Values: Aditya Mukherjee, Apoorvanand, Neelabh Mishra
Agrarian Distress: Harsh Mander, Utsa Patnaik, Vijoo Krishnan