Nehru
Memorial
Museum
and
Library
cordially
invites
you
to
a
Public
Lecture
in
the
‘Interrogating
Social
Justice’
Series
at
3.00
pm
on
Monday,
15
April,
2013
in
the
Seminar
Room,
First
Floor,
Library
Building
on
The
significance
of
the
State
in
Ambedkar’s
thought
by
Prof.
Valerian
Rodrigues,
Jawaharlal
Nehru
University,
New
Delhi
Abstract:
It
is
widely
accepted
today
that
Ambedkar’s
writings
advance
a
set
of
credible
arguments
against
confining
democracy
to
the
freedom
of
the
market,
or
reducing
it
to
state
socialism.
He
argued
for
a
positive
role
for
the
state
in
reordering
social
relations,
and
defining
the
role
and
place
of
the
market.
In
this
regard
his
position
was
at
great
variance
from
that
of
the
liberals
and
socialists.
This
lecture
probes
into
the
role
and
place
of
the
state
in
his
thought
under
conditions
of
democracy.
The
lecture
advances
the
argument
that
Ambedkar
saw
the
state
as
a
public
power
which
under
conditions
of
democracy
can
make
deep
forays
into
the
following
modes
of
domination,
and
play
a
partisan
role
in
the
sustenance
of
democracy:
- In controlling and regulating the market wherein economic dominance does not affect equal and free citizenship.
- In intervening into social relations in favour of citizen equality, human dignity and undermining group-based indignities.
- In rallying the collective public against discursive modes of domination manifest in religious ideologies, common-sense and in notions of self-hood.
- Institutionally he upheld the principle that power should rest where responsibility lies; while at the same time ensuring that it is not appropriated by partisan interests.
The
lecture
suggests
that
for
Ambedkar
the
role
of
the
state
spilled
over
from
political
to
the
moral
arena.
This
conception
of
power
while
not
denying
that
the
political
domain
is
susceptible
to
influences
arising
from
the
economic
level,
considers
that
the
former
has
resources
within
its
command
to
sustain
its
own
autonomy,
and
be
the
expression
of
the
common
good.
How
does
such
a
conception
of
the
state
negotiate
across
an
abstract
system
of
law
and
deep
diversities
manifest
in
a
society?
How
viable
is
it
against
modes
of
dominance?
Is
it
not
possible
for
such
a
state
to
doctor
its
own
version
of
democracy,
and
even
citizen-public?
What
dangers
await
the
political
when
it
spills
over
into
the
moral
terrain?
Speaker:
Prof.
Valerian
Rodrigues
is
currently
Professor
in
the
Centre
for
Political
Studies,
School
of
Social
Sciences,
Jawaharlal
Nehru
University.
He
has
taught
at
Mangalore
University
from
1982-2003.
He
has
served
as
Chairman,
Department
of
Political
Science,
Mangalore
University,
1989-2003,
as
Dean,
Faculty
of
Arts,
Mangalore
University,
1998-2000
and
as
Chairman,
Centre
for
Political
Studies,
School
of
Social
Sciences,
JNU,
2008-2010.
He
has
been
Agatha
Harrison
Fellow,
St
Antony’s
College,
Oxford
University,
1989-1991
and
awarded
the
UGC
National
Award
(Sri
Pravanada
Saraswati/Om
Hari
Awards)
for
Political
Science,
2006.
His
publications
include
among
others,
Essential
Writings
of
B.R. Ambedkar
and
The
Indian
Parliament:
A
Democracy
at
Work
All
are
welcome.
Those
wishing
to
have
their
names
added
to
the
email
list
may
please
email
us
at
nmmldirector@gmail.com.
Comments
Post a Comment