The Quint's Editor-in-Chief Raghav Bahl will engage in a discussion with veteran politician Shashi Tharoor on the lost legacy of BR Ambedkar at Tata Literature Live! in Mumbai on Saturday, 12 November.
The conversation will follow the launch of Tharoor's book, Ambedkar: A Life, and will reflect on the disparity between what India’s Constitution as it had been envisioned and the reality today.
Did we fail to listen to the warnings sounded by Ambedkar, the chief architect of what is considered to be one of the world’s most progressive constitutions?
Tharoor writes that Ambedkar believed that despite the high ideals of the Constitution, India could become truly democratic and egalitarian only through “the cultivation of constitutional values among the masses, by defeating the forces of feudalism, casteism, bigotry, and parochialism.”
Ambedkar also warned against the Indian proclivity towards hero-worship in politics as being a “sure road to degradation and eventual dictatorship.”
Raghav Bahl and Shashi Tharoor will deliberate on this subject further on Saturday, from 12:00-1:00 pm. The event, titled 'Fading Blueprint' will be held at NCPA, Tata Theatre.
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