Mysuru/Mysore: Mysore Open Forum has organised a talk on “The Constitution and Culture Conflict in India” by Prof. M. Umapathy, former Chairman, Department of Political Science, University of Mysore, on Saturday (Jan. 25) at 6 pm at Kalpa Kshetra auditorium, 581/1, Vijayanagar 4th Stage, 1st Phase, Mysuru (Mob:94498-19536). The talk is open to all.

The Indian Constitution is a recent (1950), revolutionary and an all-binding sovereign document. Indian cultures are ancient, plural, syncretic and highly enriched. The Indian Constitution and cultures are often at conflict as they both demand loyalty and claim governance over people. The Constitution has faced the challenge of including, controlling and subordinating cultures under the Constitution right from its making. It has handled them wisely and given the cultural communities (religious, caste, linguistic, tribal and regional) Constitutional recognition, freedom and autonomy. 

But today, religious idiom dominates in politics. The nation belongs to all and its politics is always an affair of all the people. Religious politics — majoritarian or minoritarian — when in power, deviates from this, dents national consensus, peace and Constitutional governance as we are witnessing in India today. Prof. Umapathy will be dealing with these and other related issues.

Profile

Professor M.Umapathy holds a D.Litt degree in Political Science. He is the Founder-Secretary and Chairman of the Indian Institute of Public Administration, Mysore (1976-2013). He has served as Guest Professor at various Academic and Administrative Institutes in the country. He is the author of four books and innumerable articles on Development Administration, Governance and Politics.