Gandhian Thinker Prasanna Heggodu Inaugurates State Level Seminar at SAC
‘Bharateeya Secularvaada Mattu Kannadada Prathikriye!’ Gandhian Thinker and the Proponent of Grama Swaraja Prasanna Heggodu Inaugurates State Level Seminar at St Aloysius College {Autonomous} on 23 July 2018 at Fr Eric Mathias Hall.
Mangaluru: The department of Kannada, St Aloysius College organized a State Level Seminar on ‘Bharateeya Secularvaada Mattu Kannadada Prathikriye’ (Indian Secularism and Kannada Response) on July 23 at Fr Eric Mathais Hall, LCRI Block of St Aloysius College. The modern concept of secularism is facing many challenges and distress in Indian cultural context today. Hence, debate about the secularist theoretical political concepts is more relevant than ever before. The aim of the seminar is to discuss the perspectives of secularism in Gandhi, Ambedkar and Lohiya along with Ananthamoorthy, Lankesh and Devanur’s ideas of secularism in the context of Kannada. This seminar will discuss a vision for India based on secular and democratic values.
Gandhian Thinker and the Proponent of Grama Swarajya, Prasanna Heggodu inaugurated the seminar, along with Fr Dionysius Vaz SJ-the Rector of St Aloysius institution who presided over the function, Principal of the College, Rev Dr Praveen Martis SJ the guest of honor; and Dr Saraswathi-HOD of Kannada department, SAC. The welcome address and introduction of the dignitaries on the dais was done by Dr Saraswathi.
Addressing the gathering, Prasanna Heggodu said, ” India has been declared a secular state by its written constitution and it is every Indians duty to stand by and believe in this declaration. And yet recent political and social events have questioned this declaration. Is India a secular country only on paper or does secularism actually exist in India; or is in the form of pseudo-secularism, a term the present Govt and its allies seem to repeatedly harp on. During the freedom struggle, secularism was emerging as the most dominant principle. The founding fathers represented the aspirations of the different sections of society and it is due to the struggles of these different people that secular principles got enshrined into the Indian constitution.”
“Secularism has for long been discussed in India primarily as a state policy towards religious groups, and the prime focus was the distance that the state needs to maintain with them. The debate was limited to the Western kind of separation of the state from religion and instead foregrounding a secular-citizen as the core identity that the state formulates policies on, or more recently the turn to multiculturalism that partially recognised religious practices and cultural specificities. The debate on secularism in India began by pointing to the difference of the Indian variation to its Western counterpart, either by pointing to an idea of a ‘principled distance’ that the state maintained, depending on the context or by pointing towards an alternative imagination of samadharma samabhava, where all religions are treated as equal. However, in focusing on the question of the desired distance between religion and state or politics, the idea that secularism essentially promoted a social philosophy of life got sidelined” added Heggodu.
He further said, “In focusing on the question of the desired distance between religion and state or politics, the idea that secularism essentially promoted a social philosophy of life has been sidelined. Secularism is not merely about how religious groups are treated by the state. What it meant in essence was how to forge positive and proactive solidarity between religious groups in their everyday social and cultural life. Since the debate on secularism for various reasons was overshadowed by the concern with the role of state, secularism as a social philosophy was somewhat neglected. Secularism in essence is the ability to forge friendships with unlikely social groups or the ability to express solidarity with strangers. State policy here is not merely about how to avoid cultural and religious conflicts but also about how to nurture thick social bonds. Can we, therefore, achieve secularism in society without a social democratic state? Let us discuss more about Indian Secularism and Kannada Response during today’s seminar”
Rector Fr Dionysisu Vas SJ and College Fr Praveen Martis SJ also spoke on Secularism in India, and both stressed that people should not create trouble, crimes and hate in the name of Religion. Re-imagining secularism as a social philosophy of compassion and an art of friendship with strangers is an imperative pre-condition to guide state policy. Unfortunately in India, the debate was lost in the maze of looking for an ideal distance and equation of the state with various religious denominations. Reinvigorating secularism through a wider canvas alone can revert what looks like a bleak future for it.
Today’s seminar will have two sessions. Prof Nithyananda B Shetty-the Director DVG Kannada Adhyayana Kendra Tumakuru University, Prof Rajaram Tholpady-Professor of Political Science Mangalore University; Prof Ivan Francis Lobo-Department of Political Science Government First Grade College for Women Puttur; Prof Rajendra Chenny-Retired professor of Kuvempu University;G Rajashekar-social activist and writer Udupi; and Prof B Shivaram Shetty-SVP Kannada Adhyayana Kendra Mangalore University will be the resource persons for the seminar. Four Universities and college professors and students of 15 colleges from different parts of Karnataka are taking part in today’s seminar.