THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Universities in Kerala have stayed clear of the UGC’s controversial direction to hold lectures celebrating India as the “mother of democracy” on November 26, the Constitution Day. UGC chairperson M Jagdish Kumar had suggested contentious themes such as ‘Ideal king (rajarsi or seer king or philosopher king) according to Kautilya and Bhagavad Gita’, ‘India’s loktantra (self-governance)’, ‘Harappans as the pioneering architect of the democratic system in the world’, as well as ‘Khap panchayats (caste-based assembly of elders) and their democratic traditions’ for the lectures.
Only the Central University of Kerala (CUK) in Kasaragod fell in line with the UGC directive, holding a lecture on ‘Governing Principles of Democracy in Ancient Sanskrit Scriptures based on Sruti, Smriti Ithishas and Mahakavya Texts’.
The University of Kerala’s (KU) Department of Law held a two-day seminar on ‘Constituent Assembly Debates: Revealing the minds of Constitution makers’ on November 25 and 26 and the deliberations on the first day included the propositions related to ‘Democratic scruples of dharma, Sabha and samiti, the village and central polity aspects’. However, a KU faculty member said “our seminar touched upon such themes as these are part of the curriculum of post-graduate law students specialising in public law and not because of the UGC direction per se.”
The University of Calicut organised a lecture by former Supreme Court judge Justice KT Thomas on ‘Fundamental Duties’. The MG University did not organise any special lectures or seminars, but students and faculty took a Constitution pledge on the day.
“The democratic system of India has evolved over the ages. There are ample pieces of evidence, right from the Vedic period, that emphasize the democratic tradition of India. In order to celebrate Indian democracy, it has been decided that all universities in the country should organise lectures on the theme ‘India: the mother of democracy’ on November 26, 2022,” the UGC chairperson had said in the directive.
A concept note, prepared by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), was enclosed with it. The note claimed that there was no concentration of the prestige of birth, influence of wealth and political office which made social organisations autocratic and aristocratic in India, and that was the key difference that separated “Bharat” from other ancient civilizations.
“There was no aristocracy in India like say in Greece. The Hindu state rarely presented that high degree of centralisation associated with the Roman empire...One of the most profound ideas in ancient Indian political philosophy is that power or the office of the king is only a trust,” the concept note added.
The directive and the concept note had evoked widespread criticism. The CPM had termed it as an attempt to “negate the reality of caste-based hierarchy that is a major challenge in the evolution of our modern society.”