Media Release
Mangaluru, Jan 24: As a part of the Constitution Week 2019 which is to be observed from January 21 to 26, a public lecture on ‘Achievements of the Republic of India and Challenges Ahead’ by Justice H N Nagamohan Das, former judge of the Karnataka High Court, Bengaluru was held on January 23 at 3.00 pm in the LF Rasquinha Hall, St Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangaluru. Nagamohan Das is also the author of a Kannada book ‘Samvidhana Oodu’.
Convened by Dr Vishanz Pinto, dean of the Faculty of Arts; the program was compered by Ms. Aarti Shanbague, Head of the BBM Department. At the onset, Vinaya Durga, lecturer, Department of BCA led the crowd into prayer.
In his talk, Das elucidated in detail about crucial changes, establishment of legislative, judicial and executive institutions after India became a republic. He stated that before independence, India was a nation where more than 80% illiteracy prevailed and the enforcement of the constitution led to provision of amenities to the larger public. He was proud to say that there were areas where India was among the top 10 in the world.
Das condemned the evils of the caste system which are imposed upon the unwilling populace. He shed light upon the fact that there are a lot of drawbacks in the present society despite the tremendous achievements of the state; 20% of eligible youth have no access to education, hightened unemployment, corruption, cultural degeneration and growing criminal orientation. He pressed on the challenges that the nation as a whole is going through at the moment; lack of constitutional understanding, failure to link political, social and economic democracy, concentration of wealth and a lot more.
The areas of concern which were highlighted by Das included separation of religion from politics, the idea of welfare state, fundamentalism and the concept of privatization in the true sense. He requested the crowd to read, understand and imbibe the constitution and concluded his words with a quote by Rumi; ‘Love is a powerful weapon’. The 40 minute talk by Nagamohan Das was followed by a question and answer session.
Principal Fr Dr Praveen Martis in his presidential address remarked that the Constitution of India continues to intrigue and inspire us even today. He emphasized on the need to be vigilant in today’s society. Anup Denzil Veigas, department of English proposed the vote of thanks.