New India, New Ideas
THE WEEK|September 15, 2019
The Manorama News Conclave 2019 was themed around the changing political and ideological contours of ‘New India’
Vaisakh E. Hari
New India, New Ideas
THE TOPIC OF change and evolution formed the crux of the Manorama News Conclave 2019, aptly themed ‘New India’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the event via video-conferencing from New Delhi. Later, panels of eminent personalities delved into what the new and changing India meant for its citizens. Modi spoke of the country being in flux, and BJP spokesperson P. Muralidhar Rao explored the quest for identity in India’s cultural roots. Firebrand All India Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra raised a question: Is democracy a mere game of numbers—the decision of a brute majority—or best represented by the liberal values enshrined in the Constitution?

Modi, in his speech, welcomed constructive criticism. “We need not have to agree on everything, but there must be enough civility in public life for differing streams to be able to hear the other’s point of view,” he said. He defined New India as a participative democracy, with a citizen-centric government and pro-active citizenry. “This is an India where the surnames of the youth do not matter. What matters is their ability to make their own name. This is an India where corruption is never an option, whoever the person is. Only competence is the norm,” Modi said.

This story is from the September 15, 2019 edition of THE WEEK.

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This story is from the September 15, 2019 edition of THE WEEK.

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