Dr Amitabh Chowdhury memorial lecture delivered by Prof (Dr) Pratap Bhanu Mehta

This observation was made by Prof (Dr) Pratap Bhanu Mehta, former Vice Chancellor of Ashoka University and contributing Editor of the Indian Express on the topic "India's Second Republic: The collapse of liberal constitutionalism". He delivered the Dr. Amitabh Chowdhury Annual Memorial Lecture (17th) on Saturday. The lecture was televised owing to the pandemic.

Prof. Mehta described Dr. Chowdhury as "an exceptional human being who embodied extraordinary intelligence, humanitarian values, generosity of spirit and as a spirit of sweetness and light". Elaborating on the theme of his Lecture, Prof. Mehta started by saying that "My topic is not a cheery one, it is about the collapse of liberal constitutionalism in India and what it means for the future of our Republic. Liberal constitutionalism in India has always been considered something that lives on fragile ground - a top soil with shallow roots. But for all of India's problems, the progressive pathway laid down by our Constitution was clear to most of its citizens. It was to emancipate individuals, to endow them with the maximum freedom possible compatible with the similar freedom for others.''