Politics & the Rule of Law in India: Guest Talk by Pratap Bhanu Mehta
Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s talk spanned from not only the current struggles that India is facing, but also about the possibility of the development of South Asia, with the nations joining their hands to move ahead together.
The talk, moderated by Professor Rahul Verma, discussed how Partition shaped India, especially how politicians, and the nation itself, thought about ethnicity. He also spoke about the need for a separation of powers and why it did not seem to be too strong in India, attributing it to a lack of varying political parties and the presence of one dominant party. When asked about what India did and is doing right, he spoke about India’s important geostrategic location and the need for South Asia to understand the need for a strategic unity to further their nations etc. A lot of his discussions involved ‘flipping the question’ to find the answer. His insights were truly informative.
His response to student questions, which related to the current protests in India, how to bring about a change in the Indian bureaucracy and whether there was a need for culture in politics, was also remarkable. He went into great detail for each question, taking his time to carefully respond to the students. Overall, the session was illuminating and it was wonderful to have such a remarkable person come down to the law school to talk to the students, opening their eyes to unique perspectives.
