About the Talk:
The greatest danger that Alexis Tocqueville, author of Democracy in America, saw in the functioning of democracy was the tyranny of the majority, which overpowers the will of minorities and marginalised individuals. But the question is, can a majority impose its will upon the unwilling minority? If it does, then what is the meaning of democracy? Is it essential in a democracy to secure prior consent of the communities that would likely be affected by an action of the State? A look at the Constituent Assembly debate on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would give us a better perspective on how we should go forward with this vexing issue of Uniform Civil Code.

Author
Dr Sambaiah Gundimeda, author of Dalit Politics in Contemporary India, is an Associate Professor in the Politics Division at the School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences (SIAS), Krea University. He is passionate about the idea of democracy and social justice. Gundimeda writes on caste, religion and constitution.

Discussant
Professor S Anandhi, formerly a Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, is currently a Visiting Faculty at both Krea University, and at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. As a historian with a focus on Dravidian politics her scholarship mainly delves into the intricacies of lower caste intellectual history, political movements and social processes in colonial and post colonial Tamil Nadu. Her academic articles mainly explore the intersections of caste, gender and sexual politics within the rich fabric of the Dravidian movement as well as sheds light on the contemporary activism of Dalit women, amplifying their voices and their formidable role in shaping the lower caste politics in India . Her recent coedited publications on Rethinking Social Justice ( 2020) and Dalit women : Vanguard of an Alternative Politics ( 2017) offer insights into the complexities of social justice and advocacy.