Archive · 5 Sep 2025
Pratap Bhanu Mehta on India's Future: Dignity and Freedom
Imagine India is celebrating its 100th birthday!
A smart professor, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, gave a talk about what matters most for India's future.
He thinks it's not just about money or technology, but about whether everyone is treated with respect and can make their own choices.
He worries about things like caste and religion being forced on people and not allowing individual freedom.
He also wants India to focus on its history, culture, and building a united South Asia where everyone can thrive.
Basically, he hopes India becomes a place where everyone is free to be themselves and happy.
Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta delivered the DS Borker Memorial Lecture, discussing India's progress by 2047.
Mehta emphasizes individual dignity and freedom of choice as essential for a democratic India.
He warns against the impact of imposed identities like caste and religion.
Mehta believes that India should focus on individual freedom rather than community-based secularism.
He highlights India's need to reclaim its cultural and spiritual heritage to promote a unified South Asia.
- Who
- Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta
- What
- Delivered the DS Borker Memorial Lecture, discussing India's progress towards 2047.
- When
- Held around August 24 each year, Mehta's lecture was in 2025.
- Where
- India International Centre (IIC) in New Delhi
- Why
- To provide a forward-looking reflection on India's democratic journey.
- Event
- DS Borker Memorial Lecture Series
- Speaker
- Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta
- Focus
- India's progress by 2047
- Central Themes
- Dignity, freedom, and individual choice
- Venue
- India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi
- Lecture Date
- Around August 24
- Audience
- Students, academics, intellectuals