Democracy and its Discontents: The State of Civil Society in India

Date
Wed May 25th 2022, 6:00 - 7:00pm
Event Sponsor
Center for South Asia
The Markaz Resource Center
Center for Human Rights and International Justice

Indian democracy has long been hailed as an expression of hope and possibility for the postcolonial world. Beyond the tropes of the world’s largest democracy, however, is the truth that India remains a deeply unequal society where millions must fight for their fundamental civic and socioeconomic rights, often in the face of a hostile State. How has the human rights landscape in India evolved over time? How has civil society fared under successive Indian Governments? What lies ahead for the country? 

Join us for a conversation with Aakar Patel (Chair, Amnesty International India) and Meenakshi Ganguly (South Asia Director, Human Rights Watch), to understand the evolving human rights landscape in India on Wednesday, the 25th of May, from 6 – 7PM PST. 

Organized through the CSA-Markaz Fellowship program

Speakers:

Aakar Patel is an Indian journalist, rights activist and author. He serves as the Chair of the Amnesty International in India. He is the author of Our Hindu Rashtra, an account of majoritarianism in India, and Price of the Modi Years, which details the administrative performance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.   

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, oversees the organization’s work in the region. Ganguly has worked on a broad range of issues including police reform, sexual violence, discrimination based on religion or caste, freedom of expression, and armed conflict. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Ganguly served as the South Asia correspondent for Time Magazine, covering Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Ganguly has a Masters in Sociology from the Delhi School of Economics.

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If you need a disability-related accommodation, please contact southasiainfo [at] stanford.edu (southasiainfo[at]stanford[dot]edu). Requests should be made by May 18th.