South First’s Dakshin Dialogues is back: South India’s sharpest minds come together in Bengaluru

What can you expect this time?

After exploring the question “Is India Truly Federal?” in the first edition of Dakshin Dialogues held in Hyderabad in September 2022, the focus will be on a topic that is being viewed with concern in the South: The delimitation exercise scheduled for 2026.

With population likely to be the sole criteria for undertaking the exercise, the South, which has brought its population growth down to almost replacement levels, fears it will be politically disenfranchised in the face of the galloping numbers in the North.

The South, in short, fears it will be penalised with diminished political representation for performing better on practically all human development indices.

We will also consider why the South performed better on these parameters. Is there something to be said about the welfare-driven, bottom-up governance and development model the Southern states have adopted? If yes, is it a model that the entire country should emulate?

Federalism is always a concern for states when the Union government is strong — as it is now — and displays strong centralising tendencies. In such instances in the past, it is the judiciary that was the last resort of the states. Dakshin Dialogues will debate whether the judiciary is today fulfilling its responsibility of upholding the rights of the states, as enshrined in the Constitution.

The conclave will also focus on topics like “Brand Bengaluru” and what the Congress in Karnataka hopes to do for the city,

A top-notch panel

The one-day event — that is likely to be one of intense discussion, stimulating conversation, and hopeful solutions — will be happening at ITC Windsor in Bengaluru.

Starting at 10.30 am, Dakshin Dialogues-2023 will comprise of four sessions, with an inaugural address by Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, followed by a keynote address by the Congress Lok Sabha member Dr Shashi Tharoor.

Session 1:

The first session — after Dr Tharoor’s keynote — will be a panel discussion on “Delimitation: Southern Discomfort & Solutions”.

The panellists include retired Justice Jasti Chelameswar, retired judge of the Supreme Court; John Brittas, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP, Khushbu Sundar, Member, BJP National Executive, and Prof MV Rajeev Gowda, Vice-Chairman of the Karnataka Planning Board.

It will be moderated by Nilakantan RS, author of the bestselling South vs North.

Session 2:

The second session will see Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar — who is also Minister for Bengaluru Development and Town Planning — in conversation with Revathy Ashok, Managing Trustee and CEO of Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC), on BRAND BENGALURU — its chaotic present and the possibilities for the future.

Session 3:

The third session will see former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court Justice S Muralidhar in conversation with Sanjay Hegde, Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court. They will be discussing “Judiciary-Executive — Relations and Tensions”.

Session 4:

The fourth and final session will be a two-hour panel discussion on the “Southern Model of Governance and Development — And Whether it is Worth Emulating?”

The panellists include Tamil Nadu IT Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, Andhra Pradesh Health and Family Welfare & Medical Education Minister Vidadala Rajini, and Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka.

The panel will be moderated by noted economist and author Parakala Prabhakar.

All the videos from the event will be available on: https://www.youtube.com/live/RI7PiM5KFJI?feature=shared