Dakshin Dialogues is South First‘s annual thought conclave that brings together South India’s biggest political and judicial minds, and social activists, on one stage.
Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor.
Eminent parliamentarian and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Dr Shashi Tharoor called for a new southern consciousness in the face of the delimitation exercise scheduled for 2026.
He said that this would not only reduce the number of seats from the southern states in the Lok Sabha, but also punish them in terms of revenue sharing and allocation of centrally sponsored schemes.
He was delivering the keynote address at the second edition of Dakshin Dialogues 2023, the annual flagship thought conclave of South First, in Bengaluru on Saturday, 7 October.
Tharoor stated categorically that the success of the South in population control must not be used as a tool to punish the people who have achieved growth by all parameters through sheer willpower and dedication.
“Where is the reward for our development?” asked Tharoor, quoting fellow Congress leader and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who delivered the inaugural address at the event before him.
He warned the Union government against making population the sole delimitation criterion for undertaking the exercise, as that would cause severe disfranchisement in the entire South.
During his welcome address, South First Founder-CEO Vasu Gandikota said “The idea of the space that is the Indian peninsula — what we call South India — is caught in a bind today. We have a glorious past that needs no recalling. But we also have a glorious recent history.”
He added, “The South is at the core of the services sector, the hub of information and biotechnology. Apart from traditional brick-and-mortar industries, we are making a mark in sunrise sectors, too.”
“More importantly, the South has focused on education and healthcare; it has focused on building social infrastructure: Feeding children in schools, making medical care available in the villages,” he said.
He added, “Yet, in terms of social and developmental indices, there are parts of the South that are on a par with developed societies. Be it maternal and infant mortality rates, life expectancy, literacy levels, or population control, the South is several notches above most other parts of the nation.”
Dakshin Dialogues is South First‘s annual thought conclave that brings together South India’s biggest political and judicial minds, and social activists, on one stage.
While federalism was the primary theme of last year’s event, it was the core of each session this year, too, as South First continues to focus on the other half of the India story.
Dakshin Dialogues 2023 saw the likes of DK Shivakumar, Shashi Tharoor, Vidadala Rajini, Khushbu Sundar, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Dinesh Gundu Rao, and many others, discussing delimitation, the Southern model of governance, and so much more.
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Oct 13, 2023
Oct 11, 2023
Oct 11, 2023
