Three-day Dr. BR Ambedkar International Conference in Karnataka from July 21

The Government of Karnataka is organizing the Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar International Conference on the theme "Reclaiming Social Justice, Revisiting Ambedkar" in Bengaluru from July 21 to July 23.

The conference will host 83 international, 149 national and 80 state-level speakers, including well-known academics, activists and policy-makers.

In addition, it will see the participation of over 2000 participants from all walks of life.

Human rights advocate and activist Martin Luther King III and Congress Party vice president Rahul Gandhi will be the chief guests for the conference.

The conference will also launch the Bengaluru Declaration, which will outline specific constitutional, institutional and policy responses to concerns of equity, human rights, freedom and democracy (matters that have become especially pressing in the last three years).

Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, Karnataka's Minister for Public Works and convener of the conference made this announcement in national capital New Delhi on Tuesday.

The announcement was made in the presence of Mr. Anjanyea, Karnataka's Minister for Social Welfare, Prof. Rajeev Gowda, Member of Parliament, K. Raju, former Additional Secretary, National Advisory Council and Chairperson, Scheduled Castes Department, All India Congress Committee.

The conference will acknowledge that while India has grown in leaps and bounds in the last 70 years, there is a lot more that needs to be done to address the needs and aspirations of all Indians.

The conference will commemorate the 126th birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, leveraging his life and work as an inspiration to critically reflect on the contemporary significance of social, political and economic justice in India, and across the world.

Over 300 speakers and 1500 participants have already confirmed their participation. Over 80 international speakers have confirmed their participation, including Prof. Cornel West, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, Prof. James Manor, Prof. Thomas Weisskopf, Prof. Upendra Baxi, Prof. Laurence Simon, Prof. Samuel Myers, Prof. Ashutosh Varshney, besides others.

140 national speakers have confirmed their participation, including Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Prof. Shiv Vishvanathan, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, K. Raju, Salman Khurshid, Prakash Ambedkar, Prof. Rajeev Gowda, Anand Teltumbde, Wilson Bezwada, Prof. Aakash Singh Rathore, Prof. Valerian Rodrigues, Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Prof. Neera Chandoke, Prof. Satish Deshpande, Prof. Prabhat Patnaik, besides others.

From Karnataka, 80 speakers, including Devanuru Mahadeva, Prof. G.K.Govinda Rao, Dr. Siddalingaiah, Prof. K. Maralusiddappa, Prof. H.G. Siddaramaiah, Prof. Rajendra Chenni, Prof. Ravivarma Kumar, Prof. Chandrashekar Kambara, Prof. K.B.Siddaiah, Prof. Mallika Ghanti, Dinesh Amminmattu, Gowri Lankesh, Prof. Rahamath Terekere, Justice Nagamohan Das, Prof. Mogahalli Ganesh, B.T. Lalitha Naik and others will also address the event.

The sub-themes that will be taken up include:

. The idea of Justice (a) Social justice and human equality (b) Justice and the market (c) Justice and culture (d) Justice, exclusion and marginality.

. Political Justice (a) Nationalism and the Idea of India (b) Nation-state, citizenship and sovereignty (c) Democracy and representation (d) Rights, Constitutionalism and rule of law.

. Social Justice and Social Context (a) Caste, class and identity (b) Marginality, degradation and exclusion (c) Categorising the disadvantaged and public policy (d) Social movements and social transformation

. Economic Justice (a) Constitutionalism and the market (b) Development and redistribution (c) Equity, marginality, and affirmative action (d) Environmental concerns and social justice.

.Social Justice and the Cultural Domain (a) Religion and social justice (b) Religion and communalism (c) Secularism and cultural pluralism (d) Cultural dominance and the cultures of the marginalised.

The Bengaluru Declaration will outline specific constitutional, institutional and policy responses to the concerns of social justice, human rights, freedom and democracy. 

-ANI