Sun Jan 12 15:52:29 UTC 2025: **Former Judicial Academy Director Raises Alarm Over India’s Democratic Decline**
MANNARKAD, Kerala – Mohan Gopal, former director of the National Judicial Academy in Bhopal, warned of a concerning trend in India’s judiciary, alleging a shift towards interpretations of the Constitution that undermine the nation’s democratic values. Speaking at the Kerala History Congress on Saturday, Gopal stated that India’s democratic system has regressed from a representative democracy to what he termed a “chosen dictatorship.”
Gopal’s remarks, delivered during the Kalladi Cheriya Kunhammed Sahib memorial lecture, highlighted the risks of a democratic system being manipulated to serve the interests of those in power. He emphasized the threat posed to the Constitution when democracy is reduced to such a state.
The ninth international conference of the Kerala History Congress, held at MES Kalladi College, Mannarkkad, featured several other lectures and presentations. These included a memorial lecture by A.R. Venkatachalapathy from the Madras Institute of Development Studies, a lecture on temple festivals by historian Kesavan Veluthat, and an international colloquium on Malabar and the Indian Ocean. The conference concluded Sunday evening with a valedictory session. The event also included a lecture by K.N. Ganesh, chairman of the Kerala Council for Historical Research, focusing on historical geography and challenges in writing Kerala’s history.
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