Rethinking Democracy And Citizenship
Dr. Urvashi Sahni |
TEDxYouth@NMS
• September 2021
What does it mean to be democratic? What’s the difference between being a citizen in a democracy and a subject in an empire?
Dr Urvashi Sahni answered these pressing questions and more in her inspiring and truly engaging talk.
She began her talk with a powerful reading of the constitution to remind the audience of the principles of equality, justice and fraternity -values that she aspires to imbue in others through her schools and organisations. She explicated the importance of reconstructing our strong feudal patriarchal mindsets if we want to offset a wave of equality and social justice to bring about a change in society. In her call to action to schools, she highlighted the role of educational institutions in this movement of change. As places where students spend a majority of their time ,it is integral for there to be a paradigm shift from schools being an environment where gender inequality is normalized to one that facilitates critical dialogue between students on the subject of democracy. Dr Urvashi traced the origins of societal plagues such as the hierarchical caste system and gender inequality to the issue of being undemocratic-and the ability that education has to combat such plagues- as she urged the audience to rebuild societal constructs from the ground up.