Bengaluru: “A regression of consciousness has now set in,” asserted outgoing Vice President M. Hamid Ansari, pointing out to various contemporary attempts taking place in the judicial and political systems to read new meaning into the concept of secularism.
Delivering the convocation address at the 25th Annual Convocation of the National Law School of India Univeristy (NLSIU), Mr Ansari added that reiterating and rejuvenating the basic principles of secularism is the major challenge we face today.
“Equality has to be substantive with freedom of religion being re-infused with its collectivist dimensions. Toleration should be reflective of the realities of the Indian society and should lead to acceptance,” he said, adding, “the challenge is to look beyond stereotypes and preconceptions that prevent us from accepting others.” He also stressed on the need of a more liberal form of nationalism remarking that the Indian state must stay away from extremist and illiberal forms of nationalism to maintain pluralism and secularism.
Presenting the annual report, NLSIU Vice-Chancellor Prof. R. Venkata Rao pointed out the fact that no law school in the country has been identified as an Institution of Excellence yet. “While institutions in the disciplines of engineering, medicine and management education have been recognised as Institutions of Excellence, establishing institutions in legal education towards the same would be appreciated, starting with NLSIU,” he opined.
The VC also informed that the varsity continues to excel in its performance retaining the top spot in various ranking systems by “conquering the grand slam.” A total of 581 degrees were awarded during the ceremony to students in seven postgraduate diploma courses, 3 postgraduate degree courses, doctorate degree, and the flagship BA LL.B course. Following the trend observed at the varsity, the top 3 positions of the BA LL.B course were all bagged by female students – Shruthi Ashok and Shraddha Chaudhary bagging first and second ranks respectively while Lavanya Chawla and Sakhi Samir Shah shared the third spot. Chancellor of the varsity and Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice Jagadish Singh Khehar presided over the function with Governor Vajubhai Vela, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former CJI S Rajendra Babu, ministers from the state government and eminent personalities from the field of judiciary and law academia present for the function.
