Noted historian K.N. Panikkar has urged Left organisations to promote democratic ideals among the people asserting that democracy alone can defeat fascism.
He was speaking after accepting the N.M. Mohammedali Endowment Award instituted by the Kerala Gazetted officers’ Association (KGOA) from CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M. A. Baby in Bengaluru on Monday.
The BJP-led government was trying to subjugate the Indian mind to a religion-based political philosophy. While a political alliance of democratic, secular forces was essential to defeat fascism, such trends can be fully overcome only when the society was aware of the danger, Dr. Panikkar said.
KGOA State president M.A. Nazar presided. N.M. Mohammedali’s family members, KGOA general secretary S.R. Mohanachandran, and All Karnataka State Employees’ Federation president H.S. Jayakumar, were present. The fourth edition of Mathavum Manushyanum, a book authored by Mohammedali, was released on the occasion.