Need New Thinking For Democratic Systems: Rahul Gandhi At Cambridge University

Rahul Gandhi, a Visiting Fellow of the Cambridge Judge Business School, delivered the lecture on the subject of ‘Learning to Listen in the 21st Century’ on Tuesday evening.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in his lecture at the University of Cambridge stressed on the ‘art of listening’ and called for a new thinking to promote democratic environment, as opposed to a coercive one.  

Rahul Gandhi, a Visiting Fellow of the Cambridge Judge Business School, delivered the lecture on the subject of ‘Learning to Listen in the 21st Century’ on Tuesday evening.

"We simply cannot afford a planet that doesn't produce under democratic systems. So, we need new thinking about how you produce in a democratic environment compared to a coercive environment… negotiation about this,” news agency PTI quoted Gandhi as saying.

Referring to a decline in manufacturing in democratic countries in recent years as production shifted to China, he said that the shift had produced mass inequality that needed urgent attention and dialogue.

The lecture was divided into three key parts, starting with an outline of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the second part being two divergent perspectives of the US and China since World War II, and the third aspect of the lecture was around the theme of ‘Imperative for a Global Conversation’.

Rahul Gandhi was introduced to the Cambridge audience by Kamal Munir, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University, and Professor of Strategy and Policy at Cambridge Judge Business School, as a member of a "long lineage of global leaders".

Notably, Rahul Gandhi's great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, was also a University of Cambridge alumnus, with the Cambridge Judge Chair in Indian Business and Enterprise named after him. His father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, was also a Cambridge alumnus.

It is to be noted that Rahul Gandhi is on a week-long tour of the UK and is scheduled to hold some closed-door sessions on Big Data and Democracy and India-China relations at Cambridge University.

Later in the week, he will also interact with representatives of the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) UK chapter and address an "Indian Diaspora Conference" planned over the weekend in London.