‘Right to dissent a core principle of democracy’

The right to dissent is a core principle of democracy and the State must acknowledge the validity of this right, eminent historian Romila Thapar said on Friday while delivering the 12th V.M. Tarkunde memorial lecture on the topic of “Renunciation, Dissent and Satyagraha”. “In a true democracy, the right to dissent and the demand for social justice are core concepts,” she said.