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Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Transport and Civil Aviation, Samir Mathur, was the guest of honour while the keynote speakers were Dr Mahender Singh, head of History department at Dayanand College, Hisar, Haryana, Santosh Kumar Singh, lecturer of sociology at Government College for Girls, Sector 11, and senior journalist Dinesh Kumar.
Stressing that groups that spread intolerance and hatred do not represent the true Indian society, Mathur said our society is similar to spectators in an absorbing cricket match where supporters from all religions, regions, castes and creeds stand united to root for their national team.
Dr Mahender Singh said we, as a society, must learn to accept and live with the contradictions. Identifying ignorance, deprivation and injustice as the threats to the social fabric as he advocated that we delve deep into our rich cultural heritage to chalk out a new course.
Meanwhile, Santosh Kumar Singh was of the view that society will move forward in the right direction only if it has the capacity to accept the contradictions. “If I am a strong believer in infusing new technologies into agriculture and accelerating the pace of development, then I should also be able to address and appreciate the environmental concerns of activists and not try to dismiss them as irrelevant or unnecessary. A democratic society is all about peaceful coexistence despite the inherent contradictions,” he said.
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