Quoting Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Sikh religious thoughts and Sir Muhammad Iqbal, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said political parties, for their narrow gains, are losing sight of India’s unity in diversity and creating divisions of caste and religion. He also spoke about importance of strong institutions for peace and prosperity of the country. Singh said: “Sir Muhammad Iqbal (widely known as Allama Iqbal) very aptly said, ‘Mazhab nahi sikhata aapas mein bair rakhna (religion does not teach us to discriminate), (and) Mahatma Gandhi was convinced that the masses do not want to fight if the leaders do not. Unfortunately, the use of religion, caste and other such factors by political parties to advance their interests and capture power can create an atmosphere of hate and division among religious and caste groups. Such an environment poses a serious challenge to peaceful transition and transformation.” “It is in this context that saner elements in the society need to unite and counter the evil designs of those forces that are bent upon to disrupt peace, harmony and happiness,” Singh said. The former PM was delivering the presidential address at the valedictory function of the national conference on “Towards Peace, Harmony and Happiness: Transition to Transformation”, organised by Pranab Mukherjee Foundation and the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development, Chandigarh. Singh, also a former governor of the RBI, said: “The well-functioning institutions of governance are a necessary condition to maintain peace and harmony. Besides, the institutions must be impartial, objective and should function for the benefit of all sections of society. Unfortunately, integrity of major institutions faces many challenges. Deterioration of institutions adversely affects functioning of various organs of the state and in eroding their credibility. Such a situation can create chaos in society, economy and polity.” In his address, former Vice-President Hamid Ansari decried the lack of real unification in a diverse country like India and the challenges created by volatility of institutions.
