"The bane of India is lack of ideology"

The kind of leadership this country needs has changed. There is a noticeable vacuum instead of an ideology. With a strong ideological thrust, our leadership could have been able to stave off American domination in every walk of life, he pointed out. He also lamented the proliferation of religious fundamentalism and communalism in the country.

Apart from Akbar, former MP and trade union activist Subhashini Ali, general secretary of the Nehru Centre I M Kadri, Dr Usha Thakur, Madhav Mangalmurthy of the Hinduja Foundation, Bakul Patel and Justice Sharad Joshi also highlighted their views on the issue.

Akbar on a concluding note pointed out that India as a country had remained stable when instability of a government was more pronounced. In a true democracy, he said, society is more stable when the government is unstable.