The Hindu : Dialogue will help resolve issues, says PM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 10, 2003

Front Page

Front Page

Dialogue will help resolve issues, says PM

By Our Special Correspondent

Photo: V. Sudershan

The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, lends a helping hand to the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to light the lamp at the inauguration of the New Delhi Conference on `Dialogue Among Civilisations — Quest for New Perspectives' on Wednesday. Also seen are (from left) L.M. Singhvi, MP and India's representative on the Executive Board of UNESCO, the UNESCO Director-General, Koichiro Matsuura.

NEW DELHI JULY 9. A two-day "Dialogue among civilisations" began here today with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, emphasising the need to resolve contentious issues through talks and suggesting Indian secularism as an ideal for other countries to emulate.

Inaugurating the conclave organised by the Human Resource Development Ministry in collaboration with UNESCO, Mr. Vajpayee underlined the importance of dialogue in a democracy. "Democracy both requires and mandates dialogue. The more a nation can harmonise differences at home, the greater will be its ability to contribute to a dialogue at the international level."

Of the view that tolerance should become a global ideal, the Prime Minister said the "principle of secularism, which is enshrined in India's Constitution, should be accepted by all countries" as it would go a long way in promoting understanding, cooperation and peace among people belonging to different faiths and cultures.

Given that the `Dialogue among civilisations' was being organised in the wake of a debate on the "clash of civilisations", Mr. Vajpayee said the latter thesis was flawed and baseless as civilisations "do not — rather, cannot — clash". Further, according to him, the future of mankind would not be determined by a conflict among civilisations. "Rather, humanity's future will witness a concert or a confluence of civilisations." Such optimism notwithstanding, he said humanity would, however, have to "strive and struggle" for it. And, eager to ensure that resolutions drawn up in such conclaves translated into action, Mr. Vajpayee said Governments and Parliaments should incorporate them into their legislation and policies.

Earlier, the HRD Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, made out a case for promoting inclusiveness. However, advocating caution, he said inclusiveness should not become a pretext for imposing uniformity in the world. "Even the world culture, which is being generated today under the forces of international interchange, should not be allowed to be a worldwide expansion of one culture; it should be a blending of many cultures worldwide." The UNESCO Director-General, Koichiro Matsuro, said the scope of such dialogue ought to be broadened to address new challenges. However, he said, past wisdom should not be abandoned in the effort to find solutions to emerging problems.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

Stories in this Section

'PM was not involved in Kanchi Acharya's efforts'

Sonia invites secular parties to join hands

It is opportunism: BJP

Dialogue will help resolve issues, says PM

Pak. wants bus service to be a low-key affair?

500 feared dead as ferry capsizes in Bangladesh

Maruti scrip shines

Cong. MP remanded

PDP activist shot dead