Minister for Municipal Administration and Minority Affairs Qamarul Islam has said that fuelling communal passion and orchestrating communal riots will have a long-term impact on the society though they may benefit a certain group for the time being.
He was inaugurating Valmiki Jayanthi celebrations here on Tuesday.
Mr. Qamaul said that one should have respect for the religious practices and ideologies of other communities and should never make an attempt to forcibly change their cultural practices and religious beliefs.
He said that the rights enshrined in the Constitution to people having different beliefs needed to be protected. Mr. Qamaul said that the Constitution, in its preamble, stressed on secularism and equality as the fundamental rights and everybody had a right to respect this.
Mr. Qamarul paid tributes to Valmiki, said that the sage had made immense contribution to Indian culture and tradition.
Earlier, president of the Kalaburagi Zilla panchayat Nitin Guttedar and Deputy Commissioner Vipul Bansal inaugurated a procession carrying the portrait of Valmiki in a flower bedecked vehicle.
Portrayal
In Yadgir, Marigowda Hulakal, chairman of the Command Area Development Authority of the Upper Krishna Project, inaugurated the celebrations.
He said that historians had portrayed the sage as a thief and dacoit just because he hailed from an oppressed community, though he was a matured writer and social thinker.
Lecturer S.S. Naik delivered a special lecture. The procession carrying the portrait of Valmiki passed through the main thoroughfares in the city accompanied by dollu kunita, folk dance and other forms of music and dance.
Procession
In Bidar, folk artists performed along a procession from the Deputy Commissioner’s office to the Zilla Rang Mandir. Public representatives and community leaders participated.
Later, Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli, MLA, inaugurated the celebrations. Resource person Pujar Basavaraj spoke on the life and contribution of Valmiki.
Bhagwant Khuba, MP, was present. Jagannath Jamadar, Koli-Kabbaliga community leader, said the Valmiki Bhavan construction had not begun in Bidar, despite the State government sanctioning it.
Philosopher
Minister of State for Medical Education and Raichur in-charge Sharanprakash Patil on Tuesday termed Valmiki as one of the greatest philosophers that India had produced. He was addressing Valimiki Jayanti.
“Valmiki, through his monumental epic Ramayana, enlightened generations in Indian sub-continent and even beyond. The values enshrined in the epic, which is a mammoth cultural contribution to Indian society, continues to inspire and guide the younger generations,” he said. Raichur MP B.V. Naik, expressed his displeasure for depriving Scheduled Tribes of their legitimate share in reservations.
He also demanded a separate department for the focused development of STs.
