Terming the current Indian civilisation as the third grade civilisation, renowned thinker, writer and Central University Chancellor Dr U R Ananthmurthy said that there is an immense need for the Indians to stand up strong for several issues before its too late.
At a time when corruption is deep rooted in the society and sentiments of the people are hurt in the communal violence, it is the duty of the people to raise their voice for what is right, than maintaining muteness, he said.
He was speaking at the decennial celebration of ‘Vartha Bharathi’ Kannada daily at Town Hall on Friday. Flaying the media and other forums for repeatedly conducting ‘debates’ on communal issues, Ananthmurthy said that debating on communal issue is not acceptable and it could be only considered as a crime. With the growing hatred and difference of opinion in the society, it is high time for the people to stop generalising based on castes and community. “We all must take a decision to stop generalising the people so that the gap in the society could be set right,” he opined.
Noted Human Rights activist and Bollywood film director Mahesh Bhatt declined the notion that the nation has been divided based on community. “Secularism is in Indians’ blood and
on the Indian streets. We do not need any lessons of secularism from others,” said Bhatt.
He gave a call for the government and media to support the voices of moderates and marginalised section of the society rather than supporting the extremists. When media becomes the slave of the government, it fails to protect the democracy, he observed.
A special volume of Vartha Bharathi was released on the occasion.