M A I N   N E W S

PM calls for culture of dialogue
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 9
In an obvious reference to burning issues confronting the nation, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today stressed the need for a ‘culture of dialogue’ at the national-level to amicably resolve contentious issues.

Prime Minister  Atal Bihari Vajpayee shakes hand with Director-General of UNESCO Koichro Matsuura at the inaugural session of the conference on "Dialogue among civilisations:   quest for new perspectives" at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday. HRD Minister  Murli  Manohar Joshi (extreme right)  looks on. — PTI photo

Inaugurating a two-day international conference on ‘Dialogue among civilisations — quest for new perspectives’ at Vigyan Bhawan here today, Mr Vajpayee said that the democracy needed and mandate 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,’’ he said.

The conference has been organised by the Indian government and UNESCO. Delegates from nearly 50 countries, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, France, Iran, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, UK and USA are participating in the deliberations.

Mr Vajpayee drew the attention of the delegates to India’s longstanding experience and ancient tradition of fostering dialogue among communities, cultures and civilisations. He said India had protected people’s freedom of thought and faith while encouraging an unbroken tradition of inter-faith dialogue and cooperation. Describing India a meeting point of faith routes, the Prime Minister called upon all countries to accept the principle of secularism as enshrined in India’s Constitution.

‘‘Tolerance should become a global ideal. This would go a long way in promoting understanding, cooperation and peace among people belonging to different faiths and cultures,’’ he said.

The Prime Minister said that it was a fitting tribute to India’s tradition of tolerance that Zoroastrians were holding an exhibition to herald the celebrations of the 3000th year of Zoroastrianism to coincide with the conference.

Mr Vajpayee said that although the world had become a global village which some might prefer to call a global market place, the present situation presented two paradoxes. ‘‘One is the continuing wide gap between the unmet basic needs of the world’s poor and the more-than-adequately-met wants of the world’s rich. The other is the equally troubling imbalance between the current excessive focus on man as the consumer of material goods and services and the colossal neglect of the integral man who wishes to be a complete human being. A society in which man can experience peace within himself and witness peace in the world, are eluding him. Troubled by the destruction of the environment and eroding of traditions and numbed by the daily news of violence around the world, the modern man is searching for answers.’’

Terming the initiative on a dialogue among civilisations a hopeful sign, Mr Vajpayee said that broadening, deepening and sustaining the process of dialogue would enable us to find answers to several questions related to a future without wars and violence besides preservation of unique cultural identity and artistic wealth of nations.

In his address, the Director-General of Unesco, Dr Koichiro Matsuura, said that the tragic incident of 9/11 reminded the whole world about the presence of new threats. ‘‘The greatest enemy of dialogue is a closed mind,’’ he said.

The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, said that the world culture which was being generated today under the forces of international interchange should not be allowed to be a worldwide expansion of one culture. ‘‘It should be the blending of many cultures worldwide, a blending that benefits from the wealth of diversity created over time throughout the entire world,’’ he said.

In his message, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr Seyed Mohammad Khatami, favoured the creation of a coalition for peace. ‘‘At a time when the world, specifically our region, has suffered the ravages wrought by war, continued occupation, unrelenting terrorism and incessant outbursts of violence, I wish to once again restate and reaffirm my belief on the necessity for the creation of a coalition for peace. This concept is based on a real and sustainable coalition working for the eradication of violence, terrorism and war mongering at the global level,’’ he said.

President Khatami said that prejudiced outlook fomented norms of duality and discrimination in international politics and bred norms of domineering monologues rather than promoting logical norms of dialogue among civilisations.