RONO HILLS, 27 Mar: A one day national symposium on “Understanding Secularism: A Guarantee or an obstacle for National Building,” was organized by the Rajiv Gandhi University’s (RGU) department of political science in collaboration with Arunachal Vikas Parishad (AVP) here on Wednesday.
Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay of Supreme Court of India in his address, emphasized on the concept of secularism stating that “secularism is applicable for European and American countries and not for India as in our country it is already embodied in the form of our culture and in the Indian constitution.”
He stated that the constitution was written for the people of India and was adopted after long and well-thought-out discussions, incorporating all religious and cultural ethos.
RGU vice chancellor prof. Saket Kushwaha exhorted the participants to inculcate the habit of embracing good values and virtues. Keeping in view the importance of Vikshit Bharat, he urged the people to “uphold the normative values either it be on secularism.”
While chairing the technical session, Vivekananda Arunachal Prant Prant Sanchalak Dr. Joram Begi pointed out the relevance of secularism in the Indian context and said that “the spirit of secularism was enshrined in the constitution of India formally through the 42nd amendment Act 1976.” He added that the onset of the American and French revolutions contributed to the growth of the concept of secularism.
The technical session was deliberated by Dr. Gyanendra Burman from Cotton University, Assam, Arunachal Christian Forum general secretary James Techi Tara, Dera Natung Government College, Itanagar principal Dr. MQ Khan, Central Nyedar Namlo Council general secretary Dr. Robin Hissang and Buddhist scholar Tenzing Zamba.
All the speakers appealed to the religious preachers and followers of their respective religions to uphold the principle of secularism, unity and common understanding between all religions thereby endorsing the democratic values of Indian constitution.
RGU registrar Dr. N.T Rikam and Dr. David Gao also spoke on the occasion.
