New Delhi: Noting that the country's
diversity and multi-culturism have been nurtured through centuries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said it is a major challenge to preserve them by pursuing the rich legacy
of tolerance and brotherhood.
"It is a major challenge for all of us and especially
for our intellectuals to ensure that the richness of our
diversity and our multi-culturism are preserved and
nourished," he said.
Speaking at a function organised by Indian Council of
Philosophical Research (ICPR), Singh said it is the special
responsibility of thinkers, intellectuals and philosophers to
contribute to the rich legacy of tolerance and brotherhood
that the country inherited.
Observing that the country was characterised by
enormous diversity, multitude of languages and religions, the
Prime Minister said, "We need to preserve this essential
unity, this Indianness that has been strengthened and enriched
by the various strands of thought that constitute the great
Indian philosophical tradition".
Describing philosophy as mother of all languages, the
Prime Minister said it should be pursued not merely as a
separate discipline like economics or political science but as
a trans-disciplinary subject taught alone with other subjects.
"Again philosophy of law, education, history, politics
and science need to be studied for consummate and all round
preparation for our students enrolled in those respective
fields," he said while expressing hope that ICPR will
encourage efforts in that direction.
Singh felicitate noted philosophers D P Chattopadhyaya
and Prof. Rajangam Balasubramanian with ICPR's silver jubilee
award for distinguished lifetime achievement in philosophy.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 22, 2010, 14:02