Source: Sumir Karmakar *
Guwahati, September 23 2009:
Meghalaya Governor R S Mooshahary on Wednesday appealed young generation to go for inter-marriages in order to promote national harmony, which according to him is a very necessary in the present-day society.
Addressing a seminar on Ensuring Harmony: Role of Police and Civil Society here, Mooshahary said marriages between different caste and religion would help to bridge the gaps in building a secular society in the northeast and the country as well.
'I appeal to marriagble youths and parents with marriageable children to go for inter-marriages which is a very important way to promote harmony.
When we have people of two different cultures at home, it helps to a long extent to promote harmony.
It was Chaudhury Charan Singh who advocated the concept of inter-marriage long time back and I too believe that it can help in promoting harmony,' he said.
The national seminar was organised by Assam Police in collaboration with National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH), under union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Mooshahary, a Bodo, who served as Director General of BSF and chief of the elite National Security Guards before becoming Meghalaya governor said feeling of alienation were still prevalent among people in Northeast and young generations should take the lead in removing the feeling.
'People from Northeast still often face embarrassing situation in the so called mainland India.
Unless we are able to promote a feeling of harmony and understanding, we can not fully claim to be a secular society.
I believe India is still a nation in the making,' he said.
Speaking about education, Mooshhary spoke against children being provided education at religious centers.
He said new generations should be provided with modern education that equips them with skills to find employment, instead of religious preaching being practiced in many parts of the country.
'We have many young children being teached at religious centers.
How can they grow in life and face the challenges with religious preaching? We must not have type of education that teach our children only religious preaching.
We must replace with modern employable education to enable them face the new age challenges and grow as a good human being,' the Governor said.
The seminar was attended by Assam DGP Shankar Baruah, NFCH secretary Lalit Kumar, Assam commissioner and secretary Jishnu Baruah among others.
* The sender of this news can be contacted at sumir2007(at)gmail(dot)com .