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COMBAT COMMUNAL FORCES

KOLLAM : The United Progressive Alliance chairperson and Congress president, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, has said that while the people of the country wished to live in peace and unity, there were organisations within the country that sought to incite communal passions.

She was inaugurating the year-long Guruvasham 150th celebrations organized by the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Sree Narayana Guru, here on August 29.

Smt. Gandhi called upon the people to imbibe the spirit of Sree Narayan Guru’s teachings to counter the growth of communal forces. Communalism of any kind was dangerous and should be combated, she said. While it was primarily the responsibility of the Government to effectively counter such activities without fear, social organisations such as the SNDP Yogam should come forward to complement the measures taken by the Government. "Communal forces are organisations of intolerance that seek to distort the declared faith of our secular culture," she said.

The growth of such forces was tantamount to denying the teachings of the Guru based on the message of "one caste, one religion and one God for man." She said Sree Narayana Guru was a personality who foresaw that the barriers of caste and creed could be broken by placing the instrument of knowledge in all hands. It was in the new ethos created by the Guru that the state took the lead on various progressive fronts, especially in the field of education. "We have to recognize the farsightedness of the Guru and personalities like Dr. Palpu, which led to the creation of the SNDP Yogam. The contributions made by the Yogam played an important role in enabling Kerala to emerge as a model in various aspects such as health and education."

Smt. Gandhi said she considered it a privilege to inaugurate the Guruvarsham celebrations. "Sree Narayana Guru is one of India’s most outstanding social reformers and philosophers. He was a prophet of peace who was instrumental in bringing about remarkable changes in society. Even persons such as Gandhiji, Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru who fought for the nation’s freedom came under Sree Narayana Guru’s spell and egalitarian philosophy. The victory of the Vaikom Satyagraha was a direct outcome of his teachings."

"The teachings were also a fine reflection of our country’s secular traditions and philosophy. The flame that Sree Narayana Guru lit continues to be bright for times to come," she said. She called upon the people to rededicate themselves to the values he cherished, the causes he championed and the ideals he propagated.

The Chief Minister, Shri A.K. Antony, presided over the function. The speaker, Shri Vakkom Purushothaman, and the general secretary of the Nair Service Society, Shri P.K. Narayana Panicker, also spoke.