In the wake of the rising intolerance leading to manifestations of rage and violation of human rights in the country, former President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said that the country was “passing through a difficult phase”. This speech was delivered at the inauguration of a two-day national conference on ‘Towards Peace, Harmony and Happiness: Transition to Transformation’, a seminar organized by the Pranab Mukherjee Foundation and the Centre for Research for Rural and Industrial Development.
He said, “Peace and harmony prevail when a nation celebrates pluralism, practices tolerance and promotes goodwill among diverse communities and when we purge the toxin of hatred, envy, jealousy, and aggression from our everyday lives. People are happier in countries where personal freedom is guaranteed and democracy is secure… Regardless of their
the economic condition, citizens are happy in a climate of peace.”
While talking about the development in India since the first five-year plan in 1951, Mukherjee expressed his apprehension that according to the current statistics, India was caught in a “rising economy, receding happiness syndrome”.
Throwing a barrage of criticism at the functioning of the democratic institutions, he said there was widespread “cynicism and disillusionment” with governance and functioning of these institutions.
Throwing light on the government’s role, he added, “Where people are largely dependent on the governments for basic amenities, good governance has a vital role to play in such transformation.”
BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi, while addressing the public at the event said that it was “disturbing” that the “techno-economic system adapted to produce a democratic
egalitarian world order has resulted in an exploitative, extremely unequal and fragmented world”