|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
Mani
Shankar Aiyar captivates his audience
Now his country’s Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Local Government Shri Mani Shankar is one of India's well-known commentators and outspoken critics. He was a close friend and adviser to the late Rajiv Gandhi, and a former career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. The Cambridge educated scholar renowned for his oratorical skills, had his audience spell bound for over an hour with his delivery on “The Secular Imperative for South Asia”. Mani Shankar a self-confessed atheist, a Thamil Brahmin born in Lahore, speaks fluent Hindi and is married to a Sikh lady. He held forth eloquently on South Asia’s unique ability to celebrate unity in diversity, he argued against the European concept of nationalism, he said such a notion would have ended in the total fragmentation of our region. ‘We in South Asia have been insulated by the vast Himalayan Mountains in the North and the Oceans in the South’. Mani Shankar went on to dismiss the North American concept of the ‘melting pot’ where the identity of all migrants is boiled down to an American identity within a few generations which impedes the concept of healthy secularism sought through unity in diversity. Mani Shankar speaking without a scrap of paper before him as he usually does came through as an eloquent thinker on his feet rather than a lecturer. He said South Asia, especially India, is a model of ethnic unity. South Asia’s unity in diversity is apparent from the fact that there are just seven nations in our region while Europe which is of the same size of South Asia has 43 nation states. Minister Mani Shankar quoted extensively from President Kumaratunga’s much acclaimed 'Madhav Rao Scindia memorial lecture' delivered in April 2002 in New Delhi. While agreeing with President Kumaratunga on most of her views, Mani Shankar begged to differ on one issue and said he believed that rather than new principles, traditional strategies and attitudes would always work better in maintaining unity in multi-ethnic, multi-religious societies. He also recalled how he advocated devolution as against separatism at the S.J.V. Chelvanayagam birth centenary lecture he delivered in 1999. Mani Shankar said he made that point with full knowledge that a majority of the members of the TULF- the party which invited him for the occasion - would not endorse his stand on the subject. Mid way through the enthralling delivery President Kumaratunga who was not expected to be at the event made an entry to everyone’s surprise. Saturday's meeting was chaired by Foreign Affairs Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar while Minister of Ports and Aviation and Media Mangala Samaraweera proposed the vote of thanks.
|
|
The
BMICH’s Committee room A was packed to its capacity on Saturday afternoon
with a very distinguished audience of clergymen, professionals, diplomats
and politicians of all hues. They gathered for a lecture by Shri
Contact Information: Send mail to 