KR Narayanan Foundation, New Delhi celebrated the 8th Punya Smriti of Late Shri K R Narayanan (Former President of India) on November 9, at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi.
With the hall filled with optimism and waves of chorus of “KR Narayanan long live, long live”, people from across the spectrum paid respect and homage to the great leader who emerged from the bottommost section of the society to reach the pinnacle of Constitutional authority in the nation. A Commemorative Seminar on the “Remembering His Contribution to the Idea of Social Justice and Dr. BR Ambedkar” was organised by the foundation, chaired by Dr. Sanjay Paswan ( Former Minister Govt. of India & National President, BJP SC Morcha). The Chief Guest on the occasion was Justice KG Balakrishnan (Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission) and the keynote address was delivered by Dr. Krishna Gopal (Akhil Bharatiya Sah-Sarkaryawah, RSS). The Keynote address duly acknowledged that the pace of progress of the Dalits and the socially deprived sections of the society is slow and there is a need to make it more expeditious.
Dr. Krishna Gopal also said that dogmas, superstition and inhuman treatment of humans cannot be tolerated in the name of religion at any cost. He dwelled upon the untouched contributions of Dr Ambedkar in the field of economy, labor reforms and his ardent opposition to the linguistic classification of states. Professor Vivek Kumar from JNU embarked upon the idea of representation of Dalits in the 7 modern institutions of governance i.e. Judiciary, Politics, Industry, Universities, Bureaucracy, Civil Society and Media for duly assessing their contribution in the process of nation building. Justice Balakrishnan in his speech made notable remarks on the phenomenal rise and contributions of the late President of India. He said “Deeply inspired by the lofty ideals of Dr Ambedkar, Shri Narayanan consistently sought to remind the country and those in power of their duties and obligations towards the Dalits, Adivasis, minorities and the poor and called the nation’s attention to various social ills which confront the country, including, caste discrimination, violence against women, children and minorities; environmental degradation and the widespread corruption which hinders effective delivery of public services.” He also made the august gathering aware of the common vision of Ambedkar and Narayanan for the dispossessed and the disinherited. He summed up his observations by asserting that the ideas and vision of both the great leaders have become universally relevant and reaffirmed his faith in the parliament and the constitution for the development of the Dalits.
Dr. Sanjay Paswan concluded the seminar by maintaining that Dalits are as significant a partner as others in the process of nation building despite existing deficiencies in the system. He gave a call to unite for nation and reaffirmed his faith in the great leaders who would always be a source of inspiration for generations to come. The program saw representation from the field of Academics, Politics, Civil Society and Bureaucracy. Everyone participant paid homage and remembered the great leader with full reverence.
