New Delhi: Union Minister of State (MoS) for Civil Aviation, Road Transport and Highways, Gen V K Singh, has cautioned that India still carries the baggage of division and urged the citizens of the country to remain united irrespective of religion and caste. He was delivering a keynote address on the Shaheed Nanak Singh Memorial Lecture here.
Remembering the bravery of late Nanak Singh who laid down his life at a very young age while protecting the lives of students who were going for an agitation against the partition, Gen V K Singh said, "In the Army, we don't mention and even care about anybody's religion or caste and it is the Army as an institution which teaches us the significance of unity."
Gen Singh said that as he had served in the Army for almost four decades, so he had inherited the rich legacy of it and he therefore understood that our strength lies in the unity and not in division. "In 1857, there was a unified agitation against the colonial masters and it was that time, when the East India Company realized that this country can only be controlled when it is divided and hence came the policy of divide and rule", said Gen. Singh.
Lauding India's rich culture, history and diversity, the MoS said that India's diversity if compared is more than that of whole Europe and that Guru Gobind Singh who was the 10th Guru tried his best to unite us all against the invaders. Remembering the horrors of partition and the catastrophe that it created, he said that "partition was the worst time as it not only produced horrors but sowed the seeds of bitterness and animosity" which in a way we still carry that.
Urging the citizens, he said that India's strength lies in the unity and added that "let's break the shackles of divisiveness" and work for our country. The dais was shared by Lord Rami Ranger, who is a prominent member of the House of Lords of the UK Parliament and a well-known business tycoon there who is also the son of Late Nanak Singh.
This event happened hours after the IT search at the BBC's office in Delhi and Mumbai, weeks after its controversial Documentary "India: the Modi Question" sparked off controversies after which the Modi government banned the documentary.
UK MP Bob Blackman, while Speaking at the venue said "BBC documentary on PM Modi, in my view, was shoddy journalism. It was attempted to create a wedge between India & the UK." Condemning the BBC's documentary, he said it was a fake projection of India in a negative image and an attempt to destabilize India-UK bilateral relations.
