‘Anti-national narratives’ like Covid virus must be neutralized, says Deputy Prez Dhankhar

Jagdeep Dhankhar said that either in a planned manner or due to lack of understanding, a few people are taking pleasure in floating anti-national narratives.

Chandigarh: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday compared “anti-national narratives” to the deadly and highly contagious Covid-19 virus and asserted that they must be neutralized.

Dhankhar was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural function of the 8th three-day international seminar on ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam: Shrimad Bhagwadgita & Global Unity’ organized by Kurukshetra University and Kurukshetra Development Board. The event was organized in Kurukshetra as part of the ongoing International Gita Festival.

Dhankhar said that either in a planned manner or due to lack of understanding, a few people are taking pleasure in floating anti-national narratives.

“It shouldn’t happen. You make it blunt (such stories). It is like a Covid virus that needs to be neutralized,” he said.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Gita Manishi Swami Gyananand and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi were also present at the event.

The philosophy of the Gita is the foundation of Indian civilization, its culture and in present times the soul of Indian governance, with emphasis on objectivity, transparency, equality and commitment to universal brotherhood, the Vice President said.

He said that today India is making rapid progress in various fields.

“..We are a world power, we stand for peace, we stand for global stability. We want to take our Bharat to its peak by 2047 when we celebrate the centenary of our Independence,” he said.

Referring to the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflict, Dhankhar said: “After World War II, the world has not seen as much pain as it is now.”

“We are actually sitting on a volcano. The two ‘configurations’ of the world – one Israel-Hamas and the other Ukraine-Russia – are well known,” he said, adding that Gita’s philosophy is more relevant today than ever before.

“And the Indian Prime Minister has made two historic statements in the past. The first was almost a year and a half ago that “we are not living in an age of expansion.” In saying this, the Prime Minister took pride in the fact that this country has never thought about expansion in its history. We have experienced invasions, all kinds of invasions, but we have never believed in a policy of expansion,” he said.

When there were two major issues facing the world, Prime Minister Modi, guided by the Gita, said that all possible efforts should be made to prevent war, through dialogue and diplomacy, Dhankhar said.

Referring to the Mahabharat era, he said that Lord Krishna spared no effort to ensure that there was no war. “But as soon as this becomes unavoidable, Lord Krishna gave ‘gyan’ to Arjuna, which we have to reflect on today,” he said, adding that Lord Krishna told Arjuna never to leave the path of his duty.

“…And today, Indian Prime Minister Modi is doing just that,” he said.

Dhankhar said the foundation of democracy is that everyone is equal before the law.

“Previously, some people thought they were above the law. But a great change came and today no one is outside the scope of the law; this is the ground reality. I can assure you that achieving this is not easy. It was a huge challenge, a challenge from those who were established, from those who had a great support system – within the system and beyond. But today we can hold our heads high and say that the Gita board is here and everyone is equal before the law,” he said.

Without naming anyone, the vice president said if someone receives a notice under the law, the legal process must be followed.

But the new culture that ‘we will hit the road if we get notice according to the law’ is not what Gita taught us, he claimed.