New Delhi: The Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that though India is a peace-loving nation and it wants to be friendly with all our neighbours, we do not want anybody to interfere in our internal affairs and whoever interferes, we will give a befitting reply. He also complimented the Indian armed forces for giving a befitting reply to terrorist organisations by conducting pre-emptive air strikes with precision.
He was addressing the gathering at the 13th Anniversary of My Home India, an NGO working to create the social, cultural and educational awakening amongst the tribal and backward classes in North East India.
The Vice President said that from time immemorial, India’s traditions and customs have been steeped in the philosophy of ‘share and care’. We have always believed the world to be one family as exemplified by ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, he said. We always believed in humanism and in maintaining cordial and friendly relations with citizens across the globe, he added.
Naidu said that unity in diversity is the central pillar on which our multi-lingual, culturally rich and diverse country is built by our founding fathers. He further said that we must further cement this unity and the bonding of people among all regions in the country. I would like to suggest to organizations like My Home India to facilitate student exchange programmes between northeast India and the rest of the country, he added.
The Vice President said that geographical boundaries and the hilly terrains have been barriers between the mainland and the beautiful hill states in Northeast India. Improved connectivity, expansion of road and rail networks and improved air connectivity have shrunk the barriers and now Indians can reach one part to the other in a matter of hours, he added.
Naidu said that the recent diabolical terrorist attack on our CRPF personnel in Pulwama once again underlines the global imperative to isolate and impose sanctions against nations which are perpetrating terrorism and jeopardizing peace. The world community needs to come together and act in the most stringent manner to eliminate the menace of terrorism, he said. The United Nations must conclude the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism with greater urgency and should not delay the process over semantics, he added.
The Vice President said that Universities, corporate offices must organise regular workshops on building bonds among people from different regions. Similarly, the people from northeast must also embrace the other cultural traditions of India, including Music, Dance, Cinema and other art forms and act as unifiers, he added.
