Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday expressed concerns over religious conversions through allurements, terming it antithetical to constitutional essence and spirit and stressed the need to rebuff, resist and neutralise such "nefarious" designs.
Addressing as the chief guest at the 11th convocation ceremony of Guru Ghasidas University in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur, he called Naxalism the biggest hurdle to development, particularly of the tribals, and said serious efforts are being made to eliminate the menace.
"...Guru Ghasidas embodied the spirit of unity, inclusivity and equality among all. It is due to Gurus like him, the social-cultural character of this belt has remained unaltered...Our Bharat, home to one-sixth of humanity, is blessed to have a galaxy of national heroes like him," the vice president said.
The country has iconic figures like Maharishi Valmiki, Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Sant Ravidas and Jyotiba Phule and each of them stands as a tall pillar upon which society's edifice stands, he said. It is soothing that their position in the nation's collective consciousness is now being recognised, rekindled and reclaimed, said Mr Dhankhar.
"It is concerning that the wholesome thought processes of inclusivity for which they stood, for which they lived, which they propagated are being challenged by some who seek to disrupt organic societal stability by offering allurements to effect conversions. This is repulsive to the grain of our civilizational ethos," he said.
Calling such conversions antithetical to the country's constitutional essence and spirit, Mr Dhankhar said they wrongly tamper with the right of freedom that citizens enjoy.
"Nothing can be more serious than that these misadventures emanate from an evolved strategy to upset the organic demographic equilibrium. We need to rebuff, resist, and neutralise these nefarious designs as these have a pernicious potential to emerge as existential challenges to our inclusiveness and civilizational wealth," he added.
The vice president hailed the Vishnu Deo Sai-led Chhattisgarh government for its fight against Naxalism.
Naxalism remains the biggest hurdle to development, particularly for the tribal people, as it affects lives adversely, he said.
"I'm happy to note that serious efforts have been made in the country for the last few years (to eliminate the menace). In Chhattisgarh, good efforts have been made with numerous Naxalites being neutralised, arrested, or surrendering," he said.
But this requires the concern of every citizen because there is no place for Naxalism in a country witnessing unprecedented development, which is common man-centric, he said.
The government has evolved a good policy, and Chhattisgarh has been executing it remarkably well, he said.
"Three Cs - road connectivity, mobile connectivity and financial connectivity - are bearing fruits, transforming lives and creating new pathways to progress, he said.
However, whenever there is such a kind of progress that impacts the people instantly, there are sinister forces that seek to defeat these good gestures, he said.
Dhankhar said India's progress has been the envy of the world.
"When the world reeled under depression and stagflation, we have continued to be the bright spot in the global economic landscape. For most part of the last decade, we have retained the tag of the fastest-growing major economy. What a journey we have traversed against difficult headwinds, challenges, and terrains, and we are now the fifth largest global economy on the way to becoming the third," he said.
Startups have now been springing not only from metros but also from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, he said.
"We are the third largest in number when it comes to the global ecosystem. Infrastructure in India has been expanding rapidly and just to illustrate, four new airports and one Metro system every year, that is the scale of achievement we are having," he said.
The vice president told the students that India's Metro rail network includes 1000 kilometres across 11 states and 23 cities. "We have surpassed Japan and there will be a time in the near future when India will have the second largest Metro in terms of coverage," he said.
A new Bharat is taking place at the moment, he said.
Dhankhar urged the students not to confine themselves to government jobs and instead look beyond, saying there are new vistas of opportunities.
Chhattisgarh Governor Ramen Deka and CM Sai were present at the event.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
