The words of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation in his book, “A Tryst with Destiny” stated, “When the family is united the nation is united”. In this statement, he clearly enunciated what communal harmony and national integration imply and mean. Communal harmony and national integration are closely interconnected and interwoven, but cannot exist in vacuum. Its basis must be strong and firmly rooted by a sense of identity, bonds of solidarity, unity and mutual affection. These elements can be found only in family and family relations where the bonding is through physical and emotional caring, nurturing and affirming and from here flows out into community.
When these basic elements are absent or weak, the members of a family find it difficult to cope with the stress of life, relationships and reciprocity. This personal fragmentation leads to expressions of abuse and violence of various forms and ways and ultimately leads to break down of Family.
What is experienced in all parts of the world and India is no exception is that the family has become feeble and unable to respond adequately to its natural functions and roles. Such feebleness leaves each of its members especially women and children directly exposed to various forms of social, physical, emotional ills and violations.
If a nation (here in India) is desirous of building communities of harmony and national integration, it has to address its smallest community, ‘Family’, Family cannot be taken for granted or over looked. With regard to any of its needs be it social, economic, health, welfare and well being, its spiritual and emotional. Such a concern will result in mutual acceptance of one another, i.e. family for family whether they are of different caste, class, religion, or social economic status.
We and families in India need to develop a sense of identity on ‘who we are as a people, as a community and nation for a sense of integration’.
As nation, we in India must begin to look at most of the existing policies at various levels and make every effort to make them family friendly. When this is done justice will prevail, people and families will feel secure and this will lead communal harmony and national integration.
The same can be said differently when people / families are expected to perform and ‘yield’ i.e. ‘production’, the sense of ‘being human’ diminishes and when such an attitude persists, it paves the way to conflict and violence of various forms.
In most ways this conflict and insecurity manifests itself in revolt and rebellion against systems that foster inequality, injustice which in itself creates and ferments non acceptance of such ways and means that foster the status quo leading to rejection of what is human.
Every form of development must be ‘people centered’ if not the ‘person’ is displaced and structures take precedence over the individual and this often sows the seed for social unrest and communal discord, leading to national breakdown / disintegration.
Hence the organizing of this seminar is necessary and tinely.