Selfless service vital for world peace: Patil
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 20
UT Administrator and Punjab Governor Shivraj V Patil has stressed on the need for promoting selfless service, the only virtue that could bring peace in the world, country, community, family and even within oneself.
Inaugurating a two-day Rotary conference, “Confluence 2010”, at Panjab University today, Patil said: “A spirit of positive attitude needs to be inculcated amongst Indians to take the country forward.”
The UT Administrator commended Rotary for undertaking humanitarian tasks with the spirit of service to help others, which they should now extend to the society, too, so that every other professional followed it.
Being hosted by Chandigarh Central Club at Law Auditorium, the event also saw Rotary District 3080 present Shreyas Awards to three ‘sons-of-the-soil’ to recognise their excellence in their respective professions.
Former world president of Rotary International Rajendra K. Saboo said the organisation had decided to confer these awards on Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune group of publications and Rajya Sabha member HK Dua, Hero Honda’s managing director Pawan Munjal and Bollywood actress Kirron Kher.
Dr Abid Hussain, a noted economist, was the chief guest and he also gave away the awards.
While accepting the award, Dua said nomination to Rajya Sabha was another extension of his present assignment as a journalist, which primarily involved being the voice of the people and protecting public interests.
“There is a need for more serious people to get into Parliament and I will endeavour to remain the voice of the people of this country,” he averred.
Munjal said Hero Honda owed its success to “strong values, ethical dealings and relationship with its customers, which led to the evolution of a culture of excellence in the company”.
Kirron Kher nostalgically remembered her days in the city, especially her return to the same stage of the Law Auditorium where once she performed.
Earlier, Congress spokesman and Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari addressed the Rotarians who had come from various parts of the region. He spoke on “India’s National Security: The Road Ahead”. He lamented the vanishing concept of beat policing where a policeman knew the entire socio-ethnic structure of the people living in any locality on one-to-one basis. Absence of beat policing, said he, was leading to the rise in crime and insecurity among citizens.
Tewari called upon the Rotarians to promote neighbourhood policing in the society and engage people in ensuring security and safety for themselves.
Dr P Narayana Holla, vice chairman of the National Polio Plus Committee, asked the Rotarians to continue with the immunisation programme until the disease was rooted out.
Post-lunch break, the session resumed with the speech of Dr Kiran Bedi on the changing role of women in the society. She said the future could witness three prominent changes in women’s role.
“She would be choosing her husband and would not be forced into marriage, would be emerging as a leader in the corporate sector and her productive role at the work place would get more recognition. There could also be possibility of change in the reproductive role, which could mean more dependence on adoption and surrogate motherhood, etc,” Dr Bedi said.