The 42nd edition of monthly discussion of Mukta Bichar Manch (MBM) was held at Khariar on Sunday. The topic for discussion was 'Hijab is an acceptable dress code' (Hijab ek uchit paridhan).
Two panelists who spoke in favour of the motion were Dr Jayanti Mohanty, a Lecturer, and Yogita Agrawal, a college student. Two panelists who spoke against the motion were Sahina Parwin, a teacher, and Salma M Khan, a Lecturer.
The composition of the panelists spoke volumes for the maturity of and the level of excellence reached by the Manch. Dr Mohanty set the ball rolling with powerful arguments. The first sword crossing took place with Parwin's presentation with solid counter arguments. Agrawal came up with a forceful defence of Hijab as a matter of choice. Salma came in last with her strong arguments opposing the motion.
The summing up was done by MBM founder Shrikant Chatterjee. There was a long and lively question-answer session.
The MBM was formed in 2017 by Chatterjee and a few of his friends in Khariar of Nuapada district. The forum takes up every month a topic of national/ international importance relevant for the month for discussion, generally on last Sunday.
The three basic principles of the forum are a) no political/ideological comments, b) no comment that may hurt any religious or community sentiment and c) no personal comment against any speaker or any member of the audience. "The idea is to inculcate values of intellectual rigour, love for books, pursuit of excellence and practise intellectual integrity. The idea is also to listen to the other/ opposite view. It's a strictly non-political intellectual forum," said Chatterjee.