Religion and culture are separate and if leaders of society following different religions understand this and make their followers comprehend this, the nation will be able to achieve Gandhi’s dream of a harmonious and progressive nation. Uttarakhand Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi said this while inaugurating the Sharada Shaktipeetham guest house constructed with inspiration from the Sharada Peeth, Shringeri, Shankaracharya on Sunday in Dehradun.
Citing the example of Indonesia, the Governor said that every Indonesian feels proud of Hindu culture and heritage, even though it is a Muslim dominated country as 93 per cent of population professes Islam while Hindus constitute only 5 per cent of its population.
Qureshi recalled that soon after assuming office he had travelled to Badrinath via road and realised the problems being faced by the pilgrims. He appealed to the representative of the Shankaracharya that similar guest houses should be built at Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri so that the sufferings of the pilgrims visiting these places can be reduced.
The representative of the Shankaracharya, Padma Shree recipient Dr VR Gaurishankar said that the Adi Shankaracharya attained moksha at Kedarnath so the state of Uttarakhand is the biggest pilgrim place for him. He also felicitated the governor Qureshi on the occasion. The Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh, Dr Rajkumar, chairman of state commission for protection of child rights Ajay Setia and district magistrate of Dehradun BVRC Purushottam were among those present on the occasion.