The Congress is all set for a mega celebration of the 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru to highlight the legacy of the first Prime Minister of India which the party feels is under assault in the new dispensation.
This week, the party is organising a conference on November 6 and 7 bringing together many writers and historians, including left leaning, to discuss freedom, equality, democracy and secularism in today’s context. The theme of the conference is “No Peace Without Freedom; No Freedom without Peace: Securing Nehru’s legacy and India’s Future: Agenda for Action”.
Party leader Anand Sharma dismissed BJP criticism over inviting historians like Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib for the conference. He insisted that they have been respected historians, whatever might be their ideology. “We have offered a platform. Everyone is invited. We do not believe in exclusion...” he said.
Sharma said Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies has organised the two-day meet to develop an agenda for action for securing and strengthening the cornerstone values of the Indian republic laid down by Nehru in his Objectives Resolution of the Constituent Assembly (freedom, equality, democracy, secularism and justice -- social, economic and political).
There will be sessions on each of these objectives of the meet which would be inaugurated by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will deliver the Valedictory Address. On the birth anniversary day on November 14, a rally is being organised by the party which will be addressed by Sonia and Rahul. Congress Seva Dal is also taking out a march on that day.
Two portals on Nehru- one in English and another in Hindi- will be launched on the day. A commemorative volume on the first Prime Minister is also being brought on the occasion. An evening of classical music has also been organised at the Nehru Park here in the evening in which some top artistes are going to participate.
Hailing the contribution of Nehru, Sharma accused the RSS and the Sangh Parivar of not believing in Indian nationalism but in Western concept of nationalism, which believed in uniformity and other such ideas, which are against Indian nationalism.