New Delhi: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, while speaking at an inauguration event in Kolkata Thursday expressed concern over the current state of affairs in India, and urged people to work towards maintaining unity, reported PTI. He also said that people should not be discriminated on religious grounds.
“I think if someone asks me if I’m scared of something, I would say ‘yes’. There is a reason to be afraid now. The current situation in the country has become a cause for fear,” the celebrated economist said at the inauguration of Amartya Research Centre in the Salt Lake area in Kolkata.
“I want the country to be united. I don’t want division in a country that was historically liberal. We have to work together,” he said.
Sen asserted that the country cannot belong only to the Hindus or to the Muslims.
“India cannot be (a country) of Hindus only. Again, Muslims alone cannot make India. Everyone has to work together,” Sen said during the event, as reported by PTI.
The Nobel laureate was one of the panellists in a ‘Back To School’ discussion, others were Anita Rampal, K Srinath Reddy, AK Shiva Kumar and Jean Drèze.
Sen also highlighted the important role of the judiciary in a democracy. “The Indian judiciary often overlooks the dangers of fragmentation, which is scary. For a secure future, there needs to be a balance between the judiciary, the legislature and the bureaucracy, which is missing in India. It is extraordinary that colonial laws are being used to put people behind bars,” the economist was quoted by Times Of India news website.
Hinting at the recent debate on erasing and rewriting history Sen said, “We, as citizens, have to take the risk and fight to safeguard our nation’s shared history and truths,” according to TOI.