24 Oct :The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari released a book entitled “Reconciliation in Post-Godhra Gujarat: The Role of Civil Society” authored by eminent social scientist, Prof. T.K. Oommen at a function here today. Addressing on the occasion, the Vice President said that the book is not an altogether a theoretical book but is based on the actual experiences and author has done a great deal of work.
He said that when a calamity occurs, the options are relief, rehabilitation and reconciliation and expressed his concern that the process of reconciliation did not reach the affected people living in the various camps there.
The Vice President opined that communal violence is often a deliberate product of human design seemingly provoked by national or religious passions and there is a need to impart lessons of reconciliation at the grass root level and involve the participation of the civil society.
Shri A. R. Antulay, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs, and Shri Dilip Padgaonkar, Member, National Commission for Minorities also addressed. A number of dignitaries were present on the occasion.
The book records the efforts lost by the Gujarat Harmony Project (GHP) and the challenges faced by it in building inclusive communities. It has analysed the dynamics of communal violence by situating the description of carnage in a historical context and providing a detailed socio-political profile of Gujarat. It has attempted to contain communal violence by encouraging the ideas of secularism and unity in diversity. To achieve a durable inter-group harmony, lessons of reconciliation at the grass root levels are needed.