Practice India’s philosophy of Care and Share; Revive the old values of humanism and philanthropy; Health and education must get the adequate attention; Delivers Badrivishal Pannalal Pitti Memorial Lecture

The Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that every citizen must become a change agent and contribute to the building of a more empathetic, caring and harmonious society.

Delivering the Badrivishal Pannalal Pitti Memorial Lecture being organized by Badrivishal Pannalal Pitti Trust, in Hyderabad today, Naidu said that people like late  Badrivishal exemplified the role of such socially conscientious citizen and practiced India’s age-old philosophy of ‘Share and Care’.

The Vice President said that there was every need to draw inspiration from people like  Badrivishal Pitti to bring about a change in the attitude of people in the increasingly materialistic world. Every citizen must become a change agent and contribute to the building of a more empathetic, caring and harmonious society., he added.

Opining that traditional Indian joint families have traditionally been effective in inculcating the values of sharing and caring, the Vice President said that the sense of bonding was intrinsic to joint families and said that the present fast-paced lifestyles, work-related stress and the growing trend of nuclear families have their own down side.

The Vice President lauded the efforts of Badrivishal Pannalal Pitti Trust for their social service activities especially education and healthcare.

Pointing that growing urban-rural divide with lack of adequate education and health facilities in villages, gender discrimination, caste barriers, communalism, religious extremism, regionalism, neglect of the elderly and atrocities on women were some of the challenges that need to be collectively addressed by every citizen

Naidu said that challenges could be addressed effectively only if the government and the civil society come together. He called upon NGOs like Badrivishal Pitti Trust to make every effort in eradicating various social evils and building a new and prosperous India, which shall be free of narrow prejudices, corruption, illiteracy and poverty.

Stressing upon the need to revive the old values of humanism and philanthropy, the Vice President opined that the society must collectively strive to build a nation that cares for others, respects different points of view, values contributions and services of the elderly, respects women and their rights, upholds the democratic principles and empowers the citizenry.

Opining that health and education must get the adequate attention from everybody including the government, private sector and the society at large, the Vice President said that important activities such as providing affordable health care and making agriculture sustainable and should not be left to the government alone. They must become peoples movements to get the desired results, he added.

Pointing to the rise in the life styles diseases and the adverse impact of changing food habits, the Vice President stressed the need to get back to roots and practice the time tested methods. He asked the youth to lead a healthy lifestyle and said that ‘a healthy nation can become a wealthy nation and there is no guarantee that the reverse is possible’.