Equality and brotherhood without freedom is meaningless: Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar

New Delhi: No one is equal by nature and equality and brotherhood without freedom is meaningless told Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, former Chief Justice of India while speaking at the inaugural session of a 3-day international conference. And equality and brotherhood cannot be obtained without freedom. He said as a judge he read extensively and found that man is not equal by birth, but he needs to struggle for equality. If we want to fulfil the dream of welfare state we need to ensure equality. He recalled that he developed good impression towards a Muslim doctor due to the way in which he treated former’s mother. He observed that many forces are dividing the country on the basis of region, communalism and language. We need to stress country’s integrity and promote the spirit of brotherhood.

Justice A. M. Ahmadi, former Chief Justice of India during his presidential address said the constitution is an umbrella under which followers of all religion reside with love and kindness. The country has unity in diversity. Our constitution provides equal right to each citizen.

Former union minister K Rahman Khan said section 14, 15 and 16 are the spirit of the constitution. Section 16 speaks of affirmative action.

Eminent scholar Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, Arya samaj leader Swami Ganesh, Prof. Omar Hasan Kasule, Secretary General, International Institute of Islamic Thought, KSA and Dr. Mrs. Aroub A.Y.A.H. Alrifai, Member of the General Assembly, International Islamic Charitable Organisation (IICO), Kuwait. Dr. Abdullah, Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani and other leaders and scholars addressed the conference.

The three-day International Conference on “Towards Equality, Justice and Fraternity in Contemporary India Creating a Better Tomorrow” is being organised here from February 16-18, 2018 at Constitution Club of India. The International Conference is the concluding programme of the 30th Anniversary Celebrations of Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi. The delegates from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, South Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will participate in the conference. The delegates from Indian cities participating in the conference include: Srinagar; Lucknow; AMU, Aligarh; Meerut; Varanasi; Ludhiana; Patna, Bodh Gaya; Kolkata; Guwahati; Hyderabad; Bangalore; Chennai; Pune, Jodhpur and New Delhi.

Prof. Z. M. Khan, Secretary General, IOS, welcomed the guests and gave introduction of Institute of Objective Studies. Dr. M. Manzoor Alam, Chairman of IOS will speak on “IOS Journey through 30 Years: Vision and Projection”.