By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 1 Nov: Doon Citizens Council today awarded many prominent citizens with ‘Pride of Nation’, ‘Pride of Uttarakhand’ and ‘Pride of Doon’ Awards for their excellence and achievements in various fields. The awards were handed over by Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammad Khan, who was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Among those awarded ‘Pride of Uttarakhand’ on the occasion included Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar; former Director of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Sanjeev Chopra (IAS); Vice Chancellor of Doon University, Prof Surekha Dangwal; Director AIIMS, Rishikesh, Dr Meenu Singh; Principal of Doon Medical College, Dr Ashutosh Sayana; Director Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dr RP Singh; Director, Aarogyadham Super Speciality Hospital, Dr Vipul Kandwal and Director, Cancer Research Institute at Swami Rama Himalayan University (SRHU) Dr Sunil Saini.
In addition, SSP Dehradun, Ajai Singh and Joint Secretary MDDA Raza Abbas were awarded with ‘Pride of Doon’ Awards.
The ‘Pride of Nation’ Award was presented to Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan. The event took place at Hotel Madhuban in the presence of eminent people of Doon.
Speaking on the occasion, Arif Mohammad Khan observed that great minds from diverse fields from Uttarakhand in general and from Dehradun in particular were among the audience. He described the greatness of Indian culture and civilisation. He said that the Indian concept and philosophy regarding culture and civilisation was unique as compared to the rest of the world. He said that Indian civilisation and culture are defined by Aatma and not by the parameters set by the rest of the world. He added that Indian civilisation is thousands of years old and if we start defining the Indian culture and civilisation by the parameters set by the rest of the world, then a large number of people will be unjustly excluded from the civilisation description. He said that the sages and the gurus in the country came to the conclusion that Aatma alone is the all inclusive factor in respect of the civilisation and culture. Oneness of being is the basis of life and the society, Khan added.
Governor Khan also quoted Swami Vivekananda in this respect, reminding that Swami Vivekananda was once asked about the purpose of life, who responded that as per some schools of thought in the world and also according to the Charvaka school of thought, the purpose of life is pursuit of happiness. Vivekananda differed with this opinion and explained that pursuit of happiness can’t be the sole purpose of life because under this very assumption, in order to be more happy, one can end up making another person very unhappy. Vivekananda categorically stated that pursuit of knowledge is the purpose of life. Khan added that Vivekanand further explained that the purpose of knowledge is to have the ability to see the underlined unity behind the existing diversity. Diversity is seen everywhere at every level. Even the children born of same parents may have diverse temperaments, choices and attitudes. Therefore, the Indian culture and tradition hold that all this diversity emanates from one source, unity. When one has the realisation that all that has manifested is emanated from one and one only and once this realisation comes, then the person will never ever desire for the defeat of the other person. He added that a study by Harvard University has revealed that when one celebrates the success of others than a particular hormone endorphin is released which makes one feel great. Stressing on the importance of the collective approach, Khan quoted Article 51 a of the Constitution which calls upon the citizens to strive for excellence in all spheres of life at an individual as well as collective level.
Quoting Bhagwat Gita, Khan reminded that Krishna tells Arjun that he (Krishna) is treated as a role model by the people and as an ideal by them and if he does not justify this by action then a catastrophe can strike.Khan also quoted from some Arabic texts where it is said that health of the body also depends on the state of negativity mind. The more one is able to rid himself of negativity of mind, the healthier one can be. Quoting from Sanskrit texts, Khan also stressed that there is not a single syllable which does not have the power of the Mantra and there is not a single green leaf or a plant that does not have a quality of medicine. Similarly there is not a single person without any quality. But the wise persons will have to recognise these qualities in others and put them to proper use. He called upon the people present in the audience to realise that the great people must realise the consequences and the impact of their actions on the society at large, on the ordinary people.
The executive committee of Doon Citizens Council comprises of Brig (Retd) KG Behl as President, SS Goyal as Senior Vice President, Dr S Farooq as Secretary General, Manu Kochhar as Vice President, Dr RK Bakshi as Secretary, DS Mann as former President, Dr Aditya Arya as Treasurer, SP Kochhar as Patron and Ramesh Batta, PK Kapur, Dr RK Gupta of Rishikesh, Shevata Rai Talwar, Dr Himmat Singh and Anamika Jindal as members.
Eminent citizens of Doon KH Zaidi, IP Saxena, Rakesh Batta, Anil Goyal, Avi Nanda, Mufti Shamoon Qasmi, realter Rajesh Vasu were present amongst others.
Harinder Singh Mann was the Master of Ceremonies.
