New Delhi: The Vice President of India, Shri 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, Shri Naidu said that people like late Shri 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 Shri 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
Shri 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’.
Following is the text of Vice President’s address:
“I am delighted to be present here to deliver the Memorial Lecture being organized by Badrivishal Pannalal Pitti Trust in Hyderabad today.
मुझे हर्ष है कि बद्रीविशाल पिट्टी ट्रस्ट के माध्यम से बद्रीविशाल जी के कृतित्व और विचारों का निष्ठापूर्वक पालन किया जा है।
1928 में हैदराबाद की प्रतिष्ठित मारवाड़ी परिवार में जन्मे श्री बद्रीविशाल पन्नालाल पिट्टी जी की समाजवादी चेतना प्रखर थी। वे आजीवन दुर्बल वर्गों के लिए सेवारत रहे। अपनी लोकतांत्रिक प्रतिबद्धता के कारण आपने तत्कालीन निज़ाम से अपने पारिवारिक संबंधों को दरकिनार करते हुए हैदराबाद में लोकशाही की स्थापना का समर्थन किया।
1955 में सोशलिस्ट पार्टी के गठन में आपकी महती भूमिका रही और आप संयुक्त सोशलिस्ट पार्टी के उम्मीदवार के रूप में आंध्रप्रदेश विधान सभा के सदस्य चुने गए। आप आजन्म अलग तेलंगाना राज्य के गठन के प्रबल समर्थक रहे।
अपने जीवन में बद्रीविशाल जी हमारे प्राचीन आदर्श – ” मानव सेवा से माधव सेवा” को अपने जीवन में आत्मसात करते रहे। मुझे हर्ष है कि उनकी स्मृति और आदर्शों को ट्रस्ट ने जीवित रखा है और बढ़ाया है। ट्रस्ट गरीब मेधावी छात्रों को छात्रवृत्ति और अन्य सुविधाएं प्रदान कर रहा है। इसके अतिरिक्त ट्रस्ट विशेषज्ञों के माध्यम से गरीबों के लिए निःशुल्क स्वास्थ्य सेवा उपलब्ध करा रहा है।
Badrivishal Pannalal Pitti ji was a great philanthropist, educationist, socialist and a great connoisseur of art, music and literature.
Born into a wealthy Marwari family in 1928 that settled in Hyderabad two centuries ago, Badrivishal Pannalal Pitti made a mark as a socialist leader and had worked dedicatedly for the welfare of the poor and needy.
Shri Pitti participated in the first conference of the Hyderabad State Congress and spoke in favour of a democratic dispensation in the State keeping aside his family’s close association with the Nizams. He came into contact with the firebrand socialist thinker and leader Ram Manohar Lohia, participated in Lohia’s civil disobedience movement and became a life-long socialist.
He had also played an important role in the founding of the Socialist Party in 1955.
Badrivishal Pitti was also elected to the Andhra Pradesh legislature as a Sanyukt Socialist Party candidate and was a staunch supporter of the demand for a separate Telangana. He passed away in 2003.
I am glad that the Badrivishal Pitti Trust, founded in his memory in 2004, is engaged in different types of social service activities with greater focus on providing scholarships and note books to deserving students. I was happy to know that healthcare is another area on which the trust is focusing by conducting free medical camps where doctors from different specialties attend to the needs of the poor. Glad to know that the trust provides free spectacles after eye check up for those who cannot afford them.
I am told Shri Badrivishal Pitti had never allowed his politics to have any bearing on the Hindi magazine, Kalpana which he had published for almost three decades since 1949.
Shri Badrivishal exemplified the role of a socially conscientious citizen, who had practiced to the hilt India’s age-old philosophy of ‘Share and Care’. There is a need to draw inspiration from such people and 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.
Joint families have traditionally been effective in inculcating the values of sharing and caring. The sense of bonding is intrinsic to joint families and had been leaving a positive impact on those who grew up in such an environment.
Fast-paced lifestyles, work-related stress and the growing trend of nuclear families have their own down side and I need not elaborate on that.
Dear sisters and brothers, ours is a rich ancient civilization and from time immemorial we believed in the philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. At one time, India was called the ‘Vishwaguru’ and we contributed up to 27 per cent of the world GDP. Following waves of foreign invasions and colonization, we lost our pre-eminent position.
Today, India is on the rise again. World over, India is respected for its economic growth, democratic values and practicing Gandhian principle of non-violence.
Yet, in spite of the remarkable progress achieved in various fields from space to agriculture, we have many challenges to overcome. About 20 per cent of Indian population still lives in poverty and an equal percentage of populace continues to be illiterate.
Growing urban-rural divide with lack of adequate education and health facilities in villages, gender discrimination, caste barriers, communalism, religious extremism, regionalism and atrocities on women are some of the challenges that need to be collectively addressed by every citizen. Neglect of the elderly citizens is another area that has to be tackled in a concerted manner.
These challenges can be addressed effectively only if the government and the civil society come together. The problems are too huge and too complex for government alone to handle.
I call 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.
We must revive the old values of humanism and philanthropy.
We as a society must 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.
I am delighted to learn that the Trust earmarks Rs 2 Crore annually to do social service, including taking care of the elderly. I am hopeful that these noble acts by the Trust would inspire many corporate and organizations to do their bit.
Service gives immense satisfaction and this was summed most succinctly by none other than the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who said: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
