Racism is not a one-sided thing, says Union MoS
SHILLONG: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday that people from the North East have no reason to feel isolated as discrimination is not a one-sided thing and could happen even in this part of the country.
Stressing on the need for a mechanism to tackle racism everywhere, the Minister of State for Home Affairs said, “If you say we are isolated, I cannot take it as true as here in the Eastern side, we are the gateway to India and there is no need to feel isolated.”
He said that North East region is itself a world within itself and there is no such thing as mainstream. “If you look at the northeast from Delhi, then it is far away but if you see from the eastern side, we are the gateway of India or for Southeast Asia so there is no way to feel isolated or that we are far from the national capital,” he said, adding, “I always say that a country is defined not by its capital or central region but by its border.”
Speaking at the inaugural function of the 10th Biennial National Conference of the Physics Academy of North East at St Anthony’s College on Thursday, the MoS said more has to be done for scientific advancement in the North East. He stressed on “human-friendly” researches but cautioned against “irrational researches” that would be detrimental to human civilisation.
While pointing out that students need to develop more interest in physical science, Rijiju said students of the North East too have huge potential in every field.
The seminar was on the theme ‘Recent Advances in Physics Research and its relevance’.
The Union Minister was also full of appreciation for late Tura MP Purno Sangma saying the leader met him earlier and encouraged the young generation to take the baton forward.
Professor Jitendra Nath Goswami from the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmehdabad, who was the guest of honour at the event, highlighted the scientific advancements in the last few decades and took the occasion to impress upon academicians of the region to undertake extensive researches in the future.
Others who spoke on the occasion included Archbishop, Shillong Arch Diocese, Archbishop Dominic Jala, PANE Executive President, Prof Kalyanee Boruah, PANE General Secretary, Prof B.Bhattacharjee, Conference Convener, and S Chutia, among others.
More than 130 papers on topics like space exploration, flood early warning system, and particle dynamics will be presented at the three-day conference. (With inputs from Agencies)
