H. H. Acharya Mahapragya honoured with "Communal Harmony Award" at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 2nd august 2005
President of  India A.P.J. Kalam's address: Evolution of Enlightened Citizen , I am delighted to participate in the presentation of National Communal Harmony Award 2004 and Kabir Puraskar. I would like to congratulate Acharya Mahaprajnaji and Shri Rama Shankar Singhji for spreading excellence, excellence in human life. I would also like to congratulate Dr. Nirmala Deshpandey for receiving National Communal Harmony Award on behalf of Akil Bharat Rachnatmak Samaj, Delhi. The award indeed is enriched. I would like to narrate my recent experiences of Unity of Minds which I witnessed during my visit to Kerala.

Unity of Minds in practice: On 29th July 2005 when I was interacting with the students of Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering and Technology at Kalady I found the composition of the students at this seat of spirituality was truly multi-religious.

I recently participated in the launching of the Special Cancer Care Project for Children at Karunya Nilayam in Kerala in the presense of His Holiness Moran Mar Baselius Marthoma Mathews II and His Grace Geevarghese Mar Ivanious. The unique feature of this programme was the recitation of multi-religious prayers including the Dhyana sloka from Vishnu Sahasranamam.

I visited the oldest Mosque Cheraman Perumal Juma Masjid at Kodungallur on 29th July 2005. I was in the company of Valiathampuran of Kodungallur a member of the erstwhile Kodungallur royal family who donated the land for this place of worship and the local catholic priest. I was thinking what thoughts I can share with the members assembled here. I have selected the topic "Evolution of Enlightened Citizen". It has three components: 

(a) Education with value system 
(b) Religion transforming into spiritual force 
(c) Removing poverty.

The combination of these three aspects will lead to a righteous life and in turn the world will see the evolution of enlightened citizens. Let us discuss the three important components that will result in the development of enlightened citizens for the world.

(a) Education with Value System
The best part of a young person is his or her childhood in school and the best time spent is 0800 Hrs to 1600 Hrs in the school. The prime learning environment is to be provided during the 5th to 17th year of age. The student spends approximately 25,000 hours in the school campus. Of course, at home, love and affection are imparted but again most of the time of the day is spent in preparing school’s homework, study, eat, play and sleep. Hence the school hours for children are the best time for learning and need best of environment, mission oriented learning with value system. I still hear the echo from Bestolozzy, a great teacher’s saying, “give me a child for seven years. Afterwards, let the God or devil take the child. They cannot change the child.” That is the great confidence of the teacher. What a golden mission a school can have. All the more, the teachers are in the center of the mission. We need hundreds and thousands and lakhs of committed teachers, who can shape the minds of our youth. Technology can also play a part to propagate good teaching through tele-education. The best educational dynamic triangle is child, teacher and parents. For parents and teachers, school campus and home have to have an integrated mission: providing education with value system. If the child misses the value-based education in the school and in the home, no government or society can establish a transparent society or a society with integrity. Young minds should be trained for love, for service to others and for creative development all around them.

(b) Religion transforming into spiritual force
A message, I have received is that most Indians - experienced, energetic, middle-aged and young, they all look to religion for solace and safety. I have also visited great many religious places and houses of worship throughout the length and breadth of this great country and I have met many of our religious leaders. The religions are like exquisite gardens, places full of surpassing beauty and tranquility, like sacred groves filled with beautiful birds and their melodious songs. I truly think that religions are beautiful gardens. They are enchanting islands, veritable oasis for the soul and the spirit. But they are islands nevertheless. How can we connect them so that the fragrance engulfs the whole universe? If we can connect all the islands with love and compassion (spiritual components of the religion) in a 'garland', we will have a prosperous India and prosperous world. I would like to narrate an important event that took place in Surat in this direction.

Surat Spiritual Declaration: On 15th October 2003 Surat Spiritual Declaration has been evolved in the presence of Acharya Mahaprajnaji . This declaration was prepared after a few days of discussions and deliberations of various religious leaders and spiritual leaders. Then the Surat Spiritual Declaration was signed by 15 spiritual leaders of various faiths. They are: Shri Balagangadharanatha Swamiji, Dr. Homi B. Dhalla, Bishop Dr. Thomas Dabre, Yuvacharya Mahashraman, Sadvi Pramukha Kanakprabha, Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Sivaratri Desikendra Mahaswamiji, Rev. Stanislaus Fernandes, Swami Jitatmananda, 
Rev. Syed Muhammad Jilani Ashraf, Rev. Ezeikal Isaac Malekar, Prince Huzaifa Mohyiuddin, Brahma Kumari Sudesh Didi, 
Dr. Jaswant Singh Neki, Ven. Rahul Bodyi, and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan.

PM's Shri. Manmohan Singh's speech: I deem it a privilege to be here to honour distinguished citizens of our country who have contributed to communal amity and harmony. I extend my hearty congratulations to Shri Ram Shankar Singh, the awardee of the Kabir Puraskar 2004, and to Acharya Shri Mahapragya and the Akhil Bharat Rachnatmak Samaj, the recipients of the National Communal Harmony Awards 2004.

These distinguished awardees have dedicated their lives to the cherished ideals of communal harmony and religious tolerance that define our ancient civilization. India is been home to all the great religions of the world. While some were born here, others took root here more than a millennia ago. This sub-continent has for centuries provided a unique social and intellectual environment in which so many religions could co-exist.

The Kabir Puraskar captures the moral message and the practical visions of inter faith harmony as exemplified, nearly six hundred years back, in the life and work of Kabir. His numerous verses, Dohas and hymns drawn upon the spirituality of both Hinduism and Islam. They deeply moved ordinary people over the centuries and inspired them to live in peace with one another. Shri Ram Shankar Singh is a remarkable citizen who put at stake his own life to prevent a communally charged mob from attacking people of another faith. He showed Gandhian courage and commitment in doing so.

Shri Ram Shankar Singh seemed to have been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's view that “humanism is the true religion”. The ideal of humanism, which was at the core of Kabir's teaching, rather than any sophisticated understanding of secularism, prompted Shri Singh to act in support of his fellow human beings. Their religion was different, but his faith was humanism and so he intervened to protect the other. People like Shri Ram Shankar Singh are the preservers, protectors and defenders of communal harmony and national integration. He richly deserves the award and I once again congratulate him for it. I do believe that our notion of secularism must be imbued by humanism. Secularism is not a political ideology. It is a social and cultural philosophy of live and let live, and the non-interference of the State in the personal faith of an individual. Yesterday, I heard the eminent economist and Nobel Laureate, Dr. Amartya Sen, mentioned about the two different interpretations of secularism. One sees secularism as neutrality of the state towards towards religions. The other views secularism as distancing the state from any religious symbolism. While the latter is a Western concept, our country has followed the former view. The state, while being neutral, allows co-existence of all religions.

An informed view of the religious beliefs and practices of people belonging to other faiths is an important pre-requisite for communal amity. Acharya Sri Mahaprayagya has, through his writings and actions, attempted just this. An ardent exponent and practitioner of inter-faith harmony, he has immensely contributed to the promotion of unity among different religions by organizing peace marches and reconciliation conferences. His activities have awakened the consciousness of people and encouraged them to show respect to the faith of others.

The conferment of the National Communal Awards to Acharya is in recognition of his valuable efforts for fostering the cause of tolerance and understanding in society. I also congratulate the Akhil Bharat Rachnatmak Samaj for working towards establishing peace and understanding among different religious communities and promoting national integration and peace in the country. The activists of Samaj have reached out to the areas affected by communal violence and have taken steps to restore peace and harmony there. The peace marches and relief work undertaken in militancy-ridden Punjab, terrorist-affected areas of Jammu-Kashmir and communally-disturbed areas of Gujarat are testimony to its commitment to national integration and communal amity. I congratulate them.

No religion supports violence. Those who resort to violence in the name of religion are doing a disservice to their faith and to humanity. Tolerance is an important lesson of all religions. All great saints, sages and teachers have, through the ages, had only one message for us mortals. To be tolerant of one another. No religion sanctions the killing of innocent people, and certainly not in the name of that religion. All religions of the world are great because all of them have a message of love and humanism. Communal harmony is the basic building block of our country. Different communities have been living peacefully and amicably for centuries. The work of individuals such as Ram Shankar Singh and Acharya Sri Mahapragya and the institutional activities of Rachnatmak Samaj inspire us to deepen the traditions of communal harmony and safeguard them. They deserve our commendation and their activities need to be widely recognized and replicated. With these words I once again congratulate the awardees and wish them all success. May the path of those inspired by them be equally blessed. 

Thank you.