Need for peace memorial: Manpreet
Tuesday, 30/09/2014
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140930/punjab.htm#16
Chandigarh : People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) chief Manpreet Singh Badal has advocated the setting up of a peace memorial in the state.
In a statement, he said the memorial should be a source of inspiration for the future generations rather than being a reminder of the tragedy that struck the state for more than a decade, a period when every section of the society suffered.
Manpreet said Punjab was the sacred land of Gurus, sages and seers. He said there should be no space for sectarian politics in the state.
“We are the inheritors of the legacy of the martyrs like Shaheed Bhagat Singh in whose doctrine parochialism and sectarianism had no place. These martyrs sacrificed their lives so that the future generations could breathe in a free society, without any distinction of caste or creed. We have to uphold those ideals,” he said.
The PPP chief admitted that the people of Punjab suffered trauma and hardships during that the dark period of militancy, which resulted in perverted perceptions and varied ideological positions. The need was to bury such polarised perceptions, he said.
“The peace memorial should reinforce the ideology of Punjabiat and progressiveness and remind the coming generation of our great heritage,” he said.
