PUBLIC SERVICE

Politics

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India Forum

As we prepare to enter the third millenium AD, India is faced with a spectrum of challenges - political stability, economic viability, poverty eradication, population control, social harmony, gender empowerment and environmental preservation, among others.

50 years into independence, it is clear that India is going through a period of tremendous turbulence. The old consensus has broken down and a new equilibrium has not yet emerged. Institutions that were considered to be the foundations of our democratic polity are under assault. The time has come when we have to re-examine many of the beliefs upon which our polity was founded, see where we have gone wrong and what needs to be done to set matters right.

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Education

Education has been a life long interest with me, as a life long student and also as Chancellor of several universities. Most recently I was a member of the UNESCO International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, the report of which was published in 1996 under the evocative title "Learning: the Treasure Within". I have written on various aspects of education. Essentially I feel that education must address all the dimensions of the human being - physical, intellectual, aesthetic, societal and spiritual. Education is probably the single most important function of human civilisation, not merely the formal education system but the broader question of educating human beings around the world. Recent breakthroughs in communication technology have given us immense possibilities in this regard.

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Environment

I was brought up in one of the most beautiful natural environments anywhere in the world - the valley of Kashmir. Subsequently I was involved as the Chairman of the Indian Board for Wildlife, as well as the Project Tiger Steering Committee, one of the most successful conservation projects anywhere in the world. I now head the Peoples Commission on Environment & Development (India), which holds public hearings around the country, reports of which are regularly published. I am also a Trustee of the Green Cross International.

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