Patna: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday underlined the need for social harmony.
"The environment of harmony is being destroyed and we have to come out of it. We need to create an atmosphere of love, peace and harmony in the society," Nitish said.
The chief minister was speaking after inaugurating a national seminar on "Kunwar Singh and 1857".
Though Nitish did not elaborate about the bitterness in society, it was apparent that he was referring to the many incidents of social strife between castes and communities over the last few months. There is also a growing public perception that law and order, considered the mainstay of a Nitish Kumar government, has nose-dived.
At Wednesday's event, Nitish said that the state government was doing all sorts of development work - roads, drinking water, toilets, electricity and education - "but what would be their benefit if people fight among themselves, if various social evils remain in the society?"
He asked people to take inspiration from Kunwar Singh.
"He (Singh) gave responsibilities to all be it Hindu, Muslim, forward castes, backward castes or Dalits.... He delegated responsibilities to all sections of the society without any discrimination," Nitish said.
"Kunwar Singh's life was a message of social harmony. We want the people to know all these and take inspiration from them. If people know about his life their confidence will increase, love and brotherhood in the society will increase. Love, harmony, equality of men and women are the biggest things," Nitish added.
The new generations, he said, should know about the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country.
Historian Salil Mishra, author and publisher Shashank Sinha, former ICHR member secretary P.K. Shukla, historian Ratneshwar Mishra, professors I.K. Chaudhary and Ashok Anshuman, Jagjivan Ram Parliamentary Studies and Research Institute director Srikant and others spoke on the role played by Kunwar Singh in the war of 1857.