Punjab Study

LAHORE:21September : Speakers at a seminar said that the history being taught to the youth was totally wrong and false and urged the government to make changes in the syllabus of history subject. Addressing a seminar titled, ‘Social Inclusion and Democratic Citizenship: Understanding the Context of Exclusions’, the speakers said the word ‘minorities’ should be removed from the dictionaries as Pakistan was made by Quaid-e-Azam for all Pakistanis and not for a specific religion or community. The speakers demanded concrete measures at all levels for the social inclusion of the marginalised sections of society.
Dr Mahdi Hassan presided the seminar and said that exclusion results in economic, social, political and cultural disadvantages. He said those who were included could access valued goods and services in society while those who were excluded were deprived.
Hassan said that no religious state could be a democratic state. Social inclusion was not just about removing barriers, it was about a comprehensive vision that includes all, he added. He said social inclusion is proactive which promotes rights and ensures equality.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) member in the Punjab Assembly Dr Mussarat Hassan said that social exclusion meant denial of access to the valued goods and services in society, which could be because of race, ethnicity, gender, religion and disability.
Adviser to Punjab governor for human rights, Abdullah Malik, said that basic rights of citizenship must be ensured to combat social exclusion. Participation in social and economic activities must be promoted at all levels, he added.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MNA Shagufta Sadiq said that conceptualising social inclusion could provide a coherent critique of the multiple forms of social injustices and the associated institutional policies.
Legal Awareness Watch President Advocate Liaqat Ali said that accommodation of differences was the essence of true equality. He said it was pervasiveness of prejudice directed at disadvantaged groups and the widespread existence of discrimination that have contributed to the fragmentation, hyphenation and insularity.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member and Youth Parliament Chairman Abrarul Haq said that social inclusion meant engaging people in dialogue and providing space about various manifestations of discriminations as important expressions of social inclusion.
At the end of the seminar, a theatre show was also arranged which was admired by audience while Sufi music and Kafis of Baba Bullay Shah, Baba Guru Nanak and Shah Hussain were sung by Shafqat Hussain.Daily Times.