Govt to modernise madarsa education

New Delhi, Nov 21 (UNI) The government today decided to modernise madarsa education and to institute an award for students to sensitise youth for promoting communal harmony.

This was decided at the 14th meeting of the Governing Council of the National Foundation for Communal Harmony, chaired by Home Minister Shivraj Patil here today.

The meeting decided that the activities of the Foundation be increased to promote communal harmony. Seminars, symposia and conferences on the theme of communal harmony are being organised at present, but the members felt that more such programmes need to be undertaken involving the youth.

Mr Patil emphasised that films and documentaries on communal harmony should be produced and shown to the public at large. He also suggested that the Urdu poetry, which is rich in promoting fraternity and brotherhood should be translated and published in other languages also to achieve the objectives of the Foundation.

The Governing Council discussed in detail the issue of institution of an award for students and decided to institute it at the earliest to sensitize the youth for promoting communal harmony.

Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Meira Kumar and Secretaries from the Ministries of Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting and Social Justice and Empowerment were among those who attended the meeting.

The Foundation was established as an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Home Affairs in February 1992 with the main objective of providing assistance to the physical and psychological rehabilitation of the child victims of communal, caste, ethnic or terrorist violence with special reference to their care, education and training besides promoting communal harmony, fraternity and strengthening national integration.

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