CHANDIGARH – March 31, 2008: Dr. Mool Chand Sharma, Vice-Chairman, University Grants Commission delivered a Special Diamond Jubilee Lecture on “Human Security and Human Development – Some Insights” at University Auditorium here today. Addressing the delegates of the First World Punjabi Conference Dr. Mool Chand Sharma said “the scene of human security seems very threatened and demands urgency of action, national as well as global”… “The world can never be at peace unless people have security in their daily lives”.
Quoting alarming figures, Dr. Mool Chand Sharma said “where one fifth of developing world population goes hungry every night, a quarter lacks access to even basic necessities like safe drinking water, a one third lives in a state of abject poverty,” what security one can talk of? Despite of 9% economic growth for the last four years, 25% of India’s population lives below the poverty line and 35% still waiting to be literate. Is it not mind boggling that between 1997-2005, nearly 1.5 lacs farmers committed suicide as they were unable to repay the loans or meeting their necessities. Thousands of peoples are uprooted from their land and heritage in the name of mega projects, many times depriving them of even their livelihood and if registered meeting violence in the hands of the state-s is that the idea of security?”… countries across the globe are afflicted by growing human distress – weakening social fabric, rising crime rates, spreading culture of drugs. Young people throwing out their parents from home”… according to an estimate every 54 minutes either a rape or serious sexual violence is some or other forms is inflected on women”… “The so called development may further add to insecurity of human nationally and globally.”
Threats to the security may differ – hunger and disease in poor nations and drugs and crimes in rich nations – but these threats are real and growing”… “when the security of people is attacked in any corner of the world all nations are likely to get involved. Famines, ethnic conflicts, social disintegration, terrorism and trafficking are no longer isolated events confined within their national boundaries. Their consequences travel the globe requiring global zeal to fight them out”, he added.
Dr. Sharma further observed that “the issue of human security and survival and environmental fragile planet has gained urgence. By the middle of this century the world’s population may double and the world economy may quadruple. Food production must triple, if people are to be kept fed but the resources for agriculture are eroding. Energy must be provided, but even at today’s level of use fossil fuels threatened climatic stability. The destruction of the world forests and the lands of biological wealth and diversity continue relentlessly”… “human security is relevant to people everywhere. Be it the developed or developing or under developed part of the world.
Dr. Sharma said that “job security, income security, health security, environmental security, security from crime – these are the emerging concerns of human security all over the world”.
Dr. Sharma said that if the three trinities of : globalization, liberalization and privatization; mind boggtline revolution in science, technology and knowledge domain; end of cold war, rising movement of democracy across societies of the world and growth of powerful civil socieity movements have vastly influenced policy formulations at national and international level it cannot be seriously contested that quadrangle constituted by – Human Rights, Human Development, Human Needs and Human Security discourses have provided a larger ethical and political context for formulation and evaluation of these policies.
Shri Vijender Jain, Hon’ble Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court in his presidential remarks complimented the speaker for his thoroughness and genuine concern.
Dr. R.C. Sobti, Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University expressed his thanks to Chief Justice and Dr. Mool Chand Sharma for their concern for the academics and issues which need urgent attention.
