Totalitarianism and fascism must be ostracised: Manish Tewari

Highlighting pluralism and liberalism, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said here tonight that sectarian mindsets of "totalitarianism and fascism" should be ostracised.
"As we stand today to inaugurate the 18th International Children's Film Festival of India (ICFFI), it should also provide us an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to ensure that totalitarianism, fascism and all such sectarian mindsets which squeeze liberal spaces are ostracised from the mainstream of human thought," he said.
He said "Sarv dharm samabhav" (equal respect for all faiths and views) has been the guiding philosophy of the country.
"Film festivals are not only occasions to showcase creativity, innovation, enterprise, but also provide an occasion to reinforce the most fundamental of all inalienable rights, the right to plurality of thought and expression," he said.

"We believe that the philosophy which should really guide all such extravaganza can possibly be summed up in two words and that is 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (the world is one family). We always believed in the civilisation, in the guiding principle of 'Sarv dharm samabhav' which loosely translated means, not only respect for all faiths, but also respect for all points of view," he said.
As a city, Hyderabad has imbibed the tradition of assimilation of various thought processes without losing its unique Indian values of plurality, he said.
He thanked Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who inaugurated the event, for participating in the function by cancelling an important meeting in Delhi.

The AP Chief Minister was supposed to meet the Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to discuss the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh today.