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'Unity in diversity' is a wonderful heritage that
India discovered, long back, adopted in life-style and disseminated
among others. History abounds with illustrations to show that
'uniformity in diversity' tried in the past did not yield any
happy solution. Interestingly, it was Sri Ramakrishna, the 'Prophet
of Harmony of Religions' also used to say, "He is indeed
a real man who has harmonized everything. Most people are one-sided.
But I find all opinions point to the One." He lived a life
which demonstrated how religious harmony can bring diverse groups
of people together. 'Harmony' is the key solution in today's
troubled world with manifold diversities. In the wake of globalization,
opening up of economies, pluralistic society is a common feature
everywhere. In such circumstances, a harmonious global society
is most welcome where people can exchange their views with mutual
understanding and striving for all round development of human
beings.
A Museum is a structured platform dealing with preservation
and transmission of integrated heritage-natural and cultural,
tangible and intangible. It provides scope for acquiring knowledge
of different cultures, histories of various nations, etc. in
an objective way, thereby making way for mitigating conflicts
sprouting from misunderstandings. Preservation, documentation
and presentation of material and immaterial heritage should be
done in such a way that the Museum stimulates the spirit of harmony.
Human beings all over the world need to put their skills to work
in order to obtain harmony within themselves, with others, within
our museums and in the museum world. In fact, museum is an important
social and cultural vehicle for promoting and maintaining social
harmony in the truest sense.
I hope and believe that the theme of deliberations 'Museum
and Social Harmony' chosen for the International Museum Day 2010
will contribute towards achieving the ICOM's global vision of
unity and peace.
May your efforts to propagate the message of harmony be
crowned with success is my humble prayer. |