Identifying lust for materialistic gains, pollution, injustice, stress and poverty as main causes of intolerance in the society, speakers at different functions held to mark the 'World Tolerance Day' have called for promoting 'positive values and thinking' and ensuring equable distribution of wealth so as to check negative trend in the society.
The day was observed in Pakistan like other parts of the World with a renewed pledge that all out efforts will continue to be made for promoting tolerance at all levels so as to achieve the goal of an enlightened society.
It may be mentioned that following the United Nations Year for Tolerance in 1995, the International Day for Tolerance was first observed on November 16, 1996. Tolerance is a social, cultural and religious term applied to the collective and individual practice of not persecuting those who may believe, behave or act in ways of which one may not approve.
A spokesperson for Mental Health Resources Center told Business Recorder here on Thursday that various programmes were arranged in different educational institutions and other places to highlight the importance of the day.
Speakers in these functions said: "Intolerance is a scourge with deadly consequences which is a threat to democracy, peace and security." Over 15 percent of children under five in the developing world are severely malnourished. In South Asia alone, more than 90 million children go hungry every day. Around 134 million children between the ages of 7 to 18 have never been to school, they added.
They also said no modern society can be built or can flourish by cultivating intolerance. They said as societies transform by globalisation, migration and unprecedented mobility, it raises fundamental questions about the ability of people to live together. Along with outright injustice and violence, discrimination and marginalization are common forms of intolerance, they pointed out. They urged the government to take pragmatic measures to check injustice and other factors responsible for spread of intolerance in the society.
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