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Chandra Shekhar urges media to bridge communal divides

Former prime minister Chandra Shekhar has expressed concern over 'the growing chasms among communities in the name of religion and caste,' and urged the fourth estate to help reverse the trend.

Efforts in this direction were necessary as ''we all have been living for centuries in the spirit of goodwill and co-existence," he said.

Unity in diversity is a distinct feature of our ''way of life'', the former PM continued, and it must be preserved at all costs.

He was speaking in New Delhi at a function to release an Urdu daily Sab ki Awaz Jadeed.

He deplored that the voice of a few who have acquired ''arms and wealth is being heard these days while that of the oppressed is being scuttled.''

Chandra Shekhar said the media could play a great role in awakening the suppressed sections of society about their rights -- social, economic cultural and political. ''Only then we will usher in a truly civilised and democratic society,'' he added.

UNI

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