Mangaluru : The practice of projecting the country with certain religions and cultures are deplorable said, Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All-India Progressive Women’s Association on Monday.

Speaking on Freedoms and Dissent in a Democracy’ organized by Citizens Forum for Mangalore Development in association with Women’s Cell of St Aloysius College at Eric Mathias Hall in the college premises, she said that the thinking that country accepted only certain communities and cultures was deplorable. “Imposition of this is killing.” Ms. Krishnan said that it was a mistake to define India with certain religions and cultures.

It was also disgusting to call as development the actions taken by the government of the day at the cost of the needy and deprived.

Ms. Krishnan said that it had become dangerous to freely express thoughts all over the world. People were being branded anti- national if they were fighting for their rights or taking the cause of the marginalised and deprived sections of society. “To be called patriotic, you need to hate Pakistan or hate Muslims or hate persons who talk against persons like Narendra Modi.” Voices of dissent were not being accepted either by the State or the Union government.

Ms. Krishnan said that the voices of dissent were important in the country. People like Jyothiba Phule and Martin Luther King had to face witch hunt for speaking aloud things that were going wrong in the society. It was necessary to keep dissenting voices close by. “We the people, who constitute democracy, should cherish voice of dissent.” She called upon youngsters to think of ways of safeguarding the right of dissent.

Vidya Dinker of Citizens Forum for Mangalore Development was the programme convener.

Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim, Suresh Bhat Bakrabail and others were present.