Seminar on the occasion of National Unity Day (31st Oct) of India ‘Unity in Diversity’ – Multiculturalism & Secularism in India’s Society: Ethnic, Religious & Linguistic Diversity with H.E. Mrs. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, 4th President of Croatia, Director General H.E. Mr. Dinesh K Patnaik of Indian Council For Cultural Relations, Ambassador of India to Croatia H.E. Mr. Raj Kumar Srivastava & other speakers. 

  Ambassador  of India to Croatia, Raj Srivastava: “From the perspective of philosophical foundation of Indian thoughts as said by Swami Vivekanand – the diversity is actually the manifestation of inherent unity – and therefore one should not be surprised at Unity in Diversity of India. Sardar Patel did a great service to the nation by political uniting the country post independence, a fitting tribute to him to celebrate National Unity Day on his birth anniversary”.

H.E. Mrs. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, 4th President of Croatia: “India’s success in sustaining its unity while cherishing its unparalleled diversity is a great hope and model for the rest of the world. While we refer to Flag of India as an emerging economy, in many ways India has already emerged as a world power”.

H.E. Mr. Dinesh K Patnaik, Director General of Indian Council For Cultural Relations: “India doesn’t manage its diversity, rather it creates conditions and continuous interactions to flourish it’s diversity. When you see percentages in India it might not give you the magnitude – 0.77% Buddhist population counts to 8.4 million people. Hindu religion by itself is not a uniform religion but full of its own shades of diversities”.

Mrs. Ruzica Cicak Chand, PhD, Professor of Indian &  Buddhist Studies/Scientific Adviser at Institut za migracije i narodnosti talked about the relationship between secularism & multiculturalism in contemporary India. 

Mrs. Marijana Janjic, PhD, Professor of Indian linguistic, talked about the preservation of linguistic diversity in India.