A crusader with 'common sense' (FEATURE) By Imran Khan, Indo-Asian News Service
Patna, June 1 (IANS) A man in Bihar is seeking to fight social ills, including religious hatred and fundamentalism, with an uncommon weapon: common sense. Fifty-five-year-old M.T. Khan believes that lack of rational thinking and reasoning is to blame for most of the ills facing Indian society in general and Bihar in particular. For nearly two decades, Khan has tirelessly sought to spread the virtues of rational and scientific thinking through his Institute for Developing Common Sense in Bihar's capital Patna. Khan, who works as deputy registrar in the Patna High Court, said the unprecedented sectarian violence in Gujarat would not have taken place if the people had applied common sense and acted rationally. "Common sense makes a truly religious person tolerant. This paves the way for unity in diversity," he said. "One should not impose one's beliefs on others. Let other people use their common sense to believe or disbelieve in your beliefs," he added. Khan said when he began disseminating the virtues of common sense in the early eighties, but his ideas did not make much sense to the people. "It was a strange idea then to work for the cause of common sense in a society like Bihar," recalled Khan of his initial journey. But now ex-judges, advocates, educationists and academics have joined hands with Khan who devotes most of his free time working for the institute that he has set up to promote peaceful coexistence in a highly diverse Indian society. Khan funds all the institute's work out of his own resources, whether it's printing and distributing pamphlets or organising seminars, symposia and group discussions and interaction session. According to Khan, common sense is the intelligence that an adult is normally expected to exhibit in practical matters. "It is the key faculty monitoring the sense organs, helping one to distinguish between the baser and higher values." "The word 'common sense' is commonly heard but not always understood. It is not the sixth sense. Instead, it plays an important role in monitoring the five senses," said Khan, while expressing his resolve to continue urging people to use their common sense to deal with all kinds of problems. --Indo-Asian News Service =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
