Amid criticism that the NDA Government was giving speedy green clearances to big ticket projects in thick forest areas, senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi today said there is a need for a "change of mindset" as "reductionist" approach of Western science had divided the world into rich and poor.
Delivering valedictory address at a two-day national seminar on 'Integral Humanism' here, he said preservation of nature and natural resources was a corollary of integral humanism or 'Ekatma Manava Darshan'.
Noting that 20 per cent of the world population "controls" 80 per cent of resources, the former Union Minister said of seven billion people, only one billion enjoyed the benefits of modern development.
"We now see reductionist approach of Western science has divided the world into rich and poor and destroyed civilization... We demand a change of mindset. Let us raise the level of human consciousness and create a world free from disparity, squalor, illiteracy, and all degrading elements," he told the gathering.
The seminar was organised by Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram, an RSS offshoot in Kerala.
