"Citizenship development: why,what and how."

Good citizenship, implying commitment to basic values like duty, discipline, honesty, justice, public interest, is one of the most important determinants of the economic and social progress of a country and of the quality of its day-to-day life. There is wide concern in our country at the increasing deterioration in the level of our citizenship and, consequently, a growing realisation that citizenship development is the crying need of the hour. The desideratum is a well conceived action programme. Realising this, a few like-minded persons have formed under the Presidentship of Justice Shri P. N. Bhagwati of the Supreme Court, the Citizen ship Development Society, on whose behalf I undertook the task of writing this book.

The task of building good citizenship is as formidable as it is urgent. It calls for well thought-out, concerted and planned effort in several directions and by various agencies. Among other measures, there is need to arouse the common man's awareness in regard to the vital role good citizens can play to accelerate econo mic and social progress and to upgrade the quality of day-to-day life. Secondly, citizenship education needs to be strengthened all along the educational ladder-from the primary level to the university level.