Vision of a good society

Dr. Abid Hussain has explored the answers to these questions in some detail in his Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture organised and broadcast by All India Radio in October 1994. According to him, the basic features of a good and civilized society are five in number, that is, maintenance of peace and harmony. achievement of material well-being, enhancement of justice and equality, enrichment of community life with a sense of shared identity and commitment to rationality. In support of his thesis, he has cited the writings and sayings of great philosophers, religious leaders and social reformers especially from India. His conclusion is that the challenge each society faces is to harmonise these traits as some are contradictory to each other and some are prone to be pushed to the extreme. He ends on the note that civil society is a good society which is able to find a proper balance among these different attributes.