Community leaders call for peace, brotherhood; condemn hate politics

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

Swami Rishimitra, the state secretary of Arya Samaj, condemned the government's hateful politics and called for unity and brotherhood at a conference organised by Karnataka Dharmika Sauharda Vedike on Monday.

Community leaders of Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh communities attended the conference. They spoke about the fragmentation in society and pushed for communal harmony, peace and mutual cooperation.

"Pain is an indicator of life. When you feel the pain you know you are alive, that is why we have to acknowledge that other people can and do feel pain," Swami Rishimitra said. He added that how WhatsApp forwards have corrupted the minds of the people. Also urged all his fellow religious leaders to teach their listeners how to "evaluate the truth and learn to be humans."

Dr Belgami Saad, the President of Jamaat Islamia Hind said, "The purpose of having a conference like this is to protect the long tradition of the country." He was speaking about India's history of secularism, federalism, and religious tolerance. He criticised the misuse of religion to spread hatred and propaganda. "As people of the almighty, it is incumbent upon us to come together more often," he told the other community leaders.

He explained that a "country cannot only have industrial and economic growth; also the growth of humanity and morality is much needed." He urged the citizens of "this beloved country" to love and understand each other."

Mohammad Saleem Engineer, the President of Rashtriya Dharmik Jan Morcha called for communal harmony, communal amity, mutual love and mutual trust. He also explained the religious leaders had decided to spread awareness about the social evils in society and fight them together. "Under the garb of religion, people are doing anti-religious things," he said while talking about the communal tensions in the country.

Swamy Divyajnananda from Dodballapura asked people to stop insulting themselves and start respecting others. He also spoke about the importance of events like this and said that many more such conferences with many more religious leaders should be held.

Jasbhir Singh, the priest of Bengaluru's Gurudwara, spoke about the importance of preserving our diversity. "India is like a garden. There are many kinds of flowers; there are even fruits; all of them together make the garden beautiful," he said.

The Karnataka Dharmika Sauharda Vedike, a forum for religious cooperation plans to organise more such conferences in the future to spread the message of love and brotherhood.