In order to counter hatred and animosity, to preserve the plural idea of India and to restore communal harmony in the wake of a series of communal violence and seed of hatred sown to divide the communities with hate speeches, leaders belonging to various faiths assembled with a pledge to thwart any attempt made by any group or political party to enthuse hatred and animosity, at a joint press meet called by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, at the Press Club of India, in the national capital on 4 October.
Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Omari, Amir Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, while addressing the press meet, said that India has been traditionally a religious country and therefore it is the responsibility of religious leaders to restore communal harmony and come forward to bridge trust deficit. But unfortunately, the religious leaders either chose to remain silent in such situations or if they say something they opt to add more fuel to the already volatile situations. Therefore, it is the duty and responsibility of the religious leaders to take initiative to thwart any attempt by divisive forces aimed at creating hatred within the communities, disturbing peaceful atmosphere and harming the social fabric and cultural ethos of the country.
“After taking stock of the situation following a series of riots during the last six months particularly in Uttar Pradesh, the state government failed to respond to the situation in the desired manner. Riots generally are of internecine nature as it affects both the communities. Loss of life and property due to riots also affects the state and the country. In order to promote the message of peace and tranquillity and cordial atmosphere to bridge the trust deficit, the Jamaat has launched a massive campaign in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and if there is a need at other places, it will reach out to those places to restore normalcy with coordination and cooperation from all religious leaders. So far Jamaat has organised peace initiative campaign at more than 100 places in various parts of Uttar Pradesh,” said Ameer JIH.
The JIH leader also stressed that if religious leaders jointly raise their voice or give a call that riots must not happen and those responsible must be brought to book, then this collective voice will be ignored neither by the people nor by the government. And if they vow to address these issues jointly with total commitment then the divisive forces will not succeed to divide the communities either on religious or communal lines. He also informed the audience that the Jamaat was one of the firsts to reach out to help the non-Muslim victims of the flood in Uttarakhand which is a glaring example of communal harmony and must be reciprocated by people from all faiths during riots or any calamity.
Shankaracharya Swami Onkaranandji, while replying to a question, said that BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj’s allegation that madrasas are a “hub of terror” is baseless and Sakshi Maharaj is ignorant about Madrasas. Sakshi Maharaj or people like Yogi Adityanath are not religious leaders and are spreading baseless rumours.
Father Dominic, a Christian leader and Editor of The World Among Us expressed deep anguish over permission granted for live coverage of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Dusehra speech on the Doordarshan and wondered what is happening in our country and where we are heading towards. Father Dominic also questioned as to whether all religious leaders would be provided a slot for live telecast to be addressed by religious heads during festivals as provided to RSS chief.
Lokesh Muni, founder president, Ahimsa Vishva Bharti, said our country has established a unique image of itself as a country of youth and the youth believe and crave for development. The basic requirements of development are peace and without peace development is next to impossible. When the youth of the country are willing to march towards the path of development, the communal forces and people with divisive agenda are trying to divide the people and create hatred and ill feeling among the communities which is very dangerous and must be countered by religious leaders at all levels.
Maulana Jalal Haider, Gen. Secretary, Majlis Ulma-e-Hind, reminded that whenever the country had reached a breakaway point, the religious leaders have always stood up and foiled any attempt to divide it. The religious leaders and the media fraternity should play a constructive role to keep the country united.
Mr. Rajinder Singh, Mukh Granthi, Gurudwara Rakab Ganj, while appreciating the peace campaign of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, asked all the religious leaders to actively support the campaign launched by the JIH so that those trying to divide societies are not successful in their nefarious design.