ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION ON 'SOCIO-RELIGIOUS HARMONY: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS'

Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi, in collaboration with Interfaith Foundation India, New Delhi, and Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi, organized a Round Table Discussion at Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi, on 20 May 2017. The Theme of the discussion was 'Socio-religious Harmony: Challenges and Prospects'. The Discussion was chaired and moderated by Prof. M. M. Verma, President, Interfaith Foundation India, New Delhi. Mr Ashok Pradhan, Director, Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi, welcomed the participants and Dr M. D. Thomas, Founder Director, Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi, delivered the keynote address at the discussion.

Dr M. D. Thomas, in his keynote address, raised various key issues that are related to socio-religious harmony. Introducing the discussion, he said that social harmony and religious harmony are neither like two compartments nor parallel lines, but are like two sides of the same coin. They affect each other intimately. Therefore, when in unison, they can either enrich or mess up civic life. He highlighted the 'hyper-reactive' and 'highly inflammable' character of religion, comparing with the bush 'touch-me-not' and the truck that carries 'petrol and diesel' respectively. He cautioned all responsible people against allowing religion to flare up and cause tension in the society. He insinuated on the recent phenomenon of playing with highly-emotionalized 'non-issues' in the pretext of religion and how they pollute the social setting of the society. Certainly, this game is gravely detrimental to religious and social harmony alike.

Commenting on the current issue of 'teen talaaq', Dr Thomas stated that the issue applies to ghoonghat, parda, touching the feet of husband, karwachauth, etc, in a more or less equal way. The mastermind of the Creator is first and foremost reflected in the idea of male and female. To consider one gender superior and the other inferior on the basis of the different roles they are called upon to play in life is a fundamental confusion. This attitude violates the very logic of faith. Recognizing the creative design of God is the primary step on the ladder of faith. Discriminatory perceptions and practices have been the villain element that is responsible for inflicting diverse types of ruthless crimes on women and this element has very badly upset the equilibrium of social life. In this regard, religion has been deeply part of the problem, regretfully so. Therefore, the dignity and equality of genders have to be upheld, in favour of harmonious living in the society.

Discussing the recent objection to the misuse of loudspeakers raised by the renowned play back singer Sonu Nigam, Dr M. D. asserted that no one has a licence to disturb others in the name of religion, which is supposed to be a symbol of peace-processes. Azaan, bhajan, keertan, etc should not be a pretext for imposing religion upon others. Doing so, is a violation of the fundamental rights of the old, the sick, the youth and the babes, especially in the respective neighbourhoods. To make religion a nuisance factor is to make an outright nonsense out of it. Custodians of the respective religion have to appropriate effective measures to arrest such unruly practices, so that religion does not become a liability in social life. The question of Sonu Nigam, 'when will the forced religiousness end in India?' requires a responsible answer in practice, in view of better prospects for harmonious living as well as for sustaining religion as a level-headed endeavour. The ban of loudspeakers at the sacred time between 22.00 hours and 06.00 hours by the Supreme Court is an unassailable norm and requires being scrupulously honoured.

Advancing the discussion of the factors that disrupt socio-religious harmony, Dr Thomas commented on the dangerous combination of religion and politics. He said that both religion and politics have an inbuilt tendency to subjugate, domesticate and rule over people, even in the name of God. The world history has proved that the religio-political combine is the most detrimental to a humane social life. Several countries in the course of history have discarded it and gone beyond it. It is a pity that India, that too in the 21st century, is deeply indulged in it. When the largest political party and the majority religious community have an ideological nexus with each other, the consequences, observably, could be the most drastic. Distorted definitions of 'deshbhakti' and 'deshdroh' and their tragic after effects on well-meaning people and on minor communities are too noticeable to be mentioned. A genuine commitment to citizens of all communities and affiliations as well as a scrupulous commitment to transparency and good governance is the measure that can ensure real progress and wellbeing of one and all. I believe, that is what is meant by the telling slogan 'sabkaa saath, sabakaa vikaas'. Separation of religion and state is the elementary ethical norm that can usher in a harmonious society.

Dr Thomas commented further on the inconsistency between religion and ethics in India. He observed that India is known to be a religious country. People of quite a lot of countries also consider so. It is true that almost all the major religions of the world are present in India. There are millions and billions of places of worship of different traditions and lots of rituals like pooja, aartee, namaaj, arz and prayers happen there. People are very much habituated to spend a high amount of time in fasts, pilgrimages and other superstitious practices. But, the other side of the story is that there is a huge deficit of ethics in public and even private life. Living ethical values is the sign of a religion that is worth the while. The bankruptcy of the ethical fibre in life in workplaces, markets and neighbourhoods as well as homes prove the futility of the large volume of religious practices. They contradict the superlative claims of religion and spirituality of the country, too. When religion does not empower people with ethical behaviour, in thought, word and deed, religion, in fact, ceases to exist. In such a state of affairs, it is pointless to expect harmony in social life. Responsible people of religious and socio-administrative sectors require serious introspection, along with effective measures for strengthening the ethical fibre of the nation.

Towards the end of his keynote address, Dr M. D. drew the attention of the participants of the discussion to the sharp contradiction between the filthy rich religious and corporate campuses and the abjectly poor people of the streets in the country. He expressed shock at the alarming rate of increase in the number of millionaires and billionaires in India. He also condemned the multi-crore and mighty structures of temples, churches, gurudwaras and mosques as vainglories. He expressed strong disapproval of the trillions worth of gold, silver and cash accumulated in Padmanabh temple of Thiruvannathapauram and other temples and places of worship as dead and sinful wealth, as well. All these become shockingly scandalous because 25 to 30 crores of human beings in India are either homeless or are living on the road sides, lanes and under the bridges or are deprived of the basic amenities of life. The callousness of the religious, political, corporate and governmental sectors is a 'national shame' to the country, to the utter surprise of the entire world. This is, without doubt, is a major crime against human rights and humanity itself, which in no way can be justified. Could not the riches of the above sectors be shared with the poor, yes, the real 'divine abodes', in order to ensure them decent homes and basic needs, so that, instead of the cities, people would become 'smarter'? Only such a drastic measure will pave the way for equality, dignity and harmony in the society.

Dr M. D. Thomas concluded his address inviting the stakeholders of religion, politics, governance, administration, education, scholarship and industry in the society to do the necessary home work in the above areas. He also expressed firm hope that this round table discussion of experts and scholars of diverse sectors and walks of life will respond to the vital issues and suggest ways and means to improve the quality of the national society. Addressing the challenges of socio-religious harmony in our country in a responsible way is the way forward to good prospects for harmonious living, the milestones of which are unbiased thinking, ethical values, strategic measures and harmonious living.

Mr S. N. Sahu, Joint Secretary Rajya Sabha Secretariat, furthered the keynote address towards vigilantism and hooliganism in the name of cow protection and beef eating that are messing up the equilibrium of social life in the country, as part of majoritarian politics. He argued his point from the Gandhian perspective and quoted his speech at the Champaran Satyagrah 100 years ago, 'killing a Muslim in the name of cow protection is not a religious act' and 'it is not in the way of swaraj'. Therefore, the anarchic style of cow protection is totally disoriented and the criminal killing of human beings in the name of cows cannot be warranted on any ground. Mr Sahu exposed the history of the entire controversy, quoting Swami Vivekanand, 'there was a time in this very India when, without eating beef, no Brahmin could remain a Brahmin'. When agrarian culture started and prospered, killing of cattle became less and food habits got changed. Therefore, there is nothing religious about the food habits of the country, especially in the current issue, and so the criminal way of vigilantism is a question of law and order only. It is up to the custodians of governance and administration to appropriate stringent measures to deal with the matter and thus maintain good sense and harmony in the society.

Prof. S. M. Sajid, Professor, Department of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, said that absence of harmony is causing distress, tension, conflict and even violence. The strength of the Indian society is 'diversity' and that is reflected in religion, culture, language, dress, food habits, and the like. Appreciating diversity and difference is the first lesson in the school of harmony. The difference with which God created human beings is good and healthy and that has to be preserved as a fundamental tenet of faith for all. There are different styles of governance, like democracy, marxism and socialism, which are prevalent in the world. The ideological, cultural and sociological differences are central to the harmonious journey of the human society to its ultimate goal. The present scenario of the country reflects a lot of confusion among people with regard to differences with one another. Ruling out differences and violating human beings and communities would mean going back to 'jungle raj' and that can lead the human civilization to a fatal heartbreak. This tragedy definitely has to be avoided.

Furthering the theory of disharmony, Dr Sajid discussed the malady of both making and considering religion a problem, especially in the public domain. Religion amounts to be problem because people abuse and misuse it in public as well as misunderstand it. He questioned the very logic of 'one deciding what the other has to do'. He pinpointed the decline in the capacity of listening as the core reason for the problem of disharmony. In fact, listening is more important than speaking. Without listening one cannot understand or engage meaningfully with the other. Educating the future generation in the capacity for listening will go a long way in enabling them to penetrate into the roots of disharmony and to develop strategies for facilitating the dynamics of harmonious living in the society. Extending food, shelter, education, health and dignity to one and all has to be the priority of life. It is high time to think 'what I and we can do' rather than expecting what the other would do, he added.

Mr Ghulam Rasool Dehalvi, a scholar on Islam, advanced the hot issue of 'triple talaaq' initiated in the keynote address. Shedding light on the matter, he asserted that the idea is pre-Islamic. Quoting Advocate Kapil Sibbal, 'the practice of 'triple talaaq' existed over the last 1400 years and is part of Quran', he disproved it saying that the argument is a misinterpretation of Quran. He informed the house that 'more than 25 Islamic countries do not approve the practice of triple talaaq' and argued strongly for banning it.

In addition, Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar underlined a few of the strengths in India in the area of gender equality, like voting right and reservation for women. Dr Markandey Rai suggested the making of a plan of action for promoting harmony in the society. Dr Monica Sharma placed a focus on bettering the policy of education, in favour of equipping the up-coming generation in becoming catalysts of social harmony. Prof. Goswami added art and culture also as tools for harmony. Rabbi Ezekiel Malekar called for a re-thinking of the reservation system on the basis of economy, rather than caste and religion. General P. K. Sehgal affirmed improving the quality of rural education, especially at primary level. Prof. Hanif Khan Shastri said mutual collaboration, as per the teaching of Veda, is an effective tool for fostering harmony. Mr M. P. Lele stressed on the spirit of solidarity for improving harmonious living.

In the concluding address, Prof. M.M. Verma emphasized the relevance of such exchange of views among thinking people, in view of enhancing a healthy and sound opinion-making. Mr Ashok Pradhan, by way of the welcome address at the kick-off of the discussion, called the attention of the assembly to respecting the fundamental rights of all citizens and promoting universal consciousness and ethics, in order to ensure social justice, in the wake of the increasing wave of disharmony in the society. The round table discussion was participated by reputable scholars, experts and activists of cross-cultural perspectives and social harmony, hailing from all communities, approximately 40 in number. The discussion commenced at 10.30 hours and concluded at 13.30 hours, followed by lunch.