Communalism will tear culture apart, says PM

NEW DELHI: Observing that secularism meant separation of religion from politics, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that inciting people on religious grounds was betraying both religion and the Constitution.

Maintaining that forces of bigotry and communalism were trying to tear apart the 'fine fabric of our composite culture', he said 'what is worse than that is the deployment of such intolerance for narrow political gain'.

"Any political formation trying to incite people in the name of religion, whatever religion, is in fact betraying both religion and our Constitution," the Prime Minister said while inaugurating a two-day Inter-Faith Harmony Conclave.

The Constitution was based on equal respect for all faiths, Singh said, "when we say our Constitution is secular, we mean that it espouses the separation of religion from politics and governance.

"The Constitution accords equal status to all religious faiths. The idea of equality is important," the Prime Minister said.

"When we talk of majority and minority community, these numerical notions are based on political and social concepts. They are not spiritual categories. They are not based on a value judgement," Singh said.

Observing that all religions were equal, 'just as all human beings', he said 'when we view each other as equals, we try to live in harmony. We try to practice tolerance".

Quoting Swami Vivekananda, Singh said tolerance could be for an unequal, but there could be harmony only between equals.

"Harmony requires mutual respect. One can be tolerant of another without being respectful of harmony. True harmony is based on mutual respect and regard", he said, adding that he preferred the concept of religious harmony.

"The world view of India's composite culture and respect for the faith of one another has been the basis of its nationhood, Singh said.

"We have not merely learnt to live and let live. We have in fact learnt to live together, grow together, learn together. Even as each one of us remains devoted to our own individual faith, we have learnt to respect the faith of another", the Prime Minister said at the function.

The conclave, organised by the Inter-Faith Harmony Foundation and Indian Council for Cultural Relations, is being attended by leaders of nine world religions from eight SAARC countries, besides former and present Ministers, politicians and prominent figures from these nations.

Maintaining that building a modern nation on the foundations of their social and religious diversity had great significance, Singh said, "nations big and small will have to come to terms with their growing internal diversity. No modern and open society can be a monolith."

He said the nations and societies which sought to impose uniformity would 'give way to those who embrace diversity. Every nation will have to learn to deal with the political, cultural and social consequences and implications of such diversity'.

Earlier, ICCR President Karan Singh said many people were being killed, maimed and tortured in the name of God who was considered to be compassionate.

Religion was being misused by forces in many parts of the world, he said referring to the menace of terrorism.

Referring to the inter-faith movement, Karan Singh, who is also chairing the conclave, said the movement has not yet gained entry into the global centre-stage, even though all religions were flourishing in their own right.

He stressed that inter-faith movement engulfing all universal values should be focused upon to put an end to fundamentalism.

Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit also spoke at the function, which was being attended among others by Pakistan Information Minister Syed Ali Durrani, chief of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf and former cricketer Imran Khan, former Bangladesh Foreign Minister Kamal Hossain, besides intellectuals and religious leaders from Sri Lanka, Maldives and the United States.