Minister bats for inter-faith dialogue, searching commonalities to end violence

Bengaluru, Nov 30: Union Minister for Minority Affairs Najma Heptulla has called for inter-religion dialogues in Indian to bring about better understanding among people of different religions and help establish peace.

Delivering the Dr. Stanley Samartha Memorial Lecture' on dialogue in a multi-religious context' here on Saturday, she expressed concern over the growing use of religion to exacerbate violence.

Ms Heptulla, who is also the grand-niece of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, said that searching as well as understanding the commonalities among different religions would help pave the way for an inter-religious dialogue.

“Such a dialogue may not solve all problems, including communal strife, overnight. But it can always help defuse an explosive situation,” she said.

Ms. Heptulla noted that in a pluralist society like that of India, peace could be established only on the basis of dialogue and not on the basis of aggressive assertion of sectarian rights. Peace was the fundamental building block of economic development, she said.

Expressing concern over religion being used in various countries by “messengers of violence” as a polarising factor to make gullible people follow the path of conflict and self-destruction, she said this was a “manufactured conflict” for serving vested interests by using religion.

She maintained that such vested interests were insulating themselves and their followers against the true teachings of their own religion giving a one-sided and narrow interpretation to suit their destructive agenda.