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Importance of  Interfaith Dialogue for Social Harmony

                                                                           Neelakanta Radhakrishnan

It has to be admitted that the venom of caste and communal feelings has spread to almost all layers of our social and political life and several long-term and short-term policies are to be evolved and implemented both at the national and local levels in order to stem the rising tide of communal frenzy which has unfortunately blinded considerable section of our country’s population particularly the youth.

The problem should not be looked at from the angle of majority or minority rights and privileges but one of national importance.

 Suggestions for consideration

          The following might be useful suggestion when a national initiative is thought about to combat these evils and involve students and youth at various levels in creative activities which would make learning an enjoyable process :

1. Promotion of right understanding of religions and stressing the common core of all religions, as emphasized by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi’s concept of equal respect for all religions is to be stressed through inter-religious dialogues and exchange of ideas.

2. Adopting educational measures for promoting inter-religious unity which may include prayer, meditation, imparting of moral education, establishment of inter-religious groups and stressing the importance of sharing and communion both at the formal and non-formal levels.

3. Teaching of history in schools and colleges needs revision. The present pattern and the books hardly create any harmony.

          The ancient period of Indian history was identified as Hindu and Buddhist period, the medieval period as Muslim period and the later period up to 1947 as British period. This communal way of presenting Indian history is thoroughly misleading and it invariably tends to bias the mind.

          It is argued that the teaching of Indian history in secular government schools in free India also instead of creating harmony very often assumes the overtones of communalism and casteism. Social and cultural changes are practically ignored in their accounts. The religious bigotry and fanatic zeal of certain rulers find a prominent mention. The ethnic divisions of Muslim rulers such as Mongols, Afghans, Turks, Persians,Arabs are virtually blurred. The caste system of Hindus is rightly emphasized and condemned, but the caste divisions among the Muslims are practically ignored and underplayed.

4. Teachers also need orientation on how to stress unity and common goals and exercise an integrative and formative influence on the younger generation.

5. Another major step we should contemplate is the removal of suspicion of alienating the young from the older generation on the ground that these ostensibly secular moves on the part of the Hindu dominated Government could be a subterfuge to submerge the separate identity of the Muslims as Muslims and wean away their children from Islam.

6. Organizing inter-religious youth camps and exchange programmes affording opportunities to youth from different religious groups for staying together and working together animated by the spirit of the basic unity of all religions and sections of people.   Taking steps to see that the mass media are not used to promote communal hatred and inter-religious feuds and to use the force of religion to combat violence prompted by the abuse of alcohol and improper use of drugs.

8. Enlisting the co-operation of all sections of the society for carrying out these programmes. Special emphasis may be laid on the role of religious leaders, teachers and parents, scientists, journalists, youth, women and voluntary organizations so that,

a) Religious leaders and leaders of caste based organizations realize  that their duty is to stress the positive role of religion for promoting peace and understanding.

b) Journalists should make an attempt to stress the positive role of religion and highlight constructive efforts made be organizations and others in promoting harmony and good-will instead of going after sensational news.

c) Women and women’s organizations have to play a very important  and specific role in promoting peace. This, they can do by educating  children at home as also by participating in all programmes, especially those meant to give an idea of the havoc wrought by  war. They should also lend strong support to protests against the misuse  of the mass media.

9. Text-books should carefully be selected in schools and colleges. Books containing negative ideas that militate against religious harmony should be

discarded and only those with positive integrating ideas should be encouraged.

10. Good books from different religions in one language may be translated into other languages.

11.Study of comparative religions be introduced in the curricula at all levels.

12. Research on comparative religions may be promoted. Projects which      come under this umbrella be suitably assisted.

13. Lectures be arranged and symposia and seminars held frequently on religious faiths and strengthening of secularism.

14. Steps to celebrate all religious festivals by all sections together be thought about. Exchange of gifts, mutual invitations and visits during important religious festivals be encouraged.

15. The activities of Youth Movements like the Shanti Sena of Gandhi which strives to promote religious tolerance and training of youth in nonviolence be studied and if possible similar efforts initiated on a larger basis both in the educational institutions and outside.

16. Youth camps be organized on a regular basis and attendance at these camps may suitably recognized

 17.  Sports and games will help greatly to bring about emotional integration of people. Hence, they should be encouraged. Greater emphasis should be given to organize such activities on inter-state basis.

18. Inter-religious prayers may be organized, if possible in universities and colleges in which songs from different religions may be sung and passages from different scriptures read.

19. The students may be encouraged to visit different places of worship of all religions. These should be accompanied by due explanations of special features.

20. Discussions, debates, and groups singing bring the students closer physically and emotionally and thus help to understand each other better should be encouraged in educational institutions.

21. Group singing has become almost a rare phenomenon. Singing together brings people together. Hence group singing should be arranged. The UGC’s initiative to set-up music choir groups in each college be taken advantage of.

22. Efforts to offer courses/programmes on inter-religious, inter-communal harmony be encouraged.

23. A new type of education is needed for developing a better integrated  learner by revision of courses of study and formulation of schemes of national education from the lowest to the highest, with the purpose of promoting study other religions.

24. Establishment of cells for combating ideas which militate against religious tolerance.

25. Insistence of norms or codes of conduct for religious head, parents, teachers, for students for members of political parties and indeed for citizens of every class for promotion of all ideas which produce unities amidst diversities in religion and culture.

26. A restructure of the education system in order to make it a genuine vehicle of individual transformation and societal change might be a pious wish in the light of the tremendous and imponderable factors. Without demanding any such thing can’t we think in terms of introducing within the existing system programmes that would facilitate teacher-taught dialogue.

27. The Japanese and Chinese system of education holds out hope so far as it would help the young minds shed sloth and aversion to physical labour.

 Gandhi’s words in this context are worth remembering. ‘ The first step in the practice of socialism is to learn to use your hands and feet. It is the only way to eradicate violence and exploitation from society’.

28. The school and college should become the springboard of every kind of artistic innovations which would in the long run reduce the tyranny of text books about which students keep on complaining.

29. A three-way partnership between the school, the home and community should be the aim and we have the extremely valuable experiences of countries which gained tremendously from fostering this partnership. These countries have demonstrated how the school, home and community were to be made responsible for a specific part of the educational task. Schools and colleges, if they have to become functional centres of learning, have to become the nerve centres of the aspirations of the community. The responsibility of parents and others in joining whichever way the efforts of teachers and other education experts is to be stressed and creative involvement of community is to be encouraged.

30.The Shantisena and the Gandhi Peace clubs in educational institutios:the joint initiative of Indian Council of Gandhian Studies, The Shanti Sena Centre in Trivandrum, and the Yuvsatta of Chandigarh to set up Gandhi Peace Clubs/Shantikendras in educational institutions is found to be a very laudable initiative which needs to be examined for wider adoption by national agencies and governments.  
What the younger brother of former President of the US President John F Kennedy said should inspire us to go forward with undaunted courage and conviction: ‘Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills – against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence… Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.

      It is from the numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends a tiny ripple of hope and crossing each from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

I would like to close this discussion by citing a poem by the Persian Poet-Philosopher Hafiz

I

Have

Learned

So much from God

That I can no longer

Call

Myself

A Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim,

A Buddhist, a Jew.