Sir,
What is happening around us these days is heart rending and disappointing. We live in an era of Rights—-Human Rights, Women’s Rights, Minority Rights. Nowhere is that truer than in our country where all sorts of rights are being enshrined in special legislation. But long before the current rush to grant Indian citizens rights, ever since the Constitution was passed in fact, Indians have enjoyed Freedom of Religion as a Fundamental Right. Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, entitled Right to Freedom of Religion says, “all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice, and propagate religion”. Spelling out the Right to Equality, the Constitution also says,” The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth.” Wisely, the Constitution makers insisted on reminding Indian citizens that with their rights came duties.
This is something which is all too often forgotten in the universal clamour for rights. One of the duties of the Indian Citizen is, “to promote harmony and spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic, and regional or sectional diversities.
When Indian citizens fail in their duty to transcend religious and other diversities, the Right to Freedom of Worship has no validity. Law and order break down and people are too fearful to practice their religion opemly, or practice it in an aggressive manner. It is very important for political and religious leaders that they preach and teach the duty to transcend diversities.
At the same time it is essential for the survival of harmonious religious diversity that when relations between believers in different faiths break down, the causes are fully understood.
It is very important that the origin of riots which appear to be religious are understood. There is perhaps nothing which does more to defame religion than the impression that it is divisive and the cause of all, or most, of the strife in the world. Religious leaders have to play their part in nurturing Indian Secularism; they in particular have a duty to transcend religious diversities.
Yours etc……
Predhuman K.Joseph Dhar,
Jammu.
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