India concerned over increase in resources to violent groups

Dharam Shourie

United Nations, Nov 13 (PTI) Asking the international
community to jointly fight the "twin evils" of extremism and
intolerance, India has voiced concern over the increase in
financial and other resources available to violent groups who
misuse religion to justify and propagate their own agendas.

"The destructive activities of these groups together
with efforts to counter such tendencies divert attention and
much-needed resources from developmental efforts in the
developing nations with potentially serious consequences to
social stability, peace and tranquillity," Minister of State
for External Affairs E. Ahamed told the United Nations General
Assembly (U.N.G.A.) Wednesday.

Stating that modern societies cannot and should not
tolerate terrorism and violence, he warned those "consciously
or unconsciously" abetting extremism to remember that these
are the monsters "that may not easily go away".

He said India is concerned over increase in resources,
financial and otherwise, that are being made available to
violent groups who misuse the "religion to justify and
propagate their own agendas."

Intervening in the debate on "Culture of Peace," he
said all acts of extremism and intolerance run counter to the
central teaching of all religions and faiths which are based
on the universal values of peace, goodness and humanity.

"No religion condones violence and killing of human
beings," he told the 192-member assembly.

Dialogue among different cultures and religions is
important, Ahamed said, adding that it is precisely in the
absence of such dialogue and understanding that intolerance,
bigotry and violence flourish.

The absence of dialogue is one reason that the
extremist ideologies, violence and terrorism has grown, Ahamed
said, adding that there can be no dispute that terrorism,
which a manifestation of extremism, intolerance and violence,
is the antithesis of all religions.

Emphasising the responsibility of member states to do
all in their power to promote tolerance and respect, Ahamed
said eventually a larger platform based on tolerance which
stresses the fundamental equality of all cultural traditions,
religions and faiths would have be built.

The world, he said, is home to such a diversity of
faiths and cultures that proactive dialogue based initiatives
are essential to ensue better understanding between the
peoples.

"Such dialogues should expand mutual comprehension and
reduce misunderstandings and misgivings; indeed, they should
aim to celebrate the infinite diversity that makes up our
world," he told the delegates.

Pointing out that India is home to all major religions
and faiths, he said inter-religious and inter-cultural
dialogue is not new to it.

A true partnership, Ahamed said, derives from a
willingness to engage with each other in a dialogue based
upon equality and mutual respect.

The first philosophical dialogue between India and the
West goes back to the time of ancient Greece, he told the
delegates, adding that as Islam found a home in India, it too
became part of the dialogue of civilizations.

"From this dialogue came new philosophic ideas, as
well as an entire structure of Indo-Islamic culture. This
culture is not only represented in the historical record of
the art and architecture of our subcontinent, it also
flourishes today in numerous spheres.

"The quest for a dialogue was also to find an echo in
the life and works of the father of our nation, Mahatma
Gandhi, who viewed receptivity to other cultures and
traditions as a source of strength and cohesion for any
society," he added.

Ahamed said Kerala, the southern state of the country,
he hails from, is an outstanding example of the tradition of
promoting dialogue and understanding that is to be found in my
country.

Through the ages, he added, Kerala has witnessed the
peaceful co-mingling of different cultures and religions.

"Kerala is the state where Arab Muslim traders first
arrived as messengers of the Islamic faith. The village of
Methala, near the city of Cranganore in Kerala, hosts the
first mosque to be built in the Indian subcontinent, the
Cheraman Juma Masjid," he told the delegates.

It was, he pointed out, constructed around AD 629,
during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet.

"Our history also records that in AD 52, St Thomas,
one of the thirteen apostles of Christ, brought Christianity
to Kerala, landing on its shores in a ship owned by a Jewish
merchant.

The ship docked at a port which was home to a large
trading settlement of Jewish and other people, including from
Rome, Syria, and elsewhere. Indeed, it is in Kerala too that
the Jewish people built what is now one of the oldest
synagogues in the world.

Today, the population of Kerala is almost equally
divided amongst Hindus, Muslims and Christians," Ahamed said.
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