End hatred, spread love

Spreading hatred and unleashing violence in the name of God and religion is escalating day by day in the country with the communal forces gaining strength in number as well as power after the BJP government came to power.

Verbal and physical attacks tainted with communal poison and violence targeted particularly at the people belonging to different faiths is being continued with no proper and stringent action from the Modi government. Around 600 incidents of communal riots have been reported after the present government assumed office. The attacks hurt the religious sentiments of the people, provoking aggression and igniting skirmishes across the country. Modi has kept a meaningful silence despite several incidents of such communal incidents. The recent incidents indicate the pitiable situation of India and the growing levels of the insanity, communal hatred and violence towards women.

The recent attacks on churches in Pakistan, in the area home to about a million Christians, the incident of a furious mob breaking into a jail in Nagaland and dragging out an alleged rapist and parading him naked before thrashing and lynching him to death and the gang-rape of an elderly nun in Bengal brought shock to the entire world. Subramanian Swamy, adding to his bundle of issues, recently made a controversial comment in Assam that “a mosque is not a religious place. It is just a building and it can be demolished any time” angering the people and sparking condemnation. He described temples as places where Gods live. The communal forces with their new attained “political power” propagate hatred among the people and divide them along sectarian lines. Similar incidents are continued to be reported in continents like Asia, Africa and Europe.

Religion has been present from time immemorial affecting almost every aspect of human civilization from personal ethics to national politics. It has had both positive as well as negative sides. All religions share the same essential purpose but battle with each other to attain superiority. God is an embodiment of love and peace and the sacred texts be it the Quran or the Bible promote love and equality stressing upon the need to enlighten oneself spiritually and cleanse the soul. It warns of severe punishments for unleashing hatred, violence and bloodshed. The holy texts endorse the message ‘hate the sin but not the sinner’. Hatred and violence would only lead to bloodshed and destroy the humanity as a whole let alone ruining the peace and communal harmony. Therefore targeting the places of worship and people belonging to other faiths would be a futile exercise. The religious outfits igniting communal sentiments of the innocents should be strictly restricted.