Successful Hindu-Muslim Dialogue

SUCCESSFUL HINDU-MUSLIM DIALOGUE intellectual development. Such development can come about only as a result of social interaction, intellectual exchange, and interfaith dialogue. I give herein certain principles for successful dialogue. The dialogue, if it has to succeed, should not take the form of polemics. Participants in the dialogue should not become spokesmen of their respective communities. What should be uppermost in their minds is the vaster national interest and what the path is for the betterment of both communities. Both the parties in the dialogue will have to commit themselves to differentiate between issues and non-issues; they will not hold any matter as a prestige issue; they will not adopt the way of claim and counterclaim; they will only say something keeping the result before them; that they will be impartial; that while pressing their demands they will also be willing to concede that while taking from others they will also be willing to give. I would like to emphasize that the dialogue is not a meeting of rivalry but a brotherly meeting. Such noble tasks are performed by rising above the defeat-victory psychology. The dialogue aims to solve the matter and not confound it. The feeling at work behind dialogue is one of reconciliation and not one of rivalry. Dialogue means an attempt to solve controversial matters through negotiation rather than through confrontation. If a dialogue is started with this spirit its success is certain. A dialogue keeping this spirit in view can surely open the closed door provided it is conducted with true spirit, and results in the progress of the country and each community.