PEACE IN PLURAL SOCIETIES — Reflections

So, in this regard, we should do exactly what we generally do with regard to all other divisive issues — that is, to solve the problem on the basis of the principle of tolerance. One should deal with the matter with methods that accord with reality, rather than through confrontation. Using confrontation and violence in this matter will only further exacerbate the problem, rather than solve it. In this context, there is an important issue that needs to be clarified. Some people claim that India belongs to the Hindus, and that their loyalty is to this country. They claim that this is different with the Muslims of the country, whose centres of devotion — for instance, Makkah and Madinah — are located outside India. That is why, they allege, Muslims cannot be loyal to India. I see this issue differently, however. Suppose a Hindu is devoted to the temple of Somnath, this does not mean that he cannot be devoted to a temple located elsewhere, too. If a person loves his mother, it surely does not mean that he has no love for his father. Similarly, if an Indian Muslim has an emotional bonding with Makkah and Madinah, it does not mean that he has no such bonding with India. To think otherwise is to underestimate his innate humanity. Any person, be he or she Hindu or Muslim, is an expression of nature, and nature has made every human being with enough inner spaciousness to contain within him or her multiple loves and loyalties. This is such a basic fact of life that every person can testify to it personally. Every man and woman knows this from his or her own experience. As a Western thinker very aptly put it, ‘I am large enough to contain all these contradictions’. Religion and Politics Religion is very often invoked in communal conflicts. Repeatedly, political and communal controversies are turned into so-called religious controversies. And then, people’s passions are roused, leading to confrontation and violence between communities. Because of this, many people have turned against religion itself. They say that human beings have no need for religion at all, and that, hence, religion must be destroyed. Only then, they contend, is societal unity possible. This, however, is an extremist response to an extremist stance, a secular extremist reaction to religious extremism. It is neither possible nor useful. The fact is that religion in itself is not a problem. Religion