INTERFAITH PEACEMAKING AND ITS RELEVANCE

When you meet someone for the very first time, what should you notice about them? Their
intellect? If they’re humble and compassionate or not? Can they be a positive inclusion in
your life? No, people actu don’t ask these questions to themselves. They instead go on
asking just one question, that is, if that person comes from a religion which does seem a
threat to their own religion. This innate fear of losing one’s religious identity to some other
religion is what creates friction between the individuals of different religious communities. If
we look at the prevalent religious beliefs in India as of now we can obsethis similar sense of
fear of losing one’s religions identity. This fear leads to a sense of intolerance for the other
religions like Hindus have towards Muslims and vice-e-versa.
When we look at India we don’t see the technological advancement or that we have attained,
all we see is the people and our colourful culture, the diversity and most of all the secularism
and spirituality that we follow so passionately. We as a nation resembled the idea of
tolerance and harmony but now we’re on the path to become a bunch of passive aggressive
protectors of our religion. A nation as diverse as India needs to protect its diversity by
promoting the idea of interfaith peacekeeping. India has the largest population in the entire
world which means we’ve a huge quantity of assets which is losing it’s quality to fight a
superficial religious battle.
Importance of interfaith peacekeeping can be understood from the ongoing friction between
Hindus and Muslims. My observation and understanding of this dispute has made me reach
the conclusion that this intolerance makes the religions vulnerable while exposing them to be
exploited. Take this instance for better understanding, a middle age Hindu man in Kashmir
raped an 11-year old Muslim girl. When he was asked why he did what he did during the
investigation, he defended himself by claiming it as a method of taking revenge from the
Muslim community. Now this is a classic example of how religion has become so vulnerable
that such a man is using it to hide his utmost derogatory act.
This broadly highlights why we need an initiative for interfaith peacekeeping especially in
India. Our diversity is something that we boast of but it’s also the biggest reason why we
need this initiative. We have a population of 1.3 Billion people which has accommodated
most of the religions of the world including tribal population and that’s the diversity we are
failing to hold on to as of now.
This interfaith rivalry also puts the minorities in a disadvantageous position in all aspects e it
education, healthcare, employment or anything and also it affects the political and economic
stability of a nation. Interfaith cooperation is a vital part of economic development because,
firstly it maintains the righteous and productive path for the youth and secondly it disrupts the
flow of economic activities which forms the base of our national progress.
However, if we look at India’s efforts to initiate the Interfaith peacemaking there are some of
the notable efforts which have been significant like “Interfaith Harmony Conclave”,
organised by the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA). The conclave brings together
leaders from different faiths, including Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, and
Christianity, to promote interfaith harmony and sustainable development.
Another initiative was “Interfaith Peacebuilding Initiative”, launched by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with Civil society organisations in India.
The initiative focuses on building the capacity of community leaders, activists, and youth to
promote interfaith dialogue and prevent communal violence. These initiatives positively
supported by the media can transform the dialogue between the various religions. Role of
the media is crucial because the majority of our Indian population finds this medium to be the
most credible when it comes to forming opinions and ideologies. Hence the media is the
epicentre of creating interfaith peacekeeping initiatives.
Overall Interfaith peacemaking holds as much importance as becoming the next superpower
in the world does. We as a nation driven by its youth should take active measures to
maintain harmony amongst our diverse population. India as a nation stands on the pillars of
harmony, humanity, secularism and democracy. Interfaith cooperation strengthens all four
pillars of our national integrity and we ought to harness our efforts in its protection.