Don’t link radicalization with specific religion: Sinha

 ‘Fayaz Bukhari   

Violence has no place in civilized society’

Srinagar, Mar 23: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today said that the “radicalization” should not be associated with a specific religion as all religions teach humanity and love.

Speaking at a daylong conference of Muslim religious leaders organised by Jammu and Kashmir Nationalist’s People Front (JKNPF) here at SKICC, Sinha said that the “radicalization” should not be associated with a specific religion.

While appreciating the conduct of the event, the LG said that Jammu and Kashmir has been a hub of spirituality since ancient times and that the problems arise because of ignorance.

“Humanity and love have prevailed here with the existence of different religions. The problem arises because of ignorance. Radicalization should not be associated with a specific religion. With the help of Sufi saints, religious leaders and women in the society this needs to be addressed,” he said.

The LG further said that the youth need to be directed in the right direction and that education needs to be imparted to everyone. “Inspiring folk stories should be translated in all five languages for everyone to get access to those. The administration is doing everything possible in this direction,” he said.

“We all have the responsibility of bringing peace to every nook and corner of the world,” says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, global spiritual leader and peace maker, whose work in peace building has been a source of inspiration for the members of JKNPF, “Unless every member of our global family is peaceful, our peace is incomplete.”

Terming the conference as a historic moment for Jammu and Kashmir, Sinha appreciated the efforts being made to discuss the role of religious leaders and women in creating violence-free society, counter-radicalization and modernization of Madrassa education.

Jammu & Kashmir has remained home to diverse religious and cultural influences which deeply enriched its pluralistic ethos. No development and progress is possible without sustained peace, communal harmony and brotherhood, he said.

The Lt Governor emphasized the need for restoration of the pristine glory of J&K as an abode of peace, amity, communal harmony and brotherhood and urged the people to come forward in achieving this goal.

“Violence has no place in any civilized society and peaceful co-existence is the best means to resolve problems”, he added.

The Lt Governor also highlighted the significant role of family, community influencers, religious and spiritual heads in the counter-radicalization process to thwart any attempt being made from across the border to incite communal hatred in the society.

He further urged the religious heads and women to play an active role in prevention of drug addiction.

On social media based propaganda, the Lt Governor called upon all the stakeholders to make collaborative efforts to check the violent ideology and propaganda being spread on social media by certain groups in radicalizing our young population.

Although, the level of radicalization is comparatively much lesser in Jammu Kashmir, it is very important to focus on counter-radicalization for ensuring social harmony and national security, he added.

The Lt Governor further underlined the important role of mainstream media to counter such elements and extremist ideologies.

“These efforts are not written ideologies or some philosophies but it is about humanness and helping the personality of an individual to grow in the right direction,” he maintained.

Many people distorted the message of Islam and apart from Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, there are many clerics and khatibs who raised voice against deliberate distortion and misinterpretation of the selected portion of Islamic texts. There is a need to check propagation and wrong interpretation of texts from holy books, besides realizing our responsibilities to show the right way and direction to the one who is treading a wrong path, Sinha said.

He termed Jammu and Kashmir as an ocean of spirituality. Here the values of humanity and tolerance emanating from the united culture of Shavisim, Buddhism and Sufism have always flourished over the centuries, he added.

He made special mention of Sufi Saint Farid and Adi Shankaracharya and asked the people to spread their message of humanity and love.

“If you see any religion of the world, it teaches us only two paths – the paths of meditation and love. The problem arises when the original values of the religion are ignored and the spirit of love, kindness, compassion, renunciation which develops the ‘Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava’ and communal harmony is harmed. It is our responsibility to correct the wrong rhetoric and misinterpretation to preserve the feeling of love and harmony,” said the Lt Governor.

“Many cases have come up in which even a very educated person gets radicalized. We need to counter radicalization through Sufi tradition, religious heads and Mothers and sisters without any particular sect,” he added.

Speaking on the immense talent and potential possessed by the youth of J&K, the Lt Governor said that under the guidance of the Prime Minister, the UT administration is putting in all out efforts to provide them with rightful opportunities.

Highlighting the reformative measures being taken in the education sector by the Government, he said that from this session, education will be imparted in all 5 official languages. Translation of local folklores and those of other States for cultural exchange and understanding is being done to promote the spirit of “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat”.

The stories of courage and sacrifice of our role models like Brigadier Rajinder Singh, Maqbool Sherwani and Women Self Defense Corps,would be told in schools, he added.

Speaking on tremendous work being done for modernization of education, the Lt Governor observed that vocational courses have been started in all schools from class 9th in accordance with the suggestions of the new National Education Policy. Apart from this, vocational training is being provided to 44,351 children in 715 schools under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, he added.

Underscoring the initiatives taken for strengthening the skill development and entrepreneurship ecosystem in J&K, the Lt Governor said that in the last two years, revolutionary measures have been taken to channelize the young energies into the right direction.

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Courtesy: The Daily Excelsior: 24th March, 2021