Dharmik Jan Morcha to spread peace and unity

JIH has already launched Dharmik Jan Morchas in Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat and is in the process of extending them in other states

It was a strange but welcome spectacle. A maulana sporting full beard, a swamy in ochre attire, a Catholic priest in white robes, a sardarji and a Jain monk holding hands. They presented a picture of unity in diversity as they came together on a common platform here the other day to launch Dharmik Jan Morcha.

The idea is to propagate religious tolerance and spread the message of love and unity. An initiative of Jamat-e-Islami Hind, the Morcha is a representative platform of all religions and communities in the country. Its main objective is to bring together people of different faith and work to foster an environment of communal harmony and peaceful co-existence. “At a time when fascist forces are bent on destroying the moral fabric of society and committing atrocities in the name of religion we thought of setting up the Morcha”, said JIH vice president, Engineer Mohd Saleem. He clarified that the Morcha initiative has nothing to do with the impending Babri Masjid judgement. It is an ongoing effort of JIH and will continue in the future.

For the first time perhaps leaders of different faiths sat together and discussed how best to take forward the message of peace and counter forces of disruption. They expressed concern at the growing atmosphere of hatred, fear, distrust and lawlessness in the country as a result of which mob lynching and chaos had become the order of the day. Civil society organisation, NGOs, writers and intellectuals are routinely being harassed and silenced. This has put the very sanctity of religion at stake.

“In these circumstances religious leaders must realise their responsibilities and come forward to unite people by spreading the message of peace”, said Hamid Mohammed Khan, JIH president, Telangana.

The leaders who turned up for the historic meeting include: Swamy Devendra Ramana Charyulu, representative of Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swamy, Rev. Fr. Anthony Raj Thumma, executive secretary, Federation of Telugu Church, Swami Purna Tej, mentor, Art of Living Foundation, Telangana, Vedanta Chaitanya, president, South India ISKCON, Sardar Nanak Singh Nishter, Gurdwara Saheb, Gowliguda, S. Debraji, president, Shri Digamber Jain Sanstha, Maulana Jaffer Pasha, Amir Jamate Islamia, Hari Krishna of Arya Samaj and Gora Lal of Sant Nirankari Satsang.

JIH has already launched Dharmik Jan Morchas in Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat and is in the process of extending them in other states. The JIH initiative was appreciated by everyone. The meeting decided to constitute a core committee to take forward the activities of the Morcha. It was agreed to hold the Morcha meetings quite frequently, at least once in a month. The meetings could be held by turn in an Ashram, Church, Gurudwara or at the JIH office.

J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in Telangana Today

Dated November 4,2019