Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JS)

Mangaluru, Jan 9: In a bid to promote unity and harmony in the district, the Karnataka Journalists' Association and the Dakshina Kannada district administration on Saturday January 9 jointly organized a 'Shanti Souharda Adalath' at SCDCC Bank hall.

Justice P Vishwanath Shetty, retired judge of the Karnataka high court presided over the programme.

Addressing the peace meet, Qazi Twaka Ahmed Musliyar said, "Prophet Mohammed endured difficulties for 13 years in Mecca and then migrated to Madina and all through, he spread the message of peace. The main aim of Islam is to spread peace. Prophet Mohammed said that one must always spread peace no matter how difficult it may be. This shows that Islam promotes peace.

"In our district, peace meets are organized now and then but they are not highlighted and people do not know about them. Some communal incidents have occured in the district and we need to know what was the motive behind them. Quran says if a person hurts anyone, then he is not living an Islamic life. Such a religion will never promote violence. If you go back in history, it is possible that only 12 people had come to India and this country welcomed them and allowed them to live and prosper here. If you do not accomodate and let even one person live peacefully, it is as good as not accommodating the whole mankind," he said.

Br Andrew Richard of Grace Ministry said, "This Souharda programme shows that though we are from different communities and religions, everyone respects each other's religion. India is a country which has accomodated many religions. No one should go against their conscience, and if someone does so, such a person would be ready to do anything. Jesus always said one must spread peace in society.

"There have been incidents in the recent past where a father has lost his son and the bereaved family has still not come out of the grief. Because of someone's mistake, someone else lost his life. No religion teaches you to kill or hurt someone. All religions spread the message of peace. We should not cross boundaries set by religious teachings and should not cross the limits of law. This can help in creating a peaceful society," he said.

Swami Vidyavachaspati Vishwa Santosh Bharati of Barkur said, "We (Hindus) have shared cordial relationships with Muslims since the 11th century. All religions spread the message of peace, and particularly Islam stresses more on peace, as it says if a Muslim hurts anyone, then he is not a Muslim and becomes the 'shaitan' (devil). Dissimilarity in administrative and judicial aspects of different religions is the reason for violence. There is a rule that loudspeakers should not be used between 10 pm and 6 am - but this rule is imposed only on Hindu temples - this is a disparity.

"We have told our youths that when cow trafficking takes place, they should inform or hand over the culprits to the police, but when they complain to the police, cases are slapped on them instead of the culprits. Saffron is not the colour of any political party, but one of the colours in the National Flag. Incidents of violence have taken place in the past also when there were other governments in power. Yoga Day was celebrated across the world on the request of our Prime Minister and even the UN had agreed to celebrate it. But it is a matter of shame for Indians that there was more opposition to Yoga Day within the country," he said.

"The governments which had come to power in the past had tried to keep some issues alive for their political benefit. When Kabeer was killed at Sringeri, the politicians tried their best to give more compensation to his kin, but when a person from another community was killed, no politician demanded compensation. All the religious leaders are united and there are no differences between us. Incidents of violence occur when differences in society are created by politics," he said.

During the interactive session, a journalist pointed out that while none of the protests for social causes have borne fruit, communal incidents in the district have often snowballed into big issues.

To this, Satyajit Suratkal of Hindu Jagarana Vedike said, "They (communal incidents) happen when criminals are seen on the basis of their religion. People have lost faith in the government, the district administration as well as in the police department. Laws are different for different communities. In cow trafficking incidents, cases are slapped on Hindus even though they are the ones who catch cow traffickers."

To this, DC A B Ibrahim replied, "Constitution is above all, and it is you who have voted for your representatives and elected the government, so if you do not believe in democracy, you are going against the Constitution. Do not resort to personal attacks."

Bajrang Dal leader Sharan Pumpwell said, "There is only one legal slaughterhouse in Mangaluru, that is in Kudroli, but there are many slaughterhouses running illegally. There are about 2,000 beef stalls in the city. Every citizen has the right to stop wrong happenings and inform the police. Illegal trafficking and slaughtering of cows should be stopped. All governments in the past have failed in doing this."

At this point, the Swamiji added, "Police system and the government are responsible for these incidents. When there is one law for one community and another law for another community, such incidents occur." A journalist said that there have been about 98 incidents of communal violence and all of them had political support.

Mohammed Haris of PFI said, "The district administration has the capacity to stop violence and make a bandh a success or a failure. In the incident that took place in Bantwal, Harish Poojary was killed for no reason, and the bandh was successful because the police closed down the shops on grounds of security. But if police had given protection to all those who wanted to keep their shops open, the bandh would not have been successful."

Sharan Pumpwell attacked the district administration and said, "People have lost faith in the government and the district administration. The deputy commissioner is behaving like an agent of the ruling government. Politicians are the reason for all the violence."

MLC Ivan D'Souza responded, "You cannot blame the government for everything. This event has been organized by the district administration which is part of the government, hence this is a government platform. The party (BJP) which you (Sharan Pumpwell) support was in power for 8 years - why did it not do anything?"

Superintendent of police (SP) Dr Sharanappa said, "We might have lots of problems, but during communal violence who suffers the most? Police might lose their sleep for five days, but ultimately the ones who suffer are the families of those who are in jail. In Uppinangady incident (communal clash), we sent about 119 people to jail. They should have thought about the impact of their actions on their families. There is no society or family free from problems. Nothing can be achieved by violence."

MLA J R Lobo said, "We should trust each other. The problem today is that there is trust deficit. Whoever commits a crime should be punished. We are all literates but not educated. There is a problem in our education system - educational institutes need to teach students the core values of all religions."

Activist M G Hegde said, "There are three religious leaders in this programme, they do not have problems with each other. In fact, 99 percent of the people do not have problems, it is only the one percent who cause trouble. The DC should call a meeting of this one percent and list out the problems they have and try to seek solutions.

"The situation today is such that if a boy and a girl are going by bus, another boy in the bus may be attacked and killed for no reason," he added.

To which Satyajit Suratkal added, "Everyone should respect each other's religion. When youngsters make mistakes, the religious heads of their community should call them and guide them. If they do not listen, then they should be handed over to the police. By doing this, the problem can be solved."

Br Andrew said, "We should try to reform the minds of the criminals. There are so many incidents happening in the city. We the people of Dakshina Kannada are educated and intelligent, but when it comes to religion, we get offended easily. The people who create trouble should be reformed - which is not happening now."

At the end of the meeting, a resolution was passed to maintain peace in society, and that all religious leaders would guide the youngsters in their community, that all people would treat each other as equals and see beyond religion, and that if any wrongdoing was noticed, police would be informed and no one would take law into one's hands.

In his concluding remarks, Justice Vishwanath who presided over the Adalath said, "The lessons we learn from our surroundings, from our parents and teachers are embedded in our minds. Today the whole world is striving for peace. We should not try to disrupt peace. Maintaining peace is not difficult - we have to resolve that we will not hurt others, we will not make provocative speeches or do things that would hurt other's religious sentiments. If we think good about others, it will help create a good environment. We should always think well of everyone and try to maintain peace in our homes, then the whole area will be peaceful, and in turn the city and the whole state. Let us all resolve to maintain peace and harmony in society."

Dr Taranath, principal of SDM Law College was the moderator for the discussion. DCP Shantaraju, Mithun Rai, ASP Rahul Kumar and many others were present. Sudesh Kumar, president of Karnataka Journalists' Association welcomed the gathering.