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Essence of Indian nationhood under threat: Manmohan

Unity in diversity, freedom and harmony, which characterise the essence of Indian nationhood, face a grave threat and need to be guarded vigilantly, the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Manmohan Singh said in New Delhi today.

Inaugurating a three-day World Religious Liberty Conference, Dr Singh said that ''more than ever before, we need to rededicate ourselves to the goal of an open society, committed to respect for all fundamental human freedoms, as an essential condition for improving the human condition.''

Stating that tolerance and acceptance mark the Indian way of life, Dr Singh said that the cultural heritage of this country was conducive to producing great men like Gautama Buddha, Mahavir and Mahatma Gandhi. India's long, historical past sparkled with instances of men and women who at great personal risk and sacrifice endeavoured to preserve the freedom of religion, communal harmony and peace.

''Unfortunately, the picture today is not so bright. We face grave threats to these cherished ideals. The price of religious freedom, communal harmony, national integration and peace is eternal vigilance. To this let us commit ourselves. Unless the offensive is taken to create public opinion in favour of these ideals and instil these ideas in the hearts of our children, the future will not be better,'' the former Union finance minister added.

The conference, organised by the Maryland (United States)-based International Religious Liberty Association, is being attended by some 300 delegates from several countries including Dr Karan Singh, Dr Tahir Mehmood, Swami Agnivesh and Professor Anatoly Krasikov from the Moscow Institute of Religious Freedom.

Earlier, welcoming Dr Singh and the other delegates, Dr John Graz, secretary general of the International Religious Liberty Association, said that ''we have come to India to learn from the biggest democracy in the world, from a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, lessons of pluralism and tolerance.''

Referring to some recent acts of intolerance, Dr Graz said that it should be remembered that India is a country with a great number of languages, traditions, cultures. One billion people living together, working together, day after day.

''We have never had the intention to teach the people of India nor its government about religious freedom... India has a Constitution that protects and promotes religious freedom. This is not the case everywhere in the world,'' he added.

Delivering the keynote address, National Commission for Minorities Chairman Syed Tahir Mahmood said that it must be clearly understood -- by one and all, and for all times to come -- that the internationally recognised human right to religious freedom had to apply, equally, to all religions and all religious communities of the world, big and small, and was not meant to serve the interests of any chosen religion, howsoever widely prevalent or locally dominant it might be.

''Clearly enough, the claim of superiority of any particular religion over all others would demolish the very foundation of the recognition of religious liberty by the modern human rights jurisprudence,'' he added.

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