Need for a dialogue
By: Navin (December 6th, 2009)
India, a land where we witness the confluence of almost all the major religions of the world, is a place where we wear our faith on our sleeves. Even a small friction is enough to leave two communities at loggerheads with each other. And probably that is why the country adopts secularism, which is also the concept of separating the state from the religion. The view that religious considerations should be excluded from civil affairs or public education. But the question needs to be asked whether secularism has helped in keeping the state and the religion separate? Especially when we see religious overtones to school text books, exercise of personal faith in government offices and departments, or even to the singing of a patriotic song with debatable lyrics. Why has secularism not been able to stop incidents like Babri Masjid demolition, Godhra Riots, Bombay terror attacks or the Orissa violence on religious conversion?
The answers are not easy to come but are we atleast asking the right questions? Recently the Liberhan commision report which deals with the incidents that surround the demolition of Babri Masjid got leaked after 17 long years. And the leaders of our country, instead of looking at the implications of such abuse of law and order and the impotency of the judicial system to deliver justice, they were probing how the report got leaked? You cannot have a leadership that is more disoriented and disjointed from the pursuit of Truth which i believe is the primary goal of every human being. And seeking the truth requires that we as a society doesn’t sweep critical issues under the carpet rather bring such burning issues on the public domain for a healthy dialogue. And the question of God is the most widely asked and debated in all of History, because the outcome has repurcussions not just for the universe, the world and its issues but also for the individual at the core of his existence.
Recently the media was flush with news about the ‘Fatwa’ released by Jamiat-Ulema-e-hind against the singing of ‘Vande Mataram’ a much celebrated and cherished song for many Indians. The song contains reference to ‘motherland’ as almost divine in nature which according to muslims is against the tenets of Islam. Shashi Tharoor, the minister of external affairs often getting the stick for speaking his mind said that ‘the singing of the song should not be forced’ with which i totally agree because a person whose very worldview depends on One God cannot reconcile himself to calling anybody else in godly terms, although forcing it on everybody through a fatwa is not a viable option. If our religious beliefs can lead to violation of basic human dignity and value, then the underlying principles of such belief systems should be questioned.
Secularism can help to a certain extent in keeping a balance in a highly volatile multi religious system but we must accept the fact that it cannot answer the existential problems of all human beings. And if Secularism seeks to dictate terms at that level, then it is no more secularism but rather a religious system in itself having it own do’s and dont’s and deities in the form of atheists and agnostics. In fact in most democracies, we need to have a healthy dialogue on public platforms including media, educational institutions, workplaces and every area which is the breeding ground for socities leaders and opinion makers. These are infact the common grounds were people from diverse belief systems can come together and present their case, leaving it open for scrutiny by the individual who is the final decision maker when it comes to his personal choices.
In fact it is very common to find atheists and religious leaders sharing the same platform in many countries.We have witnessed many debates across the world between atheists and christian apologists go head to head with the documentary movie ‘Collision’ running in the background in which one of the most prominent proponents of ‘the new atheism’, Christopher Hitchens takes on Pastor Douglas Wilson, a theologian. We have witnessed universities opening up platforms for atheist Richard Dawkins to discuss his literary work ‘The God Delusion’ which was later taken over by christian apologists to present their case against athestic views.Such dialogues are not only important for academic purpose but it can drastically change the course of our life.Religions which are poles apart in their doctrines, cannot be bunched together to say that they all lead us to God because even their definition of God are opposite to each other. Which means that either all those religions can be false but definitely not true.But if there is only one true religion or way to God then i do not want to miss the train, because it would be a scary thing to face HIM.
Such dialogues can lead them in to taking a more informed decision and not just decisions which are dictated by emotions, blind belief or parental/societal views. Antony Flew, the leading proponent of atheism, is a great example. Antony Flew who has been advocating his belief almost as long as Billy Graham has been preaching the Christian faith said recently that ‘recent scientific discoveries point to the fact that this world cannot be understood apart from the work of God as its Creator.’ I believe nobody wants to go to the grave before deciding on such a crucial question of life and for that we need to bring it out and not hide it under the guise of secularism or any such worldview.
Let Truth Prevail.
Tags: Babri Masjid, Bombay terror attacks, Godhra Riots, Orissa violence, religious conversion, Secularism, worldview