In the backdrop of growing attacks on churches in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally broke his silence on Tuesday, saying his government will “not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly.”
Addressing the Christian community at the National Celebration of the Elevation to Sainthood of Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Mother Euphrasia here, Modi said: “My government will ensure that there is complete freedom of faith and that everyone has the undeniable right to retain or adopt the religion of his or her choice without coercion or undue influence.… Mine will be a government that gives equal respect to all religions.”
The Prime Minister’s statement comes ahead of the Budget session of Parliament that is set to begin in a week.
The previous Winter session had seen frequent disruptions with the Opposition demanding a statement from Modi on the VHP’s Ghar Wapsi programme, and the hate speeches made by some Hindu fringe elements against religious minorities, including some Ministers in the Modi Cabinet.
Some of these ‘hate’ speeches, as also attacks on churches, are understood to have played a vital role in the electoral rout faced by the BJP in the recent Delhi Assembly elections.
During his visit to New Delhi last month, US President Barack Obama, too, had stressed the need for religious tolerance, saying that “India will succeed so long as it isn’t splintered along religious lines.”
In Tuesday’s speech, Modi recalled Buddha and Gandhi, and said equal respect for all religions must be in the DNA of every Indian.
“I appeal to all religious groups to act with restraint, mutual respect and tolerance in the true spirit of this ancient nation, which is manifest in our Constitution and is in line with the Hague Declaration,” he added.
Hague was the venue for an inter-faith conference on ‘Faith in Human Rights’ in 2008, which coincided with the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations.
The declaration, among other things, defines what constitutes freedom of faith and how it is to be safeguarded.
Modi said his government stands by every word of the Hague Declaration. “We consider the freedom to have, to retain, and to adopt, a religion or a belief is a personal choice of a citizen,” he said, adding that the world is at crossroads and if not crossed properly, “can throw us back to the dark days of bigotry, fanaticism and bloodshed. This harmonious convergence among religions could not be achieved even when the world entered the third millennium. And now it has been. This shows that the rest of the world too is evolving along the lines of ancient India.”
Global concernEmphasising the need for peace and harmony in the contemporary world, he said the world is increasingly witnessing division and hostility on religious lines. This has become a matter of global concern. In this context the ancient Indian plea of mutual respect for all faiths is now beginning to manifest in global discourse, he added.