India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Stressing the need to maintain “human equality, fraternity, and unity in the country”, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) president Syed Sadatullah Husaini has appealed to the people to unite the communities, not divide them, and save the country from “the curse of hatred and communalism.”.
The JIH chief made these remarks at an Eid get-together organized at the Constitution Club of India on Saturday.
The JIH is one of the most prominent socio-religious organizations of Indian Muslims.
Pointing out that “dividing people and spreading hatred among them cannot be the message of any religion,” he said that “the division is the philosophy of cancer cells that continuously divide and do not stop until they destroy the body through division.”
“Once the process of dividing people in a society based on their caste, language, region, and religion begins, it does not stop,” he opined, adding that “it is the responsibility of every sincere citizen to come forward to break this cycle of discrimination, which is the real message of Eid-ul-Fitr.”
“With this message, we have invited you to come together here,” the JIH leader said.
The programme, hosted by the JIH, was attended by several interfaith and community leaders, activists, politicians, journalists, and scholars.
“We are all servants of the one God. Our God is the same. All humans are descendants of the same father and mother and are equal. Eid-ul-Fitr represents this basic message of Islam. Today, our country directly needs this message of human equality,” Mr. Husaini said in his address to the participants.
Several political leaders cutting across the party lines, leaders of different religions and prominent personalities, including Goswami Shushil Ji Maharaj (founder of Dharma Sansad), Swami Lakshmi Shankar Acharya, Swami Deep Natya of Ramakrishna Mission, Dr. John Dayal, general secretary of All India Christian Council, Fr. MD Thomas, Fr. Bento, Director, Institute of Peace and Harmony, Mr. Paramjit Singh Chandhok, chief advisor of the Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, human rights activist Ravi Nair, founding member of Swaraj Abhiyan Yogendra Yadav and Jai Kisan Andolan, Prof. Apoorvanand Jha, Dr. A K Merchant of Bahá’í community, senior journalist Dr. Ved Pratap Vaidik, Maulana Asghar Ali Imam Mehdi, president of Jamiat Ahl-e- Hadith, president of All India Muslim Majlis Mushawarat Naved Hamid, secretary of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Maulana Niaz Ahmed, senior journalist Ziaussalam, former MP Mohammad Adeeb, former chairman of Delhi Minorities Commission Dr. Kamal Farooqui, India Islamic Cultural Centre chairman Sirajuddin Qureshi and Member of Parliament Kunwar Danish, etc. attended the programme.
In his message, the JIH president further said, “We all, who believe in different religions, belong to different regions, and speak different languages, should think together about keeping the country united and saving it from the curse of hatred and communalism. May God make this Eid a source of peace in the country.”
