Religious intolerance in India – Obama says, Gandhi would have been shocked

#NationalPrayerBreakfast #religiousintolerance #gharwapsi In the course of a 25-miniute address to the National Prayer Breakfast, attended by a number of international leaders including the Dalai Lama, the US President Barack Obama made a plea for religious freedom and said that such freedom encourages people to do good and also what is right as reported in ndtv.com dated 6 February 2015. But, that same faith can also be twisted and made use as a weapon.
President Barack Obama was in India last month with First Lady Michelle and described India as "an incredible, beautiful country, full of magnificent diversity". However, he also added that the religious intolerance that is being seen in India the last few years would have shocked Gandhiji, the person who helped to liberate that nation.
Obama has observed that India was a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs. And – these are not wanted.
Obama has also clarified that the religious intolerance was not something unique to any one particular group or one specific religion.
He has added that there is a tendency in us, a sinful tendency that can pervert and distort our faith. Faith divides people, and when twisted and distorted or used as a wedge, it becomes a weapon.
In this connection, he made a mention of violence and terror from a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris and said that those who profess to stand up for faith are actually, betraying it.
In India, religious intolerance is raising its head and, with the ‘ghar wapsi’ program, the attacks on churches and threats on Valentine’s Day, a sort of instability is visible. It has been reported in abcnews.go.com dated 5 February 2015 about a protest that came after a mysterious fire gutted a church in New Delhi and several other churches were vandalized over the past two months. The protesters lay the blame at the doorsteps of Hindu hardliners.
The situation aggravates when leaders make statements in the media that are later retracted due to pressure from some quarters. It is important that those in power take positive steps to eliminate the fear psychosis among the people.