In a celebration of the Sikh festival of Baisakhi April 13, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, president of Jammu and Kashmir’s statewide National Conference political party, has called for religious harmony in India.
Cautioning against intolerance, he spoke of the pluralistic ethos of the state of Jammu and Kashmir as a shining example of inclusiveness and unity among Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians.
Dr. Abdullah stressed that all religions are engaged in the betterment of humanity and that religious tolerance is needed more now than ever before. “Paths may be different but [the] ultimate destination is the same,” he said.
His remarks were particularly timely following a Pew Research Center study released April 11 that ranked India fourth in the world for social hostilities involving religion, only less violent than Syria, Nigeria and Iraq.
The study’s lead researcher, Katayoun Kishi, said hostilities between Hindus and Muslims factored into India's poor ranking, as the Index “looks at whether incidents of violence occurred as a result of tensions between religious groups. In India in 2015 [the most recent year for which data is available], there were instances of attacks by Hindus on Muslims due to alleged cow slaughter, rioting after clashes between Hindus and Muslims, and mob violence involving the two groups.”
A report issued in February 2017 by the U.S. State Department’s Commission on International Religious Freedom, “Constitutional and Legal Challenges Faced by Religious Minorities in India,” states that blatant discrimination is exercised by state and national government bodies against non-Hindu religions in the religiously diverse country of 1.2 billion people that is 80% Hindu, with 172.2 million Muslims, 27.8 million Christians, 20.8 million Sikhs, and 4.5 million Jains.
Dr. Abdullah, 79, has served as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir several times since 1982 and as union minister for New and Renewable Energy from 2009 to 2014. Before entering the political arena he received his MBBS degree from SMS Medical College in Jaipur and practiced medicine in the UK.
