De-radicalising religion

Let us be clear, no religion talks of violence or terror, rather they all instill among people a sense of brotherhood, fellow-feeling and mutual trust. The youth fall prey to mischievous campaigns by fundamentalist groups as they do not have adequate knowledge about the ideological stance of the religion they follow. There are distortions of religious teachings by various interested groups, not to speak of the fundamentalists

The Union Home Ministry recently sent an advisory to States to treat youths radicalised by the Islamic State (IS) with extreme sensitivity and that efforts are made to involve the whole community in trying to de-radicalise them. The advisory, sent to 12 sensitive States, including Bengal, is highly significant as the standard procedure of arrest and prolonged detention have not yielded the desired results till date.

This shift in strategy has been rightly formulated by the Centre as involvement of community elders and genuine religious leaders may well go a long way in de-radicalising and weaning the youth away from terror and violence. Let us be clear, no religion talks of violence or terror, rather they all instill among the people a sense of brotherhood, fellow-feeling and mutual trust.

With rise of terrorism and violence, there is an urgent need to counter it by reaching out to the youth. The strategy of sensitising the States should have been initiated earlier and efforts towards its success need to be made. This indeed is a difficult task as involvement of people from various facets of life would be necessary in spreading the proper message of religion.

It is no coincidence that Jamaat-e-Islami along with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood – two conveyor belts of Sunni extremism – gave birth to Students Islamic Movement of India which, in turn, spawned Indian Mujahideen. These groups may differ in tactics but are bound by a common belief that Islam is not merely a religion but a strategy to influence the life and action of youth and establish its dominance here.

But apart from these dominant and aggressive forces, the Left parties refuse to acknowledge the Islamic threat even after these elements have struck terror in various parts of the country. The youth fall prey to mischievous campaigns by fundamentalist groups as they do not have adequate knowledge about the ideological stance of the religion they follow. There are distortions of religious teachings by various interested groups, not to speak of these fundamentalists.

The talk about revenge, hatred and violence runs counter to the real purpose of religious leaders, a message which needs the strategy should address. It is generally agreed that religions are different roads to the same destination and this has been the basic approach of the Hindu faith over centuries. The motto of Parliament of Religions is: “To unite all religions against irreligion; to make the Golden Rule the basis of this union; to present to the world the substantial unity of many religions in the good deeds of the Religious Life…” However, not all practitioners of the scientific study of religion are prepared to make such concessions to the Parliament’s religious raison d’etre.

The greatest political leader of the last century, Mahatma Gandhi, believed that various religious approaches could be synthesised and this is manifest in his understanding of God. He preached and practised the virtues of secularism and religious tolerance. But much before Gandhi, it was Ramakrishna and Vivekananda who advocated unity and equality of all religions in coming closer to the almighty.

The direction given by the two to Hinduism essentially became a faith of unification, love and brotherhood. There is no scope of animosity and hatred. Moreover, those belonging to the Hindu faith have never tried, over the years, to bring to their fold people from other religions and extending their spheres of influence, except a very few and that too only recently.

Sadly, this is possibly not the case with other religions. Even the Pope some years back stated that in the first thousand years, Christianity had conquered Europe, in the last millennium had established its hold over America and in the present millennium it was set to leaving its imprint on Asia. Similarly, the Muslims have over the years tried to convert people to their fold in various ways and in many countries.

While there is talk of Islamic fundamentalism, one is reminded of Christian fundamentalism when the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to attend the Parliament of Religions in 1893 saying there could not be a parliament of religions when there was but one religion – Christianity. The tradition of increasing religious influences in the world and not focusing on inter-religious understanding has also had its effect in India.

The Hindutva philosophy, as propounded by Savarkar in 1923, is being advocated by a section for some years, emphasising the view that this land belongs only to the Hindus! He excludes Muslims from his “Hindu race” since they originally did not belong to this part of the country during the Vedic period. The message of Vivekananda can expose quite convincingly the stupidity of this line of thinking.

He stated: “The word Hindu, by which it is fashion now-a-days to style ourselves, has lost its meaning for the word meant those who live on the other side of the Indus…for all people living on the other side of the river Sindhu were called by them (Persians) Hindus. Thus the word has come down to us …but it has lost its significance…you may mark that all who live on this side of the Indus in modern times do not follow the same religion as they did in ancient times.

The word, therefore, covers not only Hindus but Mohammedans, Christians, Jains and other people who live in India.” It is well-known that he used the word ‘Hindu’ for historical reasons, but always preached the unity of all religions. Vedantism, according to him, was the essence of the Hindu religion and could eventually lead to a united path for convergence of all religions.

The tradition and history of India, Vivekananda used to say, its real inner strength and spirit can be understood by understanding the brief utterances of the Rig Veda - Ekam sat viprah bahudha vadanti (truth is one, sages call it by various names). Referring to Ramakrishna’s message, he stated: “To proclaim and make clear the fundamental unity underlying religions was the mission of the Master. He left every religion undisturbed because he had realised that, in reality, they are all part and parcel of the one eternal religion” – the religion of unity.

Vivekananda spoke of the need of a universal religion which will have no location, place or time and “whose sun will shine upon the followers of Krishna and of Christ, on saints and sinners alike; which will not be Brahminic or Buddhistic, Christian or Mohammedan but the sum total of all these and still have an infinite space for development; which in its catholicity would embrace in its infinite arms and formulate a place for every human being, from the lowest grovelling man who is scarcely removed in intellectuality from the brute to the highest mind, towering almost above humanity…”

It is critical at this juncture to inculcate the true secular spirit among the masses. It may well bring about communal harmony and strengthen fellow feeling among different religions. It is also necessary that religious leaders should not meddle in politics or use State power to mobilise people. The true spirit of ahimsa, dedication and sacrifice should be the cornerstone of their teachings geared towards social uplift and welfare of the underprivileged. As embodied in all religions, the moving spirit should be of selfless sacrifice – far away from violence, hatred and intolerance.

By Dhurjati Mukherjee