Staff Reporter
India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has stressed the need to maintain the unity of the country. He said, there are some elements in the country that are trying to create acrimony and conflict in the name of religion and ideology.
Speaking at an event organised by the All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council in New Delhi on Saturday, Mr Doval said, the way India is progressing will benefit people from all religions.
“There is a need to understand that we Indians will either sail together or all will sink together,” he said adding that India is an ancient civilization, which has a rich history of great Dharam Gurus.
Their contribution to religious activities and intellectual enrichment is remarkable. “It is the responsibility of the present generation to ensure that some persons with vested interests are not allowed to weaken the country,” he said, while addressing Interfaith Conference organized by All India Sufi Sajjadanashi Council in New Delhi.
In the conference which was attended by Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist religious leaders, the NSA said the number of people who believe in peace and development for all Indians are larger than those who create trouble.
Those in majority need to make their voices heard. Only people with intention and capability can fight such negative forces. And the religious leaders have big following, which needs to be mobilized in this direction. Faults have to rectified.
All sections of the society including women and children have to be involved in the spirit of nationalism. Adverse forces need to be countered with organizational skills and as per a plan, which will ensure a message of peace until the last Indian, he said.
He mentioned a Pre-Independent Indian history event of 1915, when six Muslim ulemas had gone to Afghanistan and had formed a government in exile. Raja Mahendrapal was made the President by the ulemas.
That was a jihad. And that Jihad should not be misunderstood as a practice against any particular religion.
He said people from all religions have given sacrifices for this country and we should be proud of it. “There is a need to bring a kind of revolution- a realization that we will not allow our unity to be compromised,’’ he said, adding, all Indians should have a feeling that they will protect life and property of every fellow Indian.
There is an environment of conflict in the entire world. And there is a need to unite and ensure communal harmony. India has been a free civilization and we have to maintain this feeling and take it forward.