Source: Dawn
-Illustration by Faraz Aamer Khan
Amidst numerous incidents of chaos, anarchy, hatred and fundamentalism, finding solace in hope of a peaceful future is the only choice left for many people living in the country. It is during such times when great leaders like Mahatama Gandhi are truly missed, who sacrificed their lives not only for the betterment of the society at large, but also fought day in and out for human rights. He dedicated his life to peace making and recently his birth anniversary, which was declared the International Day of Non-Violence by the United Nation, became a reason for Pakistan and India to stand united by paying respect to the man who propagated the philosophy of unity and peace in the most violent of times. It surely is a day such as this which give me hope for better times — times in which human rights are mutually respected and accepted beyond borders, religions and cultures.
Unfortunately, each act of communal rioting makes the sacrifices of the likes of Mahatma Gandhi go in vain. The act of an individual should not be taken as an excuse to instigate violence against other communities. Following the riots that stranded Karachi a few days ago, a group of armed assailants vandalised a Hindu temple on the outskirts of Karachi.
Categories: Asia, Pakistan, Pakistan Inter-Faith
A good attempt to highlight this burning issue. However a road map is required to start this gigantic task. To me first and foremost step of the road map is nationwide campaign to raise an over all awareness for the accommodation of divergent religious views and in case of differences resort to dialogue and logic rather than labelling others as Kafirs etc. Similarly violence on the name of religion has to be strictly forbidden and those violating to be severely dealt with. These days one can hardly see any effort in this direction. Once the awareness is achieved and violence is forbidden then next step of the road map can be suggested to follow.