Chairperson of Karnataka State Minorities Commission, Balkhees Banu, on Friday said the Commission has planned to hold workshops across the state to inculcate among people the values of communal harmony, love among human beings and other issues.
Speaking to presspersons here during her visit to the district, Ms. Banu said no religion preaches hatred and violence. Referring to recent communal violence in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, the Chairperson said she has urged people belonging to minority communities to walk a mile forward in extending friendly gesture towards others and live harmoniously.
The workshops, Ms. Banu said would either be held at district headquarters or at taluk headquarters if people belonging to minority communities live in such places in large numbers. This is one of the several steps being envisaged by the Commission to ensure peace in society, she said.
At Gangolli in Udupi, she prevailed upon the victims belonging to minority communities whose shops had been gutted allegedly by miscreants, to accept compensation of Rs. 25,000 each provided by the district administration, though the actual loss was more. She told the people from minority community in Ulaibettu area in Dakshina Kannada not to agitate over the issue and concentrate on harmonious living.
Meanwhile, the Commission would get a formal report on Ulaibettu clashes from the district administration in about a week and would submit the same with suitable recommendations to the government, Ms. Banu said.
She said during her meeting with the district administration on Friday, she raised several issues concerning the minority communities, including housing, ration, infrastructure etc., which she got to know from people who met her before the meeting. The administration has responded positively and promised to address the issues, Ms. Banu added.
It is high time that people belonging to minority communities — Muslim, Christian, Jain, Sikh and Parsi —make use of several welfare schemes being offered by the State government.
Withdraw petty cases: Minorities Commission
The Karnataka State Minorities Commission has urged the Dakshina Kannada district administration to withdraw petty cases filed against innocent people belonging to all the communities in connection with the recent Ulaibettu communal clashes.
Commission Chairperson, Balkhees Banu told presspersons here, “The local people had no issues; it is the outsiders who make speeches and provoke people. While the rich would remain unaffected, it is the poor who suffer the impact.”
