Intolerant non-state actors, who now control large territories, are unleashing barbaric violence on innocent people, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, referring to the growing conflict among religions, communities and nation-states.
Addressing a meet on ‘Global Hindu-Buddhist Initiative on Conflict Avoidance and Environment Consciousness’ in New Delhi, the Prime Minister expressed concern that conflict resolutions mechanisms have “severe limitations”, which are “becoming more and more obvious”.
Even as he called for significant, collective and strategic efforts to prevent bloodshed and violence, the Prime Minister red-flagged the conflict between nature and man and the problem of climate change, which he described as a “global challenge.”
“The issue is not merely about climate change; it is about climate justice… In my view, the most adversely affected by climate change are the poor and the downtrodden. When a natural disaster strikes, they are hit the hardest. When there are floods, they are rendered homeless; during a quake, their homes are destroyed; during droughts, they are affected; and during extreme cold too, the homeless suffer the most,” he said, adding that the discourse must shift focus from climate change to climate justice.
The Prime Minister also reiterated that it is necessary to inform the world about the need to shift from ideology — whether religious or secular — to philosophy.
“It is, thus, no surprise that the world is taking note of Buddhism. This is also a recognition of the historical Asian traditions and values, which can be used to shift the paradigm to conflict avoidance, to move from the path of ideology to philosophy,” he said adding that Lord Buddha’s message talked of avoiding conflicts, moving towards environmental consciousness and a concept of free and frank dialogue.
The conference is being organised by the think-tank Vivekananda International Foundation.
