The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) unit in Belagavi gave a clarion call to the people of the State and the nation to join hands towards strengthening the civil society against those trying to polarise people on religious and caste.
Addressing a press conference on a 15-day campaign for ‘peace and humanity’ already launched in the district on Sunday, campaign convener and social worker Shahid Memon said here on Tuesday that the need to launch a campaign was felt in the wake of growing intolerance and violence, with victimisation and lynching becoming the order of the day. The gaps between various communities is being further widened through hate-propaganda, he said.
Mr. Shahid said a very deceitful approach had been adopted to polarise various religious communities to develop them into vote banks over the years. Various political parties have been playing religious and caste cards to polarise voters without bothering to understand the consequences that follows it and how the strong social fabric of the nation was being burnt away in the process.
Quoting report of the Home Minister tabled in the Lok Sabha recently, he said there was 17% rise in communal riots during 2015 and 751 cases were registered.
Mr. Memon emphatically observed that a restless and socially divided society was never considered suitable for economic growth and this disease would only discourage foreign investments and on the contrary, the domestic investors would look for investment opportunities abroad. Also, every economic activity would be rendered profitless and lead to poverty and unemployment, thereby more social unrest which was not good for the hard earned democracy.
The JIH would be conducting campaign throughout Belagavi district to spread the message of peace and humanity through various activities, including street plays (in Belagavi city on Aug.27 and 28). A symposium would be organised on the theme “Peace and Humanitarian Values: Need of the hour” at Mahatma Gandhi Bhavan in the city on Aug.31.
Launch of campaign
A 13-member Reception Committee headed by Shri Siddharam Swamiji of Naganuru Rudraskshimath launched the peace and humanity campaign on Aug.21. Other members on the committee are Rev. Peter Machado, Bishop of Belagavi diocese, Mufti Abdul Azeez Qasmi of Qazi DArul Qaza and member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Chairman of Shaik Group of Institutions Abu Shaikh, former mayor Malojirao Ashtekar, writer and former president of Belagavi district Kannada Sahitya Parishat Basavaraj Jagajampi.
