Secular grouping Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike has called on people to collectively oppose what it said is a growing rightist influence on education and polity.
The vedike’s general secretary K.L. Ashok on Friday attacked the Narendra Modi Government for its "all-out attempts to obliterate the secular fabric of the nation."
"The Narendra Modi government's attack on India's pluralism has already begun. It is clearly visible in its attempts to inculcate communal hatred into young minds by saffronising the country's secular educational system. The people of the country should collectively resist such efforts and protect our rich secular tradition where people of different religions, languages and cultural backgrounds have lived together peacefully," he said addressing the Reporters’Guild here.
Thinthini meet
Mr. Ashok said the vedike, a collective of a hundred organisations and individuals, would hold its fourth state conference at Thinthini in Surpur taluk of Yadgir district on December 27 and 28.
Thinthini, he said, was an ideal venue for a conference of a secular forum. It has housed a Sufi-Natha shrine with the tomb of Thinthini Monappayya. The place upholds the secular traditions with Hindus and Muslims worshipping at the same place, he said.
Nearly 600 delegates are expected to participate in the conference. Tontadarya math’s Siddalingaswamy from Gadag and civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad are among its participants.
