‘Literature for Peace’, a month-long State-level campaign of the publishing house ‘Shanthi Prakashana’, organised as part of its silver jubilee celebrations, culminated with a programme held here on Sunday.
Speaking on the last day of the programme, Mohammed Kunhi, manager, Shanthi Prakashana, said: “Islam was a secretive, unfamiliar and puzzling religion for Karnataka; there were no media that could take Islam’s message to the people. Not all Muslims in the State speak Urdu as their mother tongue, which gives rise to wrong perceptions. Shanthi Prakashana is fulfilling that role — of a medium that can take the message of Islam to Kannadigas.”
N. Shivanubhava Shivarudra Swami of the Belimatha Mahasamsthana, also echoed this view, and said there was no point in blaming others for the problems in the world. “Let us purify our own thoughts and actions,” he added.
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The former Union Minister and Congress leader, C.M. Ibrahim, who also participated in the concluding programme, said: “politicians do not fight for any religion; their fight is for the power.” He also pointed out that Islam says one must always ‘give’ to others, regardless of a person’s religion. “In fact, Islam says: give a little of what God has given to you to them,” he added.
Chairman of the Kannada Development Authority Mukhyamantri Chandru praised the efforts of Shanthi Prakashana for publishing books in Kannada for 25 years. He also hailed madrasas for teaching Kannada to students.
Siddalingaiah, writer and director of the Ambedkar Study and Research Centre, Bangalore University, also commended the publishing house for “using literature to promote peace, rather than justice and struggle, for which literature is usually used as a medium.”
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He also recommended to the KDA to award some of the books published by Shanthi Prakashana.