India is a diverse nation comprising a large number of ethnicities, religions, languages, faiths, and cultures. The diversity in itself is what makes this country unique which since ages has been working on the principle of “unity in diversity”. It is the unification of the diversification which the country has glued together for centuries. Likewise, Kashmir despite being a Muslim majority is known for religious harmony. Any such elements infringing deep rooted values of religious tolerance, harmony, and integrity is an open attack on the land and its inhabitants. Sowing the seeds of communalism or dissemination of false propaganda fueling conflict among different faiths which results in creating enmity between them disturbs the peace of the land. The constitution gives the right to its citizens to practice and propagate religion on the basis of free will. Any individual without any external coercion enjoys what are referred to as Fundamental Rights. On the flip side, forceful conversion of religion or acts of similar nature are unconstitutional and strict laws are already in place regarding such matters. The past few days saw the soaring threat of communalism looming over Kashmir on the allegations of forceful conversion of two Sikh girls in Kashmir. Due to the vulnerability of a diverse land to discord, the hot button issue gained wide popularity not only in Kashmir but also throughout the country. Within no time, reality was dominated by the propaganda which as always carried the threat of communalism. On a fortune note though, one of the girls’ cleared her stance in a well elucidated video thus putting to rest all the red herring. That she had converted to Islam long back and is married to her classmate since many years without any coercion, she narrated her ordeal which accentuates the destructive role of bigots who fight tooth and nail to sow the seeds of discord and conflict by painting consent with coercion and the famous disagreeable dictum”Love Jihad.” As of now, when the truth has been revealed, no extra time should be wasted to settle the issue and bury all the false information as well as the fake narrative. For the futuristic well-being, our stance should be crystal clear – that there is no room for communal discord in our society and people of all faiths must strictly adhere to this principle. Also, the fundamental rights of each and every individual must be protected within the parameters of the constitution while the violations, if found, must be dealt with iron hand. Peace!
Editorial: Root(out) the seeds of communalism
