MESSAGE BOARD
NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

No place for religion-based terrorism, says Singhvi: PTI

Dharam Shourie at the United Nations

Religion would have no role in the new world if terrorism in the name of religion continues to claim victims, as in Kashmir, Rajya Sabha member L M Singhvi said at the World Peace Summit at the United Nations on Tuesday.

Addressing the summit, being attended by nearly 1500 religious and spiritual leaders, Singhvi said if dialogue in the common quest for peace is to succeed, all religions should abandon and abjure the "predatory concept" of domination and conquest.

"If religions of the world are to serve humanity and ameliorate human sufferings, they must respect each other, reinforce each other and together create global ethics for eradication of poverty, for rebuilding ecology and for reconstruction of human relations in a new international order," he said.

"Let religions of the world unite in the common endeavour for peace. They have nothing to lose but their prejudices," Singhvi, a co-ordinator for the conference in India, said amid cheers from the spiritual leaders.

Advocating ancient Vedic and Buddhist traditions, he said, "The ancient Indian tradition celebrated the diversities of thought through a philosophy of pluralism and tolerance based on non-violence as the supreme religion.''

India is represented at the four-day summit by 103 religious and spiritual leaders from different faiths, who are accompanied by 200 disciples.

Tell us what you think of this report