The Hindu : Court and religion

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 17, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Court and religion

Sir, — Bhanu Pratap Mehta in his article `Living with difference' (Sept. 14) thoroughly disagrees with the Supreme Court's premise that all religions are fundamentally the same and believes that this militates against secularism and pedagogical practice. He is expressing his `secularist' frustration that the court upheld the work being done by the NCERT and refused to find that the teaching of the basic principles incorporated in all major religions was wrong. His objection to those who wish to find common ground by identifying aspects that point to the oneness of man by arguing that each religion must be allowed to believe that it is the only, best or superior one is to give strength to those who send out militant crusaders, suicide bombers or bigoted despots to insist that only their religion is the true one.

What Bhanu Pratap Mehta is seeking to do is to create a permanent divide among people by insisting that each must insist on the right to believe his religion is the only acceptable one. The sanction to this sort of thinking beyond a reasonable point is to fall prey to the reasoning and motivation of militant fanatics in the name of intellectual and religious freedom. Misinterpreting the sentiments behind the judgment and the simple feelings of those who bow their head before the idea of something that is better and greater than themselves can lead to a pretty unsafe society indeed.

Jaya Jaitly,

New Delhi

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