Heads of various religious bodies here have underscored the need to maintain communal harmony in Ladakh.
“Religious heads of all the communities should meet and resolve problems internally before spreading it to a larger scale,” said Ashraf Ali Barcha, president,Anjuman Imamia Ladakh.
Tsewang Thinles, Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) president said “communal harmony in a society cannot be maintained by the efforts of only one group of the same faith.”
“It needs the involvement of all the religions striving for peace and harmony in the real sense,” he said.
He said “an anti-conversion law needs to be enacted in J&K to protect the minorities. “All religious faith should come together to solve the issues related to conversion. The education system of Ladakh should be developed in order to minimise sending of students outside for studies. A meeting with all stakeholders of Leh and Kargil should also be held,” Thinles said.
Dechen Chamga, president, Christian Association Leh said “all faiths should work towards a better future by maintaining a good system to help in resolution of each other’s issues.”
Dr. Abdul Qayum, president, Anjuman Moin-ul Islam said, “cases like the recent interfaith conversion and marriage in the region should not be encouraged at all keeping in view the sensitivity of the issue.” “However, it should not be taken as a threat to our long-standing composite culture of communal harmony for which we always give priority. Moreover, it is an act by two individuals not an act of any organisation or institutions. I want to maintain that Anjuman Moin-ul-Islam, never endorse such acts,” Qayum said.
“The role of religious heads should be to educate and do the right counseling of our youths along with parents to stay away from such acts. All religious heads should not argue but sit together and discuss thoroughly. The law of the land should prevail and nobody should take law in his hands, and it is the duty of an administration to be vigilant enough to act quickly to resolve such issues. Problems and issues regarding communities should be amicably resolved together,” he added.
Heads of religious bodies stress for communal harmony in Ladakh
