Solidarity forums being formed in colleges

TOWARDS COMMUNAL AMITY
Solidarity forums being formed in colleges
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panaji: Alarmed by the rise in communal tensions witnessed in the state, a students’ organization in Goa, the students’ Islamic organization of India (SIO), is now working towards getting together students from all religions to form a students’ solidarity forum in the college campuses in the state.
The main aim of the forum is to bring about communal harmony and work towards maintaining a balance in their area whenever there is communal tension.
“We want to bring in balanced thinking in students and learn how to co-exist with others,” said the all India SIO president Bishruddin Sharqui.
“The youth need to understand that what is happening today is madness in the shape of religion. The emerging capitalist mentality of life tries to create communal disturbance to meet its own end,” said Sharqui.
Agreeing with the idea that the basic way to deal with communal tension is to address the issues related with communal tension and solve them, SIO has already started interacting with various student leaders in different colleges and hopes to start a dialogue with the youth through the students’ councils.
“It would be a forum, connecting every religious group, wherein you talk about issues that affect your life and concerns you.
Increasing communal tension in the state is also a matter of concern for the youth,”
said SIO Goa zone general secretary Shaikh Shoaib, while informing that majority of the students are open to the idea and are concerned about the growing religious intolerance in the state.
Ever since the Curchoerem-Sanvordem communal tension, when a madrassa was attacked and damaged by some miscreants in 2006, communalism has raised its head in one form or the other in the state.
Last week, communal tension gripped Margao after a minor eve-teasing incident was given a communal colour.
“The effort would be to destroy compartments that have been created on the basis of religion. It is the responsibility of each religious group to teach their own religion and connect with other religious groups to bridge the gap that would otherwise lead to communal tension,” added Shoaib.
However, secular activists in the state are a bit guarded on the issue.
Ramesh Gauns said, “Any student organization that has faith in the Constitution of India can work towards bringing in communal harmony in the state. But, there is a need to be open to the ideologies of other religions and strive to move towards the secular goal”.
“Just talking or listening about religious views doesn’t help. But each and every person needs to go beyond their own religion and be a part of other communities’ religious prayers, then only you can develop tolerance towards all religions, which would ultimately help people co-exist in communal harmony,” he added.

July 9, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition