Partition activated communal disharmony in our society’ says H.R.Bhardwaj

Bangalore :Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Centre for Harmony and Development, launched its ‘Asian Forum for Harmony’ by Governor H. R. Bhardwaj here at Raj Bhavan, on January   31. The organisation which has been working for peace and harmony in the country for the last 20 years now spread its wings across Asian Countries which include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Qatar, Iraq, etc. On the occasion, H.R.Bhardwaj, governor of Karnataka appreciated the initiative taken by the organization and said that, it is a need of the hour for each and every country to work on harmony and peace. Emphasizing on brotherhood prior to the partition of India, he said we lived in India where there was no conflict between any religions. “My father was friends with many of his Muslim colleagues, he never prejudiced anybody. During the partition when the worst riot took place in Agra, my father protected two Muslim families and they were stayed in our house for more than one year,”he expressed. Talking about his role and responsibility as a Governor, he said that, a Governor should be patriotic.For a Governor to land-up in partisan is against the doctrine of ‘Rajadharma’ i.e. to protect the constitution and to serve the people. “I will not associate with any political party because they are not doing their duties properly. Political parties should not use religions for the sake of votes. Indeed, it is a corrupt act which our political parties have been practicing” he claimed. Briefing about Islam and its existence, he said that Islam was born in the most difficult period in the history of Arab, where there was complete prejudice in the society. “Prophet Mohammed brought equality and we borrowed the Islamic Principles of equality in our constitution”. We must learn, understand and equally respect all religions.There should be no cause of hatred within us, he urged. He also said that Hindus and Muslims fought together during the freedom struggle. Partition took place because the Britishers planned to create and spread dispute and activated communal disharmony in our society. “Sare Jaha Se Acha Hindusitan Hamara is a song which has patriotic sentiments, expressed by Alama Iqbal. Now, politics has separated him from India and most of the people do not know Mohammed Ali Jinnah was the lawyer of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, when he was prosecuted,” he stressed. “We should promote harmony. It cannot come unless the religious leaders sit and work together for it”, he opined. Highlighting contribution of Muslims India and its pride, he said “Our Muslims ruled India and gifted us great culture and heritage which we are proud of. They changed the outlook of India in the cultural and monumental developments.” Tippu sacrificed his life for the Country’s freedom. He was the greatest freedom fighter of India, he added. MoulanaMaqsood Imran was the chief guest.On the occasion he stated that we need to unite and work hard towards harmony. There are many evil elements that continuously wanted to disrupt harmony and peace of the nation. “We must detect and tackle them.To do this task, the civil society should come forward and assist the government to clutch them” Moulana added. Dr. Mumtaz Ali Khan, chairman, Khawaja Gharib Nawaz Centre for Harmony and Development; Shri. Nidumamidi Veerabhadra Channamalla Swamiji and Father Ambrose Pinto also shared their views on the occasion. Posted by : Tayyab Hassan Ajaib 

(The Writer is a reporter with Karnataka Muslims)