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Indian Ambassador Speaks Out on Tolerance and Religious Freedom


From "Beckett, John" <BeckettJ@gc.adventist.org>
Date 14 Dec 1999 12:08:48

ANN Bulletin
Adventist News Network
Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters
December 14, 1999
----------------------

Indian Ambassador Speaks Out on Tolerance and Religious Freedom
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA .... [ANN]

The Ambassador of India to the United States, Dr. Naresh Chandra, used the
opportunity of a visit to the World Headquarters of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church on December 9 to speak out on tolerance and religious
freedom.

Referring particularly to inter-religious clashes in India, Ambassador
Chandra spoke of his "great disappointment" that such things could happen.

"Recent events have caused great concern, for they are not in harmony with
the traditions that we hold most dear," said Chandra. "The overwhelming
majority of Indians reject such an approach. In the real Hindu religion
there is no question of trying to pressure anyone. There is respect for
every form of religion-not just toleration, but others of different faiths
are to be respected and revered. Nothing in Hindu teachings support a
negative and obscurantist approach. In communicating this position to the
world community, we have been helped by people such as yourselves who are
committed to religious freedom and distinguish between crimes and different
social attitudes."

Both the national and the state governments were equally committed to strong
action against such religious crimes, a position supported by local leaders
and the press, he said.

"The best solution has been the setting up of harmony committees at ground
level where local religious leaders can work it out," Chandra continued. "In
this process external influence may be counter-productive. At the same time
we are committed to making sure that those who are guilty of such crimes do
not escape unpunished."

He concluded with an appeal for religious and individual tolerance and
respect. 

"India is a great experiment where different religions, peoples, cultures,
even different tastes of food and dress are brought together, and we are
trying to make a success of this in a democracy. We are brought together not
by force of the state or by an oppressive attitude of one community, but by
consensus and a commitment to a free life. We appreciate the assistance the
Adventist Church can bring in terms of dealing with our three greatest
challenges: population management, education and health."

Responding for the Adventist Church, Dr. Jan Paulsen, president, identified
with the themes of tolerance and religious freedom.

"Since the beginning of our Church, we have not only been speaking about
religious values but also improving the quality of life through education
and medical care. We have also a long commitment to religious liberty, and I
thank the Ambassador for the opportunity a number of our leaders have had to
participate in the recent religious freedom conference in Delhi. We work to
preserve religious tolerance and trust that we can show the respect for all
religions that we crave for ourselves." [Jonathan Gallagher]

----------------------
Contact Information: 
Communications Department
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600

Phone: 301-680-6300
e-mail: info@gc.adventist.org
web: http://www.adventist.org/


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