Give peace a chance

In recognition of his contribution to the interfaith movement in India and abroad over the past 20 years scholar and community activist Dr Homi Dhalla was awarded the Mother Teresa National Award for Interfaith Harmony at the South Asia Interfaith Harmony Conclave-2007 held in New Delhi on April 21-22 this year. Dhalla was given the award by Dr Karan Singh, president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and a former foreign minister of India.

Dastur (Dr) Kaikhusroo JamaspAsa and Zena Sorabjee offered their blessings to the meet along with eight other religious heads. JamaspAsa is High Priest of the Anjuman Atash Behram in Bombay and Sorabjee is the chairman of the Bahai’s House of Worship Committee. Dr Shernaz Cama, a director of the UNESCO Parzor Project and head of the English department at the Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University was also on the steering committee of the Conclave.

At the valedictory session Dhalla made an audiovisual presentation on the theme "Dimensions of Peace and Violence.” Amongst the other Zoroastrian speakers at the two-day conclave were Cama who spoke on "Interfaith and the Environment,” Mahrukh Singh, principal of the prestigious Mother’s International School in New Delhi on "Interfaith Harmony and the School Curriculum” and Jehangir Patel, journalist, on the "Role of Print and Electronic Media” in the interfaith movement.

Dhalla’s bio data notes that "ever since he was invited by His Holiness Pope John Paul II in October 1986 to the World Day of Prayer for Peace at Assisi, he has been representing the Parsi community in different parts of the world at interfaith conferences. He has been speaking on human rights, ecological issues, interfaith dialog, peace, etc.

"He has participated at the World Conference of Religion for Peace (New York), United Religions Initiative (San Francisco), International Interfaith Centre (Oxford) and International Association for Religious Freedom (Oxford). He has been invited by the Vatican and His Holiness the Dalai Lama for making presentations at conferences. Since 2004, he was invited to be a member of the apex body of Foundation for the Unity of Religions and Enlightened Citizenship, which is an interfaith organization launched by the former President of India, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.”

The conference was convened by Dr Khwaja Iftikhar Ahmed, founder president of the Interfaith Harmony Foundation of India. The Delhi Parsi Anjuman (DPA) and the Parzor Foundation participated in the meet which saw religious heads from many parts of South Asia and elsewhere convene.

In a letter addressed to Ahmed and published in the Conclave souvenir DPA vice president Dadi Mistry noted, "We at the Delhi Parsi Anjuman embrace all religions and are very open to interfaith marriages and invite into our fold, as members, all non-Zoroastrian spouses. We therefore congratulate you on your efforts in bringing about harmony in all religions and pray that Ahura Mazda guides your intellect and blesses all your endeavors towards this goal.” Cama was also quoted in the souvenir as stating, "Such a meeting has great significance in a world divided in the name of religion.”

Inaugurating the meet Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh spoke of "the climate of intolerance (and)… the forces of communalism that are tearing the country apart.” He called for "mutual respect for each other” and for "each generation to reaffirm their values of tolerance and diversity.”

Addressing the august gathering Chief Rabbi David Rosen, president, the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations spoke of the exploitation of religion in territorial and ethnic conflicts. This puts "a greater burden on us to show that religion is not the cause of conflict.” In reference to the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East, Rosen said "Inshallah” to holding an interfaith harmony meet in Jerusalem some day "together with Palestinian Muslims.” Among those attending the Conclave was former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan who is president of the Pakistan based Movement for Justice. Khan was married to a Jewess heiress Jemima Goldsmith.

JamaspAsa cautioned about "encroaching of one religion on another” and emphasized the right "to practice the religion of one’s birth.”