Hyderabad: The National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH) observes Communal Harmony Campaign and Fund Raising Week every year from November 19 to 25 and the last working day of this week is observed as the Flag Day.
History of Communal Harmony Week:
- Communal Harmony Week, also known as Quami Ekta Week, is celebrated in India from November 19–25 each year.
- The National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH) organises the event to promote communal harmony and national integration.
- The NFCH was established in 1992 to help victims of communal violence and rehabilitate them.
- National Foundation for Communal Harmony was established on February 19, 1992 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
- The Foundation promotes Communal Harmony and strengthens National Integration. Under its Project ‘Assist’, the NFCH also provides financial assistance for relief and rehabilitation of children rendered orphan or destitute in communal, caste, ethnic or terrorist violence.
Main objectives of Communal Harmony Campaign Week:
- To raise donations for the physical and psychological support of the orphan or destitute children affected by violence.
- To promote fraternity among the people, maintain peace and communal harmony and national integration.
- Communal Harmony:
- Communal harmony is the idea of people of different religions, castes, creeds, sexes, and backgrounds living together in peace and love. It's about creating goodwill and harmony between different communities.
- The aim is to foster an ethic of coexistence rooted in or inspired by religious and cultural values.
- It is essentially the basic law of creation and still controls our lives. In terms of etymology, harmony denotes 'together'.
- It is defined as 'uniting and harmonising with each other and the universe within various communities of diverse beliefs and opinions - whether social, economic, political, or ecological'.
- Living in harmony and with mutual respect, regardless of social status, ethnicity, beliefs, faith, and gender distinctions.
- Every country's foundation currently requires communal harmony. Violence breaks out when the peace within the community is disrupted. No person finds joy in discord or aggression.
Importance of Communal Harmony in India:
India is a nation with a diverse culture, where individuals from various religious, racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds coexist peacefully. Communal harmony is essential in our nation to maintain peace and unity.
Why communal harmony is important in India?
- Encourage unity within the country: It allows individuals of varied religions, cultures, and languages to identify as citizens of a unified nation.
- Promote national integration: It enhances the sense of camaraderie and loyalty to one's country.
- It's helps to foster a sense of national identity and strengthens the bonds of brotherhood and patriotism.
- It helps to build tolerance among citizens from all religions.
- Establish an environment that promotes economic growth: This involves creating circumstances that are advantageous for commerce and investments.
- Liberate India from vices: It aided in freeing India from colonial domination and can assist in liberating it from other vices.
- India requires communal harmony due to its diverse populace and cultures. Collaboration is needed from people, communities, religious figures, civil society groups, and the government.
Introduction of CHC Week & Flag Day:
In the Meeting of Executive Council, NFCH on August 7, 1992, it was suggested that a fund raising week should be observed by the Foundation every year along-with an intensified publicity campaign. It was also proposed that fund raising week should coincide with Quami Ekta Week which is organised from November 19 to 25 every year in Delhi and in the areas identified for implementation of scheme for assistance to children affected by communal violence.
Activities during Communal Harmony Campaign Week:
- Cultural programmes, debates, seminars, symposia, painting competitions involving children of various communities for spreading the theme of communal harmony and National integration.
- Rallies with banners are also organized as part of celebrations along-with posters and paintings giving message of unity in diversity, communal harmony and National integration attempted by school children.
- During the Communal Harmony Campaign Week, few child victims of violence from different states, assisted by the Foundation are invited to Delhi to share their experience which promotes communal harmony and national integration.
Gandhi believed in the Vedantic principle of Unitism, asserting that all individuals are interconnected within a single universal existence. All men are fundamentally part of a single family unit. In order to discover their true selves, a person must consider the well-being of others as their own and commit to serving everyone. Sensual pleasures and material possessions serve as barriers that block the illumination of reasoning. Through his lack of awareness and self-centeredness, man becomes disconnected from the profound concept of unity.
Communal violence in India:
• According to NCRB report 2022, in the year 2022, there were a total of 272 victims of Communal/Religious Rioting in India.
• A total of 10 murders driven by communal reasons were reported nationwide in 2022.
• The Communal/Religious crime rate was 0.1 with 857 cases in 2020, increased to 378 cases in 2021, and decreased to 272 cases in 2022.
It is because of these past events that it is important for Communal Harmony to play a critical role in India in order to preserve unity and peace.
According to Article 51-A (e) of the Constitution, every Indian citizen is obligated to encourage unity and a sense of solidarity among all individuals in India, regardless of religious, linguistic, regional, or sectional differences. To accomplish the objective of brotherhood as stated in the Preamble, there is a need.
Every religion teaches us to coexist peacefully, promoting love and unity instead of division and hatred. It is important that we learn resilience, tolerance, and forbearance towards all religions and faiths, including willingness to make sacrifices. It is now the moment for humanity to coexist on earth peacefully as one united family. Living in harmony has transitioned from being just a moral rule to a lifestyle choice.
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