New Delhi: India at the United Nations General Assembly condemned the cowardly dastardly attack on Gurudwara Karte Parwan in Kabul where two persons were killed. In a strongly-worded statement at the United Nations General Assembly, India's Ambassador to United Nations TS Tirumurti said, "The Gurudwara Karte Parwan was attacked, desecrated and damaged." He asked the world to "condemn hatred against non-Abrahamic religions" and "stop being selective in combating religiophobias".
Such a strong reaction comes in the backdrop of the terror attack on Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul that killed two people, including one Afghan Sikh. Tirumurti while speaking at the UNGA informal high-level meeting to mark the commemoration of the first International Day for Countering Hate Speech, said, "Hate speech is the antithesis of peace, tolerance and harmony. Unfortunately, we continue to witness a rising trend in hate speech. This was particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic".
India joined 12 other countries to issue a cross-regional statement on ‘infodemic’ in June 2020, he pointed out. The Indian envoy during his speech on Monday explained that "India has time and again emphasised that combating religiophobia can never succeed if it continues to be exclusionary and remains restricted to one or two religions only, while completely ignoring the rise in hatred and discrimination against non-Abrahamic religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism".
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It's time that the UN Member States condemned hatred against non-Abrahamic religions as well and stop being selective in combating religiophobias. There cannot be double standards on religiophobias if you truly want to combat hate, he added. The Indian envoy noted that today, every one of the world’s major religions has a home in India, making it a nation of unparalleled diversity. India has, over centuries, provided refuge to all, whether Zoroastrians or the Jewish community or Tibetan Buddhists or many from our neighbourhood.
"Through embracing both democracy and pluralism, India has promoted a culture of tolerance and respect for all religions and cultures under our overarching constitutional framework," said the ambassador. Slamming the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Tirumurti said, "Aberrations are dealt with within our legal framework and we reject selective outrage from outside, especially when they are motivated and pursuing a divisive agenda just as we heard today references against India by OIC".
He reiterated that there can be no doubt that terrorism is the antithesis of all religions and cultures. India has continued to play a leading role to combat both radicalisation and terrorism. The United Nations has the responsibility to ensure that countering hate speech and discrimination should not be limited to a select few, but should encompass all those affected, said the Indian envoy at UNGA.
