09-07-2025
Exposure to multicultural environment can give broader outlook, thereby ensuring communal harmony, says CPI(M) leader
Exposure to a multilingual, multireligious, and multicultural environment would have given people a broader outlook, thereby fostering communal harmony. However, the present generation is denied such exposure as many of them study in educational institutions run by respective religious orders, regretted CPI(M) Dakshina Kannada secretary Muneer Katipalla here on Wednesday.
Speaking at the peace committee meeting chaired by Home Minister G. Parameshwara, Mr. Katipalla said that although his mother tongue was Beary, he also speaks Tulu and Kannada as a native speaker, having grown up in a mixed cultural environment. It might be difficult to break the present practice easily. Still, the government should ensure that educational institutions teach students at least some Constitutional values to broaden their outlook, he said.
Stating that communal disharmony was not an offshoot of a single cause, Mr. Katipalla said conflict of ideologies has been fomenting communal strife in the region. While law enforcement has curbed violence for the present, a permanent solution was needed, he said.
Speaking earlier, Dharmika Parishat member Lakshmish Gabldka advocated for the police to stop the propagation of principles in the name of religion. With the police dealing firmly against hate messages on social media platforms, the situation was under control. Cultural programmes, including Yakshagana, should not become platforms to humiliate religions, he said.
Maulana Abdul Aziz Darimi said Mangaluru was a land blessed by God, and it should become a land of peace and prosperity. Every religion should disown perpetrators of hate speech and crimes committed by their members. One more crime should not be the answer for a crime, he said, demanding stern action by authorities against the perpetrators.
While Dakshina Kannada Muslim Central Committee vice-president Kodijal Ibrahim said everyone should stop supporting divisive forces, real estate entrepreneur Pushparaj Jain regretted that communal incidents inflict a severe dent on the region, which was on the growth path. Social Democratic Party of India representative Abdul Jaleel Krishnapura demanded a long-term plan to combat communalism. He said the masterminds behind violence should be brought to book, and not just those carrying out their instructions. Mohammed Kunhi from Shanthi Prakashana demanded a free hand to the administration to enforce law and order.
