Conference appeals to end violence against minorities in South Asia

DALLAS: Member of the UN Advisory Board for Nuclear Disarmament Matters and renowned Pakistani scholar Pervez Hoodbhoy has said that the entire society should have to stand to protect minority's rights from improper behavior and the ongoing violence against them.

Speaking as keynote speaker at the "International Conference on Human Rights Crisis in South Asia" on January 25 in Dallas, he said the greatest threat to peace in our societies comes from our own religious and cultural divisions not from West.

The conference was organized by South Asia Democracy Watch (SADEW) in collaboration with the Embrey Human Rights Program at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas.

Analyzing the violence against depressed segments of the society, Hoodbhoy said until religion and state are separated it is hard for modern Muslim societies to curb militancy and social conflicts.

Supporters of the extremists should realize their wrong side, as militants have failed to offer a political structure in Pakistan.

Welcoming the participants, the President of SADEW Dr. Qaisar Abbas said we have been living in harmony with all cultural and religious groups for centuries but the British Raj in India destroyed this harmony intentionally. The organization, he said, will continue to engage the public in crucial social and political issues like this.

Director, Embrey Human Rights Program in SMU Dr. Rick Helparin congratulated SADeW in organizing the conference on an important issue and said organizing such events with critical perspectives is not easy.

Known scholars, activists and community leaders discussed various aspects of legal, political and social discriminations against minorities in South Asia in the conference sessions.

Prominent Islamic Scholar Dr. Husnain Walji challenged religious hierarchies to establish a society based on tolerance egalitarian values in Muslim societies.

Human rights activist Krishanti Dharmaraj said discrimination in Sri Lanka has been legitimized through national symbols such as the national flag and state emblems.

Sociology professor at Texas A&M University Dr. Rghu Singh presented results of his survey in India on secularism and tolerance.

Brother of the slain federal minister Shahbaz Bhatti in Pakistan, Peter Bhatti said killers of his brother have been tried and convicted but they are still at large as our leaders seem to be afraid of taking any action against them.

Talking on role of media in violence against minorities, senior journalist from Pakistan and former secretary Karachi Press Club, Alauddin Khanzada said, commonly media instigates violence, however sometime it mediate.

Following the media has become a part of corporate sector, it always goes for saleable news, instigating the violence, instead of mediator of violence, he added.

Prominent scholars and community leaders who chaired and moderated the conference sessions included Mayor of Paris in Texas Dr. Arjumand Hashmi, Dr. Pritpal Singh, Dr. Basher Ahmed, Asif Effendi, Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada and Tausif Kamal.

SADeW board members Dr. Qaisar Abbas, Syed Fayez Hasan, Sirj Butt and Amir Lakhani presented plaques to the conference presenters. Alauddin Khanzada, former secretary Karachi Press Club, presented traditional Sindhi Ajraks on behalf of visiting journalists from Pakistan to participating speakers and organizers.

This successful conference largely attended by students and community members, was organized in collaboration with the Dallas Peace Center, Islamic Center of IILM, Masjid e Baitul Ikram, DFW Sikh Community, Pakistan Chronicle and Journal, South Asia Chronicle, Fun Asia Radio as exclusive media partner and several other organizations.