India committed to respect all faiths

Mr. Akhter's analysis in the Nov. 18 Daily Herald regarding India losing its secular edifice is shallow. From the founding father of India Mahatma Gandhi to India's first prime minister Nehru to its current prime minister Modi, India has been and will always continue to be a secular nation. Being secular and coexisting with people of all faiths is in India's DNA. It is the largest democracy that is home to the second-largest Muslim population in the world.

Earlier this year, after Mr. Modi's landslide victory, Time magazine called Mr. Modi a great "uniter-in-chief." After his victory, Mr. Modi stated that status quo was simply not acceptable on divisive matters such as Triple Talaq (divorce), Kashmir terrorism and the mosque/temple issue.

Triple Talaq was abusive to Muslim women, whereby any Muslim man could legally divorce his wife by saying the word talak (divorce) three times. Modi's government stopped that practice. With over 80,000 lives lost due to terrorism in Kashmir, it required transformational thinking and a series of decisive actions to stop the bloodshed. Modi's government took the bold steps of integrating Kashmir with India to uplift Kashmir's sinking economy, stop terrorism and to bring Kashmir at par with rest of the India. A couple of weeks back, India's Supreme Court tackled the mosque/temple issue - another bitterly divisive matter - where most parties agreed to the court's decision.

All these issues were destroying the secular foundation on which modern India currently stands.

As Albert Einstein said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results." Fact of the matter is that the government under Mr. Modi is tackling divisive issues that had created bitterness. India continues to take steps to build a strong secular society where people of all faiths are treated equal and can coexist.

Subhash Nigam

Palatine