"Culture of peace cannot be only for Abrahamic religions." Watch India accusing Pakistan of violating UNGA resolution on the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara.
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00:00Culture of peace cannot be only for Abrahamic religions.
00:04We need to be clear that abetting or condoning terrorism is like feeding a monster that will
00:09turn around to consume us.
00:11Let us build a culture of peace together rather than fail separately.
00:30Let us build a culture of peace together rather than fail separately.
00:56However, we find disconcerting trends in the world of today.
01:05At the outset let me state that we fully agree that anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and anti-Christian
01:11acts need to be condemned and India firmly condemns such acts.
01:16However, UN resolutions on such important issues speak only of these three Abrahamic
01:22religions together.
01:23This august body fails to acknowledge the rise of hatred and violence against Buddhism,
01:29Hinduism and Sikhism also.
01:32The shattering of the iconic Bamiyan Buddha by fundamentalists, the terrorist bombing
01:36of the Sikh Gurdwaras in Afghanistan where 25 Sikh worshippers were killed and the destruction
01:42of Hindu and Buddhist temples and minority cleansing of these religions by countries
01:47calls for condemning such acts against these religions also.
01:51But the current member states refuse to speak of these religions in the same breath as the
01:56first three Abrahamic religions.
01:59Why is this selectivity?
02:01Overall, Hinduism has more than 1.2 billion, Buddhism has more than 535 million and Sikhism
02:09around 30 million followers.
02:11It is time that attacks against these religions are also added to earlier list of the three
02:16Abrahamic religions when such resolutions are passed.
02:20A culture of peace cannot be only for Abrahamic religions.
02:23And as long as such selectivity exists, the world can never truly foster a culture of
02:27peace.
02:28The United Nations is not a body which should take sides when it comes to religion.
02:34If we are indeed selective, we will only end up proving Samuel Huntington's clash of civilizations.
02:41What are we trying to build here is an alliance of civilization, not set up a clash.
02:46I call on the UN Alliance of Civilization to act likewise and speak for all, not just
02:52a select few.
02:53Mr. President, Pakistan has already violated the earlier resolution on culture of peace
02:59passed last year by this very assembly.
03:02Last month, Pakistan arbitrarily transferred the management of the Sikh holy shrine Kartarpur
03:08Sahib Gurdwara from Sikh community body to the administrative control of a non-Sikh body.
03:13This act goes against Sikh religion and its preservation and protection.
03:18You will recall that this issue of holy Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara finds mention in that earlier
03:24resolution.
03:25That resolution stands violated by Pakistan.
03:29If Pakistan changes the current culture of hatred against religions in India and stop
03:33its support of cross-border terrorism against our people, we can attempt a genuine culture
03:38of peace in South Asia and beyond.
03:41Till then, we will only be mute witness to Pakistan driving away their minorities by
03:46threat, coercion, conversion and killing.
03:50Even people of the same religion are not spared due to encouragement given to sectarian killing.
03:56Mr. President, in today's world, intolerance, hatred, violence and terrorism have almost
04:02become the norm.
04:03There can be no doubt that terrorism, which is a manifestation of intolerance and violence,
04:08is the antithesis of all religions and cultures.
04:12We are troubled by the increase in resources, financial and otherwise, that are being made
04:16available to violent and terrorist groups that misuse religion to justify and propagate
04:21their agendas.
04:22We need to be clear that abetting or condoning terrorism is like feeding a monster that will
04:28turn around to consume us.
04:30Let us fight such negative forces together rather than separately.
04:34Let us build a culture of peace together rather than fail separately.