India has called on the UN to take a direct stand against
Hinduphobia and violent bigotry targeting the Sikhism and Buddhism
India has called
on the UN to take a direct stand against Hinduphobia
and violent bigotry targeting the Sikhism and Buddhism.
"This August body fails to acknowledge the rise of hatred and violence
against Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism," Ashish Sharma, a First Secretary
in India's UN
Mission, told the General Assembly on Wednesday during a debate on the
culture of peace.
"We fully
agree that anti-Semitism, Islamaphobia and anti-Christian acts need to be
condemned and India firmly condemns such acts," he said while referring to
the draft resolution on the "Freedom of Religion or Belief".
But he said that
"UN resolutions on such important issues speak only of these three
Abrahamic religions" which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam that trace
their origins to Jewish prophet Abraham.
"Why this
selectivity?" Sharma queried.
"The
shattering of the iconic Bamyan Buddha by fundamentalists, the terrorist
bombing of the Sikh gurudwara in Afghanistan where 25 Sikh worshipers were
killed and the destruction of Hindu and Buddhist temples and minority cleansing
of these religions by countries, calls for condemning such acts against these
religions also.
"The UN is
not a body which should take sides when it comes to religion," he added.
The draft
resolution that named only the three Abrahamic religions was sponsored by 33
European countries that are predominantly Christian, and none of the Islamic
countries or Israel joined in sponsoring it.
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