Journalism of Courage
In the wake of attacks on churches in the country, former European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso on Saturday said that religious intolerance is a “matter of concern” and it is the duty of a national leader to defend and protect the life of every individual and “not specific groups”.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Barroso, who was the EC president from 2004 to 2014, said that intolerance in any part of the world is a matter of concern. “We should explain to people, I think some pedagogical efforts are necessary from leaders. That instead of exciting or motivating one against the other, tolerance is key. As I said, one country may have predominantly one religion among its population. What matters is every person, not groups of persons, but an individual — a man, woman or child… The goal, the duty of the leader, a national leader, is to defend and protect the life of every individual, and not specific groups. We should preach tolerance and be strong in condemning intolerance wherever they may happen,” he said.
He was responding to a question on religious tolerance dominating the discourse in India in the recent past, especially in the wake of attacks on churches, and controversial statements against other minority communities.
Barroso’s remarks come within days of US President Barack Obama’s comments on religious tolerance in India.
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On January 28, hours before winding up his India visit, Obama had made a strong pitch for religious tolerance. Invoking Article 25 of the Indian Constitution that gives every citizen the right to practice or propagate his religion, Obama had cautioned India against efforts to divide society on “sectarian lines”.
Obama had said, “Every person has the right to practice his faith without any persecution, fear or discrimination. India will succeed so long as it is not splintered on religious lines.”
“Michelle and I returned from India — an incredible, beautiful country, full of magnificent diversity — but a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs — acts of intolerance that would have shocked Gandhiji, the person who helped to liberate that nation,” Obama said on February 6 in Washington DC.
