NEW DELHI, JUNE 14: As attacks on minorities grab the headlines, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has suggested a face-to-face dialogue between the leaders of Hindu and Christian religions.Convinced that the attacks on Christians are the work of "small and petty" people, NCM members feel that if religious heads and prominent members of different sects were to discuss matters across the table, the air of suspicion and doubt would be cleared."The Commission will act as a facilitator because we think it is the only solution that will work," Commission member A M Sethna told The Indian Express.Sethna also wants prominent members of the minority community to play a leading role in matters concerning their community. "Every community has persons of eminence who should involve themselves and be part of the dialogue of religions," he says adding that such prominent persons should come to the fore and take active part in community affairs.Tarlochan Singh, also a member of the Commission, feels the dialogue should take place at the national and state levels. "Disputes start with a small number of people. Discussions between Hindu and Christian leaders should start immediately," says Singh.The Commission had already sounded out religious leaders of different sects and are in the process of assessing the response. If such a dialogue process is established and were to take place at regular intervals, a lot of the suspicions and ill-will between different communities would be wiped away, is the concerted opinion of Commission members.In the case of Uttar Pradesh, which has a history of communal clashes where the majority community has been pitted against different minority communities, the Commission has directed the District Commissioners of every district to hold regular meetings with the heads of different sects. The first round of such meetings has already taken place all over UP and the response from different communities has been positive.The district administration has also been asked to step up the patrolling of sensitive areas as a confidence building measure to reassure the minority communities about their safety and to instill a sense of confidence in them. "The district administration is responsible for maintaining the peace. The Commission's role arises only if there is an incident, to investigate and see if there are any communal overtones," said Singh.Referring to the sense of disquiet that grips the Christian community following a spate of attacks, the Commission members differentiate between incidents where individuals and churches have been attacked.While the Commission's report on incidents in Kosi, Mathura and Agra has come in for flak from the Christian community which has dismissed the report as a "white-wash job", the Commission is more worried about the bomb explosions in churches in Andhra Pradesh and Goa."These are a cause of worry. We have asked both the Andhra and Goa governments to send us a report," says Sethna.
