TUMAKURU: Noted writer and Nadoja Baraguru Ramchandrappa here on Sunday suggested that fundamentalism in all religions should be opposed to safeguard the country’s democratic values as fundamentalists are creating islands of hatred.
“If there is fundamentalism in Islam we should oppose it, and also if it is in Hinduism and Christianity. The ideals of Swami Vivekananda can show the way to keep tolerance and equality intact. But rulers, instead of talking about Lord Rama’s ideals of sacrifice, are using his name to attain power,” he charged.
Speaking at the release of a book, Savyasachi, on former deputy chief minister Dr G Parameshwara, he alleged that religion and culture have been misinterpreted to divide society. He suggested that juxtaposing the founding fathers of the country, including Mahatma Gandhi and Dr B R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhai Patel, with hero and villain superlatives should be stopped. “Nehru was the first prime minister to say he was the ‘jan sevak’,” he remarked. Jnanpith awardee Chandrashekara Kambara released the book.