Brushing aside the argument that the population of Muslims in the country is rising and that of Hindus is going down, former deputy chief minister Siddharamaiah said on Sunday that all communities are equally responsible for the population explosion.
“Prior to independence India’s population was only 33 crore. . Now it has crossed 100 crore. . How can a single community be blamed for this?,” he said.
“Instead of blaming one community, every one should understand the genuine need for population control. All communities must be educated in this regard. In fact, comparatively, a lot of awareness has already been created among all communities and I am hopeful that this will have a positive impact in the coming days,” said Mr Siddharamaiah.
Participating in the Muslim mass marriage ceremony organised by Subramanya Social Welfare Service Committee on Sunday at Kunigal the former minister called all the communities to go in for simple marriage ceremonies.
“Don’t make weddings a prestige issue. Celebrate in a simple way. Instead of imitating the rich, middle class and poor families should make it point to spend as less as possible on weddings. The money saved thus could be used for better purposes in future such as education of children,” he suggested.
Hindu-Muslim unity
Appreciating the efforts of Subramanya Social Welfare Service Committee in organising a free mass marriage for Muslims, the former deputy chief minister called for unity between Hindu and Muslim communities.
“Some political parties and leaders, for their own selfish reasons, are trying to sow the seeds of hatred between the two religions. This should be condemned by one and all,” he remarked.
Former union minister C M Ibrahim commended S P Muddahanumegowda and M K Ashok of Subramanya Social Welfare Service Committee for efficiently organising the ceremony in which 42 couples got married. He distributed free mangalasutras to the couple on the occasion.
No values
Former MLC Dr Ijazuddin lamented that in the 21st century everything is being commercialised and there is no room for values such as honesty and simplicity. Corruption is showing its ugly face everywhere.
“No religion preaches hatred. Every religion advocates peace and harmony. But unfortunately, there are certain evil elements in the society which try to instil hatred between religions and spread violence. One must be aware of such anti-social elements. It is every one’s dety to strive for achieving peace” he said.