Development key to fighting Maoism, says Kanchi Sankaracharya

“Lack of development in backward areas such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and parts of West Bengal is the main reason for the growth of Maoism and militancy there,” Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, the Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, said here. He told The Hindu: “The absence of development in the tribal areas of these States led to the growth of Maoism and violence. Unless the government and other agencies took up the developmental issues of these backward regions, militancy and violence cannot be stopped.” He said that the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam had started many schools and vocational training centres in the areas to provide education and employment skills to the tribal people and other backward sections of society. The Kanchi Sankaracharya added that another reason for increasing militancy and violence was the declining influence of religions and religious leaders on sections of the people. “They should also take steps to help the poor and needy in various religious sections of the people so that the aspirations of the poor are also met to some extent.” He said: “Though there are no differences among the leaders of various religions the political interest to divide them and to exploit them politically is the main reason for conflict between various religions particularly the Hindus and Muslims. Thus the problems faced are not communal but political in many parts of the country.” Joint meetings He said he had held joint meetings with various religious leaders in different parts of the country to emphasise communal harmony among Hindus and Muslims. The latest one was in Bhopal on June 20. The well-attended meeting was organised by the All-India Tanzeem-i-Imam Masjid. It was attended by prominent Muslim religious leaders including the Chairman of the Tanzeem-i-Imam Masjid, Umer Ahmed Illyasi, and Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind leader Mufti Abdur Razaaq Khan. It was attended by Kailash Joshi, Bharatiya Janata Party MP, who said that his party did not believe in a communal divide, the Sankaracharya said. The Sankaracharya said the decline in the value systems and the quality of life also had led to many undesirable developments in society. The unity among the people and the feeling of oneness as Indians, not just as Muslims and Hindus, will go a long way in bringing communal harmony and peace in the country, he said. The Kanchi Sankaracharya is completing a five-day visit to Kerala and leaving for Coimbatore on Tuesday morning.