16 June, 2006

My dear Asghar Ali Saheb,

Please refer to your article on “Identity in a Multi-Religious Society”.

In a multi-religious society, all religious groups are bound to be influenced by each other, particularly if the social environment is free of fear and hatred and there is fraternization among different groups.  They may learn from each other and change their social customs and cultural norms but they have to be vigilant against compromising the basic elements of their religious faith.  So the future of a multi-religious society does not lie in religious synthesis or syncretism but how persons of different faiths remain true to their religious creed and practices (as Gandhi and Azad did) and yet live peacefully and cooperate with each other in nation-building and development.

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

 (SYED SHAHABUDDIN)

Dr Asghar Ali Engineer,

Director

Centre for Study of Society and Secularism

9B,Himalaya Apartments, FF,

6th Road, Santacruz (E)