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Current Affairs ( 25 Apr 2025, NewAgeIslam.Com)

Unity India Condemns Pahalgam Terror Attack

By Unity India

25 April 2025

We, the members of Unity India [a national forum for promoting communal amity in India], unequivocally condemn the horrific terror attack that took place on the 22nd of April in Pahalgam, Kashmir. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We share their sorrow, and stand in solidarity with them during this time of immense pain and irreparable loss. The terrorists responsible for this heinous crime must be identified and brought to justice swiftly and decisively.

We were pained to read from news reports how Hindus were singled out and shot dead. Clearly, the perpetrators of this savagery and those who masterminded it aim to shatter the bonds of community and create an environment of distrust between the Hindus and Muslims in India.

We consider this a direct assault on the values of peace, communal harmony, and unity in diversity that define the civilisational ethos and cultural syncretism of India - a subcontinent which remains unparalleled in the diversity and religions that it has nurtured and protected over the millenniums.

Hence, we believe that the evil machinations of the terrorists can be defeated only when all communities remain united so as not to allow hate to triumph over our shared humanity. In this context, we would like to make a special mention of Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a young Muslim in the prime of his life, who died fighting the terrorists in a valiant attempt to save the non-Muslim tourists he had just ferried on horseback. It is national heroes like him who represent the Muslims, not terrorists, who are rejected by their community.

The Pahalgam tragedy reinforces the urgent need for a collective, unwavering commitment to combating not just terrorism but the use of mindless violence by extremist outfits in India to target specific communities in the name of religion.

We reject the rhetoric that weaponises religion to fracture the social fabric and thereby desecrate the sacred principles that religious traditions stand upon. History has shown us the tragic consequences of allowing hatred to take root. From violence and displacement to long-lasting trauma and generational distrust, the cost of religious division is far too great to ignore.

True peace does not come from the uniformity that divisive forces seek to impose. It comes from accepting diversity as a gift of the biological and intellectual evolution of humanity, and our courageous refusal to be divided.

In condemning the attempt to divide us by religion, we renew our commitment to building bridges, not walls; to fostering dialogue, not discord; and to living out the highest ideals of our shared human spirit.

Signatories

1. Dr. Ajit Yadav - Orthopedist

2. Arvindh Pandian - Lawyer, Madras High Court

3. A. Faizur Rahman - Secretary General, Islamic Forum for the Promotion of Moderate Thought

4. Habib Hussain - President, Thousand Lights Charity

5. Irshad Mecca - Member, Islamic Forum for the Promotion of Moderate Thought

6. Justice K. Kannan - Former Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court

7. Mukund Padmanabhan - Former Editor of The Hindu

8. Mohammed Jawad - Lawyer

9. Justice Prakash - Former Judge, Madras High Court

10. Rafiq Sait - Businessman

11. N. L. Rajah - Lawyer, Madras High Court