Kazakhstan has planned to establish inter-religious relations center. Hindus have applauded Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s reported proposal of establishing a Center for Study of Interethnic and Interreligious Relations. According to reports, this Center will conduct study and research on various aspects of inter-ethnic accord, tolerance, and inter-religious relations and shall train the state employees in these spheres.
Calling it a “step in the right direction”, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, pointed out that serious and honest interfaith dialogue in the world was the need of the hour.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that religion was the most powerful, complex and far-reaching force in our society, so we must take it seriously. And we all knew that religion comprised much more than our own particular tradition/experience.
Rajan Zed hoped that Hinduism being the oldest and third largest religion of the world would form part of the study/research at this upcoming Center. If Kazakhstan needed any assistance on Hinduism, he or other Hindu scholars would be glad to help.
Stressing the merits of interfaith dialogue, Zed argued that in our shared pursuit for the truth, we could learn from one another and thus could arrive nearer to the truth. This dialogue might help us vanquish the stereotypes, prejudices, caricatures, etc., passed on to us from previous generations.
Country of spectacular Tian Shan or Altay Mountains and steppes, Kazakhstan has large mineral resources and huge economic potential and is the world’s largest producer of uranium. Hinduism has about one billion adherents in the world and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.