Lauding India for its secular values, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday said the country's "religious tolerance" can be a "role model" for the rest of the world.
NEW DELHI: Lauding India for its secular values, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday said the country's "religious tolerance" can be a "role model" for the rest of the world.
"India's long tradition of religions tolerance can be a role model for rest of the world," he said here while speaking at an international Anti-Terrorism Conference which was attended by leaders from several countries.
"Major religions of the world like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated in India and it provided shelter to followers of religions like Zoroastrianism. These can be a model for rest of the world," he said.
Referring to Pakistan and Iraq, where Shia-Sunni strife has claimed hundreds of lives, he said it is India where people of all religions and sects live peacefully.
Condemning terrorism across the world, he said: "some people's actions raise finger to all others. This is wrong... We have to consider human values and think about humanity as a whole. It is a universal responsibility."
"All major religions essentially has great potential to bring genuine peace on this planet," he said and urged people to "promote secular values and religious harmony".
"We have no difference. Emotionally, mentally and physically we are the same. For our own interests, we have to take care of six billion human beings," he said.
Union Science Minister Kapil Sibal said terrorism should not be used as a political weapon. "Making it an electoral issue will encourage terrorists," he said.
Comparing terrorism with HIV, Sibal said: "the disease knows no boundary. We need global cooperation and understanding to check it. The nations indulging in arms supply and financing terrorists for narrow political gains must stop such activities."
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