Something Our World Really Needs: 17-YO Gurugram Girl Launches Platform For Religious Harmony

When the world and communities are becoming increasingly polarised on the basis of religion, this 17-year-old schoolgirl from Gurugram wants to start a conversation on religious harmony amongst youth. Class 12 student of The Shri Ram School Aravali, Ayesha Dhall has launched a platform 'Y4RH'. The teenager kicked off the initiative by moderating a panel of religious heads and thinkers on August 3, 2019.

Ayesha has been working on this for sometime. According to ANI, she met six religious leaders from different faiths in the past four months to fathom the differences and similarities between religions. After those meetings she came to the conclusion that most religions share more in common that we think. She is disturbed by the fact that even after so many similarities, there is hatred between people from different religious beliefs.

Silver Lining

"The root cause of inter-religious conflict is the belief that whatever one believes are the absolute and only truth, and the need to defend this belief," ANI quotes Dr M Christhu Doss, Professor of History at JMC, Delhi and a scholar of Secularism and Christianity as saying.

"Youth can promote religious harmony by breaking barriers and by experiencing the world, experiencing different cultures and having a diverse friends¡¯ circle. Our philosophers have said we will not know our culture until we know someone else's," Upasana Dhankhar, a scholar of Hindu law, Gita studies and Sanskrit literature reportedly said.

"India is the only truly multi-religious country in the world. We must all realize we are Indians first and our identity comes after that," ANI quoted Rabbi Ezekiel Isaac Malekar, Head of the Jewish community in New Delhi as saying.

Ayesha¡¯s plans to hold discussions on religious harmony at schools, conferences and share her message using social media and their official website.