Hegemony of one religion never been part of our culture, will never be: NHRC chief Arun Kumar Mishra

In his address at the opening of a conference in New Delhi on 'Human Rights in Indian Culture and Philosophy', he also said forcible religious conversion was never accepted by India's civilisation and it is "against humanity".

National Human Rights Commission NHRC chief justice (retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra on June 30 said ' Sarva Dharma Sambhav' or all religions are the same has been the ethos of India and hegemony of one religion "has never been part of our culture, it never was and will never be".

In his address at the opening of a conference in New Delhi on 'Human Rights in Indian Culture and Philosophy', he also said forcible religious conversion was never accepted by India's civilisation and it is "against humanity".

Extolling the virtues of Indian culture, he said, all religions speak of peace and non-violence. "Peaceful co-existence is our culture, our dharma". "If our blood is not different, how can there be any difference between religions, Gods," he said.

"It is time to think about the oneness of Gods, all religions have one goal. Today, don't know for what reasons or interests, attempts are being made to create a divide. There is a need to implement again the syncretic tradition of [Akbar's] 'Din-i-Ilahi'," he said.