Isolate nations that promote, abet terror: VP Naidu

Describing terror as the enemy of humanity, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday called upon the world leaders to isolate nations that promote and abet terror.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Global Conference on "Unity, Peace and Prosperity through Spirituality", organised by Brahma Kumaris, he said the choice was clear before everybody, whether to choose between "the ones advocating peace, progress, prosperity and development and the ones preaching violence, hatred and bloodshed".

"It was time for the world leaders to join hands to eliminate the menace and reject those who perpetrate violence and create unrest," he said in an apparent attack on Pakistan.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday delivered his maiden speech at the 74th UN General Assembly and in his almost 50-minute address, devoted half of his time to India, and Kashmir, drumming up hysteria over nuclear war.

Contrary to Khan's speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted the international community to stand united against terrorism and spoke on development and peace.

Naidu called spirituality as the basis of all religions which binds them together and said only spiritual knowledge can ensure true peace, unity, harmony, and stability in the world.

"Use technology to spread Indian message of universal peace and welfare to the remote corners of the world. One should never forget our spiritual moorings including the rich heritage of Yoga, spiritualism, tolerance and peaceful coexistence," he said.

Stating that India has always upheld the idea of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" by treating the whole world as one family, Naidu said that it always wished for the peaceful coexistence with others and never acted as an aggressor.

"We believe in the philosophy of 'Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu'. We want peaceful coexistence of everybody. Despite being known as Vishwaguru, India never attacked anybody," he said.

Saying that it was ironic that even in the era of technology, communities were being identified on the basis of religion and caste, Naidu said that those who were spreading violence and terrorism in the name of religion were acting against its tenets.

"Significance of religion is not in its geographical spread but in giving spiritual peace and stability to humanity. One must understand the inherent spiritual unity of all religions. We have only studied the history of religions, their geographical spread, not their inherent spiritual unity," he said.

Pointing out that Science and Technology have the ability to bring in a positive change in the lives of people and humanity at large, the Vice President said that spiritual knowledge was needed to show the path of welfare to science.

He also cautioned against its misuse and called for effective utilization of technology to spread the Indian message of universal peace and welfare to the remote corners of the world.

Opining that a New India was taking shape with the aspirations and energy of youth and young entrepreneurs, the Vice President said opportunities must be provided to them to address challenges faced by the present-day world.

He also stressed the need to promote value-based education that ensures lasting peace, stability in the society and creates a just, equitable social order.

"If conflicts emerge from the minds of men, then peace too should be built in the thoughts, ideologies, and attitudes of people through education and shaping of their value-systems," he said.