Prof. Najma Akhtar, Vice Chancellor, JMI spoke at the Interfaith Leaders Programme organized by the British High Commission, New Delhi.Speaking on the occasion Prof. Akhtar said the ongoing pandemic has brought pain and suffering to us like never before. It is in challenging times like these in India, that have coincided with the holy month of Ramadan, that we pray to Almighty God to bestow His grace and blessings upon us for the alleviation of all human sufferings induced by the pandemic, she added. We have never felt the need to connect with fellow human beings more even as our hearts reach out to every struggling and suffering individual and family, she concluded.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Commonwealth who spoke on the occasion recalled his off-line presentation in JMI in 2019 on “India/UK- An Unbeatable Combination” assured all possible support to India by the Government of UK to combat the raging pandemic. Mr. Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India dwelt on the bilateral engagement between India and UK in the fight against coronavirus and talked about the joint-efforts initiated by the British and Indian governments to tide over the prevailing crisis. Prof. Najma Akhtar was invited to the event as a keynote speaker.
The Interfaith leaders who participated in the event were Dr. Andrew Davies, Director, Edward Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of the Religion, University of Birmingham; Anam Wasey, Youth Representative of South Asia for Global Network of Religions and Children and Father Solomon Rai, Parish Priest, St. Theresa’s Parish Sonaday; Shyama Kishore Dasa, Government and Influencer Relations, ISKCON.
They emphasized the significance of developing human bonds across geographical locations. Dr. Andrew Fleming, British Deputy High Commissioner, Hyderabad also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the ongoing measures for strengthening the bilateral ties between India and UK.The entire event was organized virtually with participants and invitees/guests joining the virtual Iftar from India and UK.
