King Ashoka, who ascended the throne of Magadh in the year 273 B.C., had a vision for the future.  A vision that we would be wise to emulate.  During his reign, diverse religious sects, such as the Brahamas, Sramanas, Nirganthas, Ajivakas, etc., bore great hostility and sectarian rancor against one another.  Ashoka's formula for peaceful coexistence, for the elimination of mutual mistrust and hatred, and for tolerance and concord consisted of several fundamental directives:  These directives (as listed in' Studies in Ancient India' by Provatansu Maiti, 1969 edition) are:

1. All sects must dwell at all places so that they could know one another and develop  tolerance for each other.

2. All sects must observe restraint of speech and purification of heart when they deal with each other.

3. The exaltation of one's own religion and condemnation of others' creed is not permitted.

4. Different sects should study of the scripture of other sects and develop concord among themselves.

5. All people must practice Ahimsa (non- violence) towards each other and towards animals.

6. Ashoka renounced the policy of conquest by sword and urged people to adopt the policy of conquest by law.

  To find that this wisdom was formulated as early as 273 B.C. is amazing indeed but even more amazing and so terribly troubling to me is that in this age of scientific enlightenment, we have forsaken this vision.  Although our society has continuously evolved since then, it has undergone what might be called retrogressive evolution. Can we stop this aberrant evolution?  We can but only if we come together as a people and as a nation and believe as Ashoka believed.  We owe this to our country, to ourselves, and to our children.

  This web site is my attempt to educate and elevate our collective conscience towards just one goal; that is to do our part, to get involved, and help preserve the dignity and the unity of our motherland India, the country that we all love and should serve with full devotion.  Time is running out! If we, the silent majority, do not wake up now and fight for what we believe India is all about, I am afraid that when we do wake up,  it will be too late!!  We don't want another Rwanda, or Kesovo, or Bosnia in India!!  My fear is that if we do not earnestly work to make India a better country for all its citizens irrespective of race , religion, caste or creed, we will cease to be!

  Although I am a novice at computers and web development I am sure that as I gain more experience this site will improve considerably.  During next several months this site will hopefully develop into an interactive forum and make an impact on our collective minds. I welcome contibutions from all who feel a need to contribute and hope that this site will be well received.  Please don't forget to send me some feedback.

Dr. Jawaid Quddus
Feburary 24, 2000
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