Majority confident about religious harmony in 2020

More than 50 per cent of people surveyed in the IANS-CVOTER State of the Nation Poll 2020 believe that the coming year would herald a positive message to reinforce religious/inter-community harmony in the country.

The view of the majority gains significance, especially in the wake of widespread protests across the country against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

According to the survey, which involved a sample size of 1,600 people, 53.7 per cent feel that 2020 would strengthen cordial relationship between diverse religious faiths and communities.

The survey was conducted on the last day of the year.

Nearly 22.4 per cent believe that religious harmonisation and caste equation will remain unchanged, which indicates that people are uncertain in the context of the unfolding political developments.

Nearly 24 per cent believe that it will deplete further, which indicates that they are looking at the circumstances through the prism of these widespread protests.

These reactions registered during the survey gain significance, as the current dispensation is in the midst of facing a torrent of protests against CAA and NRC in different parts of the country.

The protests against CAA and NRC have also turned violent in many parts of the country, especially in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi emerged as the epicentre of anti-CAA protests.

The political storm over the protests is yet to subside, as various opposition parties are resorting to diverse methods to register their anguish.

According to the survey, 29.8 per cent people have expressed positive trends in improving the relationship between diverse religious faiths. Therefore, it is apparent that in the backdrop of these protests, people continue to remain hopeful of promoting religious harmony in the social fabric of the country.

The broad consensus which emerged from the survey indicates that the majority is progressively thinking on harmony across the political and social spectrum of the country.IANS