Academic to Deliver Keynote Address at International Symposium

BY: .

Emeritus Professor Pratap Kumar Penumala of the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics (SRPC) will deliver a keynote address at the International Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy and Religion in Rome and the Vatican City from 31 March – 3 April.

The theme of the Symposium is The Promotion of World Peace through Interfaith Dialogue and Unity of Faiths.

Penumala’s address is on “the Difference as the basis for Interfaith Dialogue and Global Peace”.

Asked about his topic, Penumala said: ‘Often in our engagement in interfaith relations both at an academic level and more significantly at the level of communities, we tend to place emphasis on commonalities between religions and cultures.

‘While this may be a laudable task which cannot be under-estimated, the unique features and differences among religions and cultures get either secondary attention or most often get deferred and in the process ignored.’

For Penumala, true dialogue toward harmonious living among communities cannot take place unless one recognises and respects the differences in cultures and religious traditions. ‘Great people such as Gandhi and Mandela recognised the uniqueness in other people and respected them for who and what they were. We might take lessons from such illustrious and charismatic people who walked before us.

‘As Jacques Derrida notes, our differences might be what makes us unique, but they are also beacons of hope in our search of global peace through interfaith dialogue, and that it indeed is a distinct possibility but only deferred presently. As such, difference can mean a temporary deferment rather than something not possible at all.’

The symposium is being organised by the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy and Religion based in Berlin, Germany.

Penumala has authored several books and scholarly papers and has edited several publications. His recent publications include: Hinduism and the Diaspora: A South African Narrative, Rawat Publishers, (2013).

His edited volumes include: Classical and Contemporary Issues in Indian Philosophy and Religion, DK Print Publishers, (2013); and Contemporary Hinduism. Acumen (2013).

-          Melissa Mungroo