Religion divides, culture unites

Religion belongs to some; culture belongs to all. That is PPN's message to peoples and nations of different religions and cultures.

India has always been a role model in this. Religion and culture have had no borders here since time immemorial; they have intermingled into a single entity of unity for centuries.

Imagine the ecstasy of gods and mortals alike when Bismillah Khan played the shehnai in a Varanasi temple, or Kumar Gandharva sang Kabir's dohas in Delhi's Shri Ram auditorium. Or look at Bollywood, which has done more for Hindi than every government put together, and promoted Urdu, the language of lyrics, at the same time.

What we want to ask you

Does that hold in your own experience, where you live? Where have you seen culture do what politics could not? And what should a National Institute of Culture actually do, if PPN sets one up?