Encountering the Other By Ramesh Kallidai
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	At the Newton Inter-faith meeting last week, I was delighted to hear from distinguished members that religion does not cause war at all. Most members felt that  all major faiths preached the importance of tolerance and love. It was unanimously agreed that it was the misuse of religion that usually led to war and strife. Earlier, Rabbi James Baaden had spoken eloquently on how to encounter ‘the other’ –people from other faith communities. His address included descriptive stories from the Old Testament, which I found rather interesting. Not everyone however agreed with me. The gentleman sitting next to me remarked, “I don’t have the patience to sit here and listen to lengthy accounts of stories from Genesis. Reminds me of my Sunday School.” The Newton Inter-faith Group is convened by Dr Michael Hooker who has managed to include some remarkable members from different faith communities. Some of the notable members include Rev Baroness Richardson, Bishop Charles Hendersen, Dr Farouk Walji, Rabbi Danny Reid, Venerable Phrakru Samu Lom and Dr Ranvir Singh.  The meeting I attended was flowing with congeniality and friendliness. After all, inter-faith relations should begin with inter-faith friendship.  And Dr Hooker seems to have got the equation just right. Educating our youth Nishma Shah, Vice President of the National Hindu Students Forum greeted me warmly at an exhibition I attended over the weekend. Councillor Anjana Patel joined us and the discussion centred around the importance of educating youth about Hindu values. “We need to ensure that our youth speak our language at home,” said Councillor Patel. “Only then can our cultural heritage be preserved.” “I suppose, a lot of the blame is on the parents,” I pronounced, perhaps a bit too hastily. “Unless the parents are aware what Hindu dharma stands for, they cannot impart this knowledge to their children. Unfortunately, many of us are too busy in business or employment.” “Well that is true,” agreed Nishma Shah. “But our parents came here to make a fresh start. They struggled economically, and laid more stress on education and career. Look at us now - we are the most educated ethnic minority community in the UK.” Positive thinking always helps. Connecting Communities Hindu organisations working in communities have a chance to apply for a grant from the Home Office. At a meeting organised between Lord Filkin and the Hindu community in April, Hamish McPherson from the Home Office handed us a copy of the Connecting Communities Race Equality Grant Scheme.  This grant supports projects that “effect an increase in strong minority ethnic community networks to help ensure that the most disadvantaged minority ethnic communities and individuals acquire greater access to public services, and have influence over policy makers and service providers.” This is an opportunity for Hindu organisations working to create community networks get some of their funding requirements met by the government’s helping hand.  The three key support programmes that are eligible for a grant are: 1. Projects that create minority ethnic community networks and bring together faith and community groups for joint initiatives 2. Projects that that encourage interaction and utilisation of public service providers, promote careers in central and local government and enable ethnic minority communities to have a voice in formulation of policy 3. Events and shorter-term projects that help counteract negative stereotyping of ethnic minority people and promote trust and understanding between communities. For more information please contact the Community Funding Team on 020 7035 5444 or send an email to RobD.Murphy@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk The last date for applying is 25th June. So hurry!