ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that comparatively much more effort has been made toward crossing rugged geographical territories in the smoothest possible ways than for bridging the gaps between the deeper layers of cultural differences, of which religious difference seems to be the most crucial. Undeniably, living in an interconnected world demands that the religious dimension of this interconnectedness is acknowledged also on institutional planes. Unquestionably some attitudinal changes are called for in order to prevent religious identity from being played out in the larger societal scene in such a horrendously negative manner. The presence of spokespersons of multiple religious communities is to be deemed indispensable since only then a discussion on the uses and abuses of religious identity can proceed meaningfully. There is, indeed, a distinctive character to the Indian cultural soil, which makes it fully supportive of religious diversity in an extraordinary manner.
