We gained independence in 1947 and the task of building a new India became our responsibility. In spite of many achievements in various fields we find that the country is beset with many ills. The fragmentation of the people of India along communal lines suits certain vested interests and the ruling elite, both in securing power and in corrupting it. Communalism silences the moral voice in the religious sphere. This promotes the nexus between communalism and corruption. Blatant failures in governance can be kept out of focus by playing the communal card. Today corruption reigns supreme in our public life. The culture of governance is mortally sick. The welfare of the people and the image of the country are in crisis. The most important reason for this is the collapse of moral authority in public life affected by communalism, complemented by a negative idea of secularism that exiled dharma from politics and opened the back-door to the forces of evil. The crying need of the hour is to bring our combined moral authority to the sacred task of nation-building. Gandhiji, the great leader of Indian Freedom Movement, believed that the destiny of a nation stood on the spiritual vitality of her people. Character is destiny as much for nations as it is for individuals. Our foremost patriotic task today is to work together for the moral regeneration of our country. This great spiritual enterprise requires that religious communities move from conflict to cooperation to serve the common cause. We must refuse to patronise the agenda of the corrupt and frustrate the game of divide and rule. In view of the crisis that our country is facing today, we have come together to form a religious forum for reinforcing the moral forces of our society and for building public opinion against corruption, communalism, casteism and undemocratic tendencies because evil is thriving by default. The encouragement that evil needs is the apathy of the good. It shall be our endeavour to promote active resistance to evil in our public life. To us the most urgent task is to build a nation that is morally pro-active, economically dynamic and politically wholesome. To this end we propose: To take our concerns to the people by touring the country extensively. Multi-religious public meetings will be organised all over the country in the coming months to educate public opinion in favour of character-building and against moral and economic corruption and exploitation. The united work will ensure that the divisive and destructive forces of communalism and casteism that disrupt unity and abet corruption are denied religious legitimacy. Religions must oppose forces and systems that undermine moral values, human dignity and welfare in all their forms. To ensure healthy partnership between religion and politics along with respect for religions and the stress on human brotherhood and fraternity. True religious spirit demands that those who are vested with authority must be responsible to God and the people. Gandhiji stressed that there should be a balance between the raj shakti and lok shakti. Corruption in public life grows correspondingly as lok shakti declines. The corrupt have a vested interest in dividing and disabling the civil society. The true patriotic enterprise is to empower the civil society. The key to this lies in the moral awakening of the people, as opposed to their enslavement to narrow mindedness and communalism. We call upon all countrymen who love God and their fellow human beings to participate in this great task. 1. Jagatguru Shankaracharya Madhavanand Saraswati 2. Shri Mohammad Sirajul Hasan, Ameer, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind 3. Swami Agnivesh, Arya Samaj 4. Singh Saheb Prof. Manjit Singh, Anandpur Saheb 5. Rev. Valson Thampu, Christian leader and author