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Manmohan pained at assault on India’s composite culture

Special Correspondent

“While countering terror, wrong methods and means should not be adopted”

— Photo: PTI/ Vijay Verma

Differences yet camaraderie: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit with BJP leader Sushma Swaraj at the 14th meeting of the National Integration Council in New Delhi on Monday.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the “most disturbing and dangerous aspect today” was the “assault on our composite culture.”

“Recent tragic events in Orissa, Karnataka, and Assam have pained all right-thinking persons. There are clashes between Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and tribal groups. An atmosphere of hatred and violence is being artificially generated. There are forces deliberately encouraging such tendencies and also spawning militant outfits who are engaged in irrational violence. These need to be firmly dealt with,” Dr. Singh said.

Inaugurating the 14th National Integration Council (NIC) meeting here, the Prime Minister also dwelt at length on the menace of terrorism, saying there can be no compromise with terrorism and terrorists have to be dealt with firmly. Clearly, the shadow of recent incidents of communal violence in Orissa and Karnataka and terror attacks in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Jaipur was looming large in the background of the meeting.

“At the same time, it is important that in trying to counter terrorism, wrong methods and means are not adopted. Any impression that any community or sections amongst them are being targeted or that some kind of profiling is being attempted should be avoided. This is vital, as otherwise it could lead a major polarisation in society,” he said.

Among those in the audience were Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers, leaders of national and State parties including UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, BJP President Rajnath Singh, and eminent personalities from various walks of life. At the end of the day, the NIC meeting, being held after a gap of three years, saw nearly 40 speakers, including Chief Ministers and political leaders, expressing their views.

While emphasising that the process of governance needed to be strengthened and the rule of law maintained, the Prime Minister cautioned it should be done in a manner that “brings hope and succour to the poor and needy.”

Taking a tough line without referring to demands for a ban on Bajrang Dal and VHP, Dr. Singh said those who threaten communal harmony, integrity, and peaceful coexistence deserved very deterrent punishment.

“In doing so, we need to be bound by the framework of our Constitution and the political democratic process that enables us to reconcile differences through dialogue. We should not be provoked to suspend or subvert a democratic process in the search for solutions,” he said.

The Prime Minister said it was not by accident that these incidents were increasing in society and there was a need to collectively consider whether “short-term narrow political ends are driving some of us to encourage forces of divisiveness that are today threatening the unity of our people.”

“There is no politics that has a right to assert over the rights of the common man or the integrity of the nation,” he said, reminding the political leadership of the responsibility to preserve and promote the pluralistic and democratic framework.

“We need to isolate and fight those who promote divisiveness. The common citizen in this country wants peace and harmony in society,” Dr. Singh said.

In his remarks, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said that governments would use all just, legal, and effective means and methods to achieve victory over the menace of communal violence and disturbances and the divisive forces threatening national integration.

Later, briefing journalists, Mr. Patil said no law, including anti-terror laws, was “static.” He said the situation was changing and the laws could be amended keeping in mind the basic underlying principles of justice.

He said the Union Cabinet would consider the resolution adopted by the meeting and a Standing Committee of the NIC could be constituted to keep a watch on the situation and advise the government.

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