Deoband (UP): Reaching out to Muslims, Home
Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the country cannot view
Islam as an "alien faith" and that it was the duty of the
majority to protect the minority.
Chidambaram also called "our Muslim brethren" honoured
citizens of the country which, he said, can ignore the
minorities only at its "peril."
Recalling the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, he
described the incident as an act of religious fanaticism and
extreme prejudice.
"We cannot view Islam as an alien faith. Our Muslim
brethren are honoured citizens of India. This is the land of
your forefathers, this is the land of your birth; and this is
where you will live and work. It is a matter of our pride for
us that all major religions of the world, including Islam,
exist and thrive in India ", he said in an address to the 30th
general session of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind at Islamic seminary
Deoband here.
Chidambaram told the nearly 10,000 Ulemas gathered, "a
nation can ignore its minorities only at its peril. The golden
rule in a democracy is that it is the duty of the majority to
protect the minority."
Asserting that communalism in all its forms was
deplorable, he said that adopting the path of violence in the
name of religion must be deplored.
"While all manifestations of communalism are deplorable,
the worst kind of communalism is unleashing communal
violence," he said.
Chidambaram hailed the 'fatwa' issued by it against
terrorism last year and said it was not only Muslims but also
for all right thinking people to follow it.
He said violence and violent means to achieve any
objective is the anti-thesis of a civilised society governed
by the rule of law.
"The demolition of the Babri Masjid was a manifestation
of religious fanaticism and an act of extreme prejudice.
Likewise, taking to the path of violence in the name of
religion must also be deplored in unequivocal term," the Home
Minister said.
Chidambaram said he was glad to note that the Darul
Ulloom at Deoband issued a 'fatwa' against terrorism on
February 25, 2008 and categorically stated that 'Islam rejects
all kinds of unwarranted violence, breach of peace, bloodshed,
killing and plunder and does not allow it in any form'.
"I regard that decree as a call to duty to not only
Muslims but to all right thinking people. I would urge that
more voices be raised, loudly and clearly, against terrorism
and all forms of violence," Chidambaram said.
Amplifying his remarks on how a nation can ignore its
minorities only at its peril, he said the golden rule in a
democracy is that it is the duty of the majority community to
protect the minority, be it religious, racial or linguistic.
"It is a self-evident rule. It is a rule that is
firmly rooted in the universality of human rights. Hence, we
have no hesitation in invoking that rule when Tamils are
denied their rights in Sri Lanka or Indian students are
assaulted in Australia," he said.
He also said the Government was committed to protect the
rights of the minorities at a time when minorities in other
countries were being targeted.
Bureau Report