Book of Integration Council New - Ministry of Home Affairs

They would help the people and individuals to be more correct co-operative and
helpful. I have circulated my speech. It speaks more about the governmental actions
and the policies. It does not touch in great detail upon what the people, organizations
and individuals can do. That may be explained through the speeches of the leaders and
wise and more experienced members of this Council. You are eager to hear the leaders
and also to express your own views. Hence, I conclude my initial statement here only.
If need be in response to some points which are raised or mentioned, I may say a
few words later on. I thank you for your attention and I request the Hon’ble Prime
Minister to address this assembly.
Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister
Respected members of the National Integration Council, we are meeting at a time
when our nation is facing many and simultaneous challenges. Responding to challenges
at the best of time, is a very complex exercise. It gets even more complicated when the
security calculus is a matrix of many imponderable factors. Throughout India’s modern
history, our Country has seen many challenges, challenges that would have fragmented
nations of lesser intrinsic strength or lesser will. I have, therefore, no fear of our ability
to withstand the current challenges. I do believe, however that it is important at times
like this to look within ourselves, and draw upon our national genius to overcome
problems that appear, at times, to overwhelm us. There are a number of issues that
need strong reaffirmation in today’s context. One, we must be conscious that in
seeking short term remedies, the fundamental underpinnings of our inclusive society
are not undermined. Another is to maintain a strong sense of nationhood. In the recent
past we are witnessing signs of increasing fissiparous tendencies, especially in areas
like the North East, in Jammu and Kashmir, in Orissa and Karnataka, in Assam and
some other parts of our country. Third, some times the situation is aggravated by
external interests that wish to de-rail the essential unity of India. Further, as witnessed
recently in Orissa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Assam, we see ethnicity and religion
being used as arguments to stir divisions. We have defence mechanisms to prevent
such divisive trends from spreading, as also the necessary instruments to overcome
them. We need, nevertheless, to be subtle in the manner in which these are
employed. It is a tribute to our political process that over the 60 years and
more since independence, we have successfully met the challenges without in
any way undermining our social fabric and tradition. We can take pride in our
inheritance of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-caste society. We must not,
however, ignore the fact that there is need for utmost vigilance and caution to
sustain such an inheritance. The chief characteristic of our civilization has been
unity in diversity. We have never attempted to impose uniformity or dilute
diversity. We have believed in a composite culture where, while individual
identities are retained, traits are shared. The continuity and strength of our
civilisational process depends on this implicit recognition of our ancient value
system. Central to this is a recognition of the futility of violence and of the need
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