Book of Integration Council New - Ministry of Home Affairs

work. There is need for better intelligence about such elements; our investigation
methods need to be further refined. The process of governance needs to be
strengthened and the rule of law maintained, but in a manner that brings hope
and succor to the poor and the needy.
There has been considerable debate in our Country on how to handle these
issues of sectarian and communal violence. There cannot be two views on the
fact that such attempts must be thwarted with the full power of a State that is
intent on protecting its democratic foundations. Those who threaten our communal
harmony, integrity and peaceful coexistence deserve 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. A democracy has a special onus in that it has
to ensure protection of civil liberties even as it seeks to enforce law and order. It
has also to be done in a manner that respects the Constitutional boundaries of
a federal polity. This creates the complexity that we need to collectively address
and resolve and I urge you Hon’ble Members to put forward your suggestions
on how this can best be done.
It is not by accident that these incidents are increasing in our society. As
members of the National Integration Council, we 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. A
country like ours which is defnined by coexistence of different ethnic groups
and religions, and cemented by an acceptance of a pluralistic and tolerant
framework, cannot afford the promotion of such divisiveness for narrow partisan
ends. There is no politics that has a right to assert over the rights of the common
man or the integrity of our nation. The responsibility of the political leadership is
to preserve and promote this pluralistic and democratic framework. I would like
to appeal to all political parties to bear in mind this fundamental political responsibility
that enjoins on each one of us to ensure that we not only preserve but promote
this unique confluence of cultures that India has become, over the many past
centuries.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, when he convened the National Integration
Conference in 1961, wanted to find ways to respond to the evils of
communalism, casteism and other forms of regional, linguistic and sectarian
divides. It was this Conference that set up the National Integration Council and
adopted as its charter the need to maintain the pluralistic ethos of India. I
feel it appropriate to quote the declarations of objectives adopted by the
Council in 1968: “the foundations of our national life is common citizenship,
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