Book of Integration Council New - Ministry of Home Affairs

Parishad. In both the locations, their leaders have openly claimed the responsibility
for these acts of tageting the Christian minorities, many of whom
happen to be dalit converts. I am convinced that in the interest of the nation
and in the interest of national integration, such organizations should be imme
diately banned and the State should deal with them with an iron hand.
It is also necessary that our judical system becomes more senstive in dealing
with the crimes of this nature. It is really unfortunate that investigation, trial
and conviction in cases of communal riots are languishing in various stages in
courts and commissions. This does not reassure the minorities about the fairness
of the system and their faith in the entire system gets jolted. It is, therefore,
our collective responsibility and particularly of the State concerned that
action on court cases relating to Maliana Massacre, Bombay Riots, Gujarat
Riots and numberous other such cases are expedited so that the perpetrators of
these crimes against humanity are brought to book and the faith of the people
in the system is restored. This is the best guarantee against social and
communal disharmony, disunity and disntegrity.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are standing at a very delicate point in our
history.Wrong steps and decisions at this stage can take us back to the path of
disunity and dis-integration, of confusion and chaos. Therefore, we need to
guard against all attempts of regressive and disruptive forces to create confusion
and to mislead innocent minds for their narrow gains. How can we
maintain national integration when we are fighting among ourselves in the
name of caste, class and religion? In my last speech in this forum, I had said
that caste, communalism, corruption and criminalization are the biggest hurdles
in the path of national integration. These 4 Cs need to be tackled with great
seriousness and unity of purpose because they not only create social dishar
mony but also lead to economic loss.
I would like to make a special mention of the recent calamity that some
districts of Bihar faced due to floods as a result of breach in the Kosi embankment.
The Central Government deserves congratulations for promptly declaring it
as a national calamity and providing necessary resources to deal with the crisis.
Vast number of people have been completely devastated by the fury of this flood.
The poorest of the poor have lost everything that they had. The rebuilding
efforts will take years and therefore it needs to be taken up as a national mission.
The State Government also needs to display more seriousness and sensitivity in
providing relief to the people. Since resources are not a constraint, the Administration
has to deliver. It is the responsibility of the State Government to ensure
this.
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