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Book of Integration Council New - Ministry of Home Affairs

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compromise with communalism for narrow electoral gains. Majoritarian communalism<br />

has in turn given rise to minority communalism and things are<br />

taking a more and more violent turn.<br />

We have <strong>of</strong>fered suggestions for the improvement <strong>of</strong> the state <strong>of</strong> the natioal<br />

integration, or the present weaknesses it faces, several times earlier. To strengthen<br />

the parliamentary democracy, electoral reforms are essential. A basic move to<br />

check money and muscle power must be put in place. The nine-member<br />

Constitution bench in 1994 said that secularism must be defined as the basic<br />

feature <strong>of</strong> the Constitution and this should find clear expression in the Constitution.<br />

The harmful direction <strong>of</strong> the centre-state relationship should be reversed.<br />

The basic thrust <strong>of</strong> the political outlook must comprise land reforms, higher<br />

wages, more state intervention in agrarian, economic, and financial sectors,<br />

increased employment, defence <strong>of</strong> the public sector, turning away from the<br />

imperialist-run liberalisation, the equality <strong>of</strong> women, the emancipation <strong>of</strong> the<br />

dalits and the adivasis, and finally a strong defence <strong>of</strong> the right <strong>of</strong> the socially<br />

and economically oppressed, and the minorities. An important component <strong>of</strong> the<br />

move towards national integration would be a move away from a US-dominated<br />

foreign policy. For all this to be reality the central government must exert the<br />

correct political will in abundance or the nation's existence itself will in the long<br />

run be imperilled.<br />

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