August 13, 2014
Sudip Bandyopadhyay speaks on communal violence in the country | Transcript
We are discussing today the need to evolve and effective mechanism to deal with the incidence of communal violence in the country. It is not the purpose of the debate to fight each other. The purpose is to evolve some mechanism. Mr Kherge ji initiated the discussion and Adityanath ji responded up to certain extent that we should all come to the sense that we are the firm believers of the principle of secularism, communal harmony and integrity of the country. We also feel that the main ethos of India is unity in diversity.
We sing the song “Nana bhasa nana mot nana poridhan, bibidher majhe dekho milon mohan”. That means despite many languages, many dresses and many opinions, we are the firm believers of unity in diversity.
Sir, our National Anthem says, “Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarat, Maratha, Dravid, Utkala, Banga, Vidhya, Himachal, Yamuna, Ganga, uchhala jaladhi taranga”. This is the spirit and we Indians owe our allegiance to the Parliamentary Democratic system where every religion, every person has his right to speak his own opinion, his own thought, his own philosophy. But during the discussion it appears like they are speaking for the Hindus and here some are sitting for the Muslims. But the picture is not that. The whole House stands for all – irrespective of the caste, creed and religion – and works for the betterment of the country.
Sir, this is a country where Iqbal sang “Sare Jahase Achha, Hindusthan Hamara”. We firmly feel that this is the sentiment and spirit we should try to spread. We should see that this love and sense of security among our country prevails very much.
Sir, somebody is minority here. They may be majority in some other places. If we consider the whole of the world, Christians and Muslims are the majority on a large scale. In some places in our country they are minorities. Minority doesn’t mean only Muslims but Sikhs, Jains, Parsis also. As the Government runs the country, the primary responsibility rests with them; they must see to it that communal violence does not take place in the country.
Rajnath Singh ji – a very responsible person – as the Home Minister of the country should always try to give assurances that communal violence should not be allowed to take place in any way. Provocations certainly create communal tension.
Sir, Bengal is known as a very secular state. But nowadays communal tensions are being incited in some corners. I would also request the hon. Home Minister to find out why communal incidents are being incited in States which are known to be peaceful States without any communal violence. Such incidents should be stopped at the very initial level.
Adityanath ji said some Imams are getting some benefits. He can make a claim that the priests too should get some wages. That can be done. Why they are getting it? That should not be the target of the discussion, by which a sense of insecurity will prevail. They can claim that priests should also be given some assistance, some financial support. This will send out a good sense and I think that would be the correct line.
Sir, if we are united, peace in India can never be challenged. We have seen how dangerous communal violence can be, how it can spread within a state, and it’s effect can also expand throughout the country. So we should be totally cautious from the very beginning. Sir, what I want to request, what I want to say to the hon. Rajnath ji, that the government of India must remain alert, cautious and vigilant to prevent communal tension, communal violence, otherwise safety and security of the common people will totally be under threat. And the secular fabric of this great country will be challenged. I hope no political party is asking for this situation and whoever is in power, as I was telling, they have major responsibility to look into it.
Yesterday, I was listening to the speech of the UPA chairperson, the hon. Sonia Gandhi ji, at Thiruvananthapuram. She was giving a report that many communal incidents have happened; I would request Rajnath Singh ji to take this allegation against this present government seriously. If the number goes up to 400, 500, 600 and above, then why will the government not take responsibility and assure the House that they would investigate all the allegations which have been made. Adityanath ji was telling that a Supreme Court judge should be authorised to look into the matter. Nobody should oppose this if the main Opposition party be in favour of a Supreme Court judge investigating, and the government agrees.
. We are the lawmakers of this country. So we should take an all-out effort to see that our country is totally protected, that all sections of people belonging to different castes, creed and religion are living in peace, with harmony, with love for each other. When Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister, he spoke about international brotherhood and international solidarity; that was the ethos of our Indian culture, which we spread throughout the world. So when we are the believers of such type of international brotherhood and international solidarity, why should we lack that in our own country by which we can live together happily.
Sir, when Dussehra takes place, Hindus and Muslims embrace and greet each other. When Christmas takes place, we embrace Christians and say ‘Merry Christmas’. When Eid comes, Hindus and Muslims embrace each other and say ‘Eid Mubarak’. So this is the sentiment of this country, and we should try to protect it. And we are believers of the slogan Mera Bharat Mahan.
I will not allow the discussion to go in such a manner that the spirit of the House and the spirit of today’s discussion is diverted this way or that way, so that when we are trying to find out a solution, it becomes more complicated, and the situation is worsened from what is existing now. We have another speaker who will also speak, so I conclude now with the appeal that the lawmakers of this country should try to evolve such a mechanism by which we can ensure that India does not face any communal violence in the near future or in the coming days.
