India cannot view Islam as an "alien faith": Chidambaram

Syed Zishan Haider
Deoband (UP), Nov 3 (PTI) Reaching out to Muslims, Indian
Home Minister P Chidambaram Tuesday said the country cannot
view Islam as an "alien faith" and that it was the duty of the
majority to protect the minority.
Chidambaram also called "our Muslim brethren" honoured
citizens of the country which, he said, can ignore the
minorities only at its "peril."
Recalling the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, he
described the incident as an act of religious fanaticism and
extreme prejudice.
"We cannot view Islam as an alien faith. Our Muslim
brethren are honoured citizens of India. This is the land of
your forefathers, this is the land of your birth; and this is
where you will live and work. It is a matter of our pride for
us that all major religions of the world, including Islam,
exist and thrive in India ", he said in an address to the 30th
general session of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind at Islamic seminary
Deoband here in India's northern state Uttar Pradesh.
Chidambaram told the nearly 10,000 Ulemas gathered, "a
nation can ignore its minorities only at its peril. The golden
rule in a democracy is that it is the duty of the majority to
protect the minority."
Asserting that communalism in all its forms was
deplorable, he said that adopting the path of violence in the
name of religion must be deplored.
"While all manifestations of communalism are deplorable,
the worst kind of communalism is unleashing communal
violence," he said.(MORE) PTI