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Badal makes some right noises at
NIC, talks definition row
WSN Network
 NEW DELHI:
Punjab CM
and Akali Dal patron Parkash Singh Badal told the NIC that what was
needed was “consensus of ethics on political conduct and the
evolution of a common minimum program against sectarian and communal
violence to preserve national integration”, focused on minority
definition row but did not take up other real and crucial issues
that could have mattered to the Sikh community.
While credit
goes to him for focusing on “immediate steps to remove the ever
widening gap between the rich and the poor,” Sikh scholars did
appreciate the fact that Badal took up the sinister moves of the
Indian government to re-define minorities on a state level that
would rob the Sikhs of the status and thus deprive them of the right
to run their medical, educational institutions.
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Badal at his best
● “Instead
of putting in place a mechanism for addressing and redressing
the concerns of our minorities, we keep harping on an
artificial uniformity.”
● “Let us
frankly admit that despite our claims to the contrary,
minorities, including the Muslims and the Christians, are not
feeling safe in the country”. |
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He said that the
“highly illadvised move to redefine the concept of minorities as
state specific was fraught with serious dangers to our national
unity. Minorities must be allowed to flourish in an atmosphere free
from any unreasonable constraints.”
But Badal did
not take up the Kartarpur Corridor issue which could have been
projected as a major integration exercise. Kartarpur Corridor is
stuck due to Delhi’s lack of decisiveness. It could be a great
confidence building measure and will bring India and Pakistan
together. Also, it will be a goodwill message towards the community
from New Delhi. But Badal was of course appreciated for saying some
home truths. He called the NIC as a forum “nothing more than a
photo-opportunity for politicians and a platform for declaring known
positions based on communal and class interests of the speakers
concerned.” As a result, even this august body functions more as a
“National Disintegration Council than a platform for unity,” said
the Chief Minister.
The
uncharacteristic candor did floor many. He called for convening the
Integration Council and the National Development Council devoted
exclusively to the economic welfare of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes and the minorities. “As someone who was close
personal witness to the partition of the country and the holocaust
that followed it, I can say that the country’s tomorrow looks even
more worrisome than its present,” he said, advocating a major
all-party initiative to address the issues of communalism and
extremism. The Chief Minister said that conditions of poverty and
illiteracy were the main reasons for the rise of ideological and
religious extremism. But with an alliance with the right wing Hindu
nationalist BJP, Badal could not point out the role of the Hindutva
terrorists for the current state of affairs.
15 October 2008
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