Wednesday, August 31 2005 13:18 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Declaring that communalism, insurgency and violence would be dealt with firmly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Aug 31, 2005) told political groups to test and demonstrate their popularity through polls saying there is no grievance that cannot be redressed through democratic means and dialogue.

"Every political group that claims to represent the interests of any section of our people must test and demonstrate its popularity through the institutions of our democracy", Singh said at the National Integration Council (NIC), which is meeting after a gap of almost 13 years.

At the same time, the Prime Minister said that while promoting national integration and core value of tolerance, any overt challenges in the form of communalism, extremism, separatism and insurgency and violence would be 'dealt with firmly'.

"There is no grievance, howsoever, extreme and desperate, that cannot be redressed through democratic means. Our democracy allows us the freedom to espouse our cause and win people over to our point of view", he said inaugurating the day-long Conference.

The meeting of NIC is being attended by former Prime Ministers A B Vajpayee, V P Singh and I K Gujral, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President L K Advani, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and a host of key political leaders, media persons, industrialists and public figures.

Vajpayee had also attended the first NIC meeting in1962, when Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister.

Committing to provide a humane government, the Prime Minister said there would be some grievance or the other at all times and the country's democratic system gave everyone the right to articulate such complaints in a democratic manner.

He, however, made it clear that "No civilized society can tolerate violence and extremism. No one has the right to take the law into their own hands. No society can pardon those who kill innocent people. Faced with such terror tactics, the Government will have no other option than to fight such groups and their ideology of hatred".

He also said that extremism of any form, based on any divisive ideology, could not be tolerated in any civilized, democratic society.

The agenda of today's meeting includes issues of communal harmony role of Government, education and media.

Referring to his visit to Kabul early this week, the Prime Minister recalled with pride Afghan President Hamid Karzai citing India's democratic experience as a model for Afghan people as they rebuild their nation and sought a new future of peace and prosperity.

"We salute the courage and wisdom of leaders like President Karzai who, like us, seek salvation for their people through the framework of an open society and an open economy. It is not just in our neighbourhood but in distant lands and in the world's greatest capitals that our democratic experience in nation building is now regarded with admiration", Singh said.

Contending eternal vigilance is the price of liberty

Contending that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, Singh said, "Therefore, not only must we nip in the bud any attempt to disturb our secular fabric, we must actively promote the spirit of communal harmony".

He also said it was incumbent on media and opinion makers to also reiterate the values of tolerance of diversity and respect for all religions.

Maintaining that it was difficult to deal with the covert threats to national integrity, he said "The ideologies of communalism, of casteism, of regional and linguistic chauvinism have to be fought in a more sustained and intelligent manner."

"We need a more humane, inclusive and liberal political culture. The defining feature of the 21st century is not that it will be marked by a clash of civilizations, but it will be shaped by a confluence of civilizations", he said.

In his speech, the Prime Minister asked the Chief Ministers to invest in education, health, infrastructure, better governance and in transforming rural economy.

"An improvement in the lives and livelihood of the rural poor is an important element of national integration," he said.

Singh also said there was a need for the 142-member NIC to periodically meet and reflect on the ideas and values at the core of the country's nationhood and discuss measures to meet challenges posed to it.