Now, about the attack on the students. The composition of the students was very picutresquely described by Shri. Banatwalla. It was a group of young Muslim students, amongst whom were students of Ph.D., LL.M., medicine and engineering. As we all know, Aligarh attracts students from all parts of the country. Aligarh students really speaking, are a sort of a national elite of the minorities of India. If such attacks on such elite are made, and they go unpunished and ininvestigated its impact will last long. It is not merely an incident; but it is, again, a trend and a very dangerous trend that must be stopped, and stopped with determination.
This is the purpose behind this motion. It is not just that we are only talking about one particular thing. Let us call a spade a spade; it is time we called a spade a spade. This attitude of ‘Hindu rashtra’ has poisoned our national life. It has to be fought, and fought at all levels. It is an organized attempt at poisoning the minds of the people of India. Which will certainly endanger the future of India. Secularism is not a gift of anybody to anyone. It is not a gift of Hindus to Muslims. It is a gift that Indians have given to themselves. It is on secularism that the independence, the democracy and the unity of this country depends. It is such an important thing. Unless we take care of this very fundamental principle of equality, I don’t think we have any future.
Mr. Samar Guha has made a very interesting speech. He said that we are a sort of an island in the ocean of theocratic States all round. I would like to ask those like him, is it something new that we are facing? These were States which were there when we became independent. Knowing all -these facts we have accepted secularism. This is not an island of secularism; I would say that this is a continent of secularism. (Interruptions). He mentioned about repercussion on Bangladesh. I quite .agree with him. We must not give any reason for this. But it is not the headline in Bangla news papers that matters; it is a fact that it took place here that matters. What happened in Bangladesh? What news papers publish is certainly a matter for consideration. I do not want to underestimate it. But the fact is that this particular incident which took place in Jamshedpur, Aligarh and other places shows that Muslims have reasons to be anxious about it; they have reasons to complain about it. They have a right cause for grievances. And who is going to divide ourselves in different parties where the question of secularism comes, where the question of secularism comes, where the question of communalism comes. It is all of us who have to stand united and give an answer to the grievances of the Muslims minority. We have to tell them that they are our young brothers and we have to protect them. But if there are some amongst us who are creating this sort of psychology of ‘Hindu Rashtra’.
