In a veiled attack on the saffron forces blamed for the anti-Christian violence in Orissa and Karnataka, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the "most disturbing and dangerous" aspect now is the "assault" on the country's composite culture.

"Recent tragic events in Orissa, Karnataka and Assam have pained all right thinking persons. There are clashes between Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Tribal groups. An atmosphere of hatred and violence is being artificially generated.

"There are forces deliberately encouraging such tendencies and also spawning militant outfits who engage in irrational violence. These need to be firmly dealt with. There is, at the same time, real need for better understanding of the forces at work," he said in his opening remarks at the National Integration Council meeting.

On terrorism, which was included at the last minute in the agenda of the meeting after BJP Chief Ministers made a demand, he said that there can be no compromise with terrorism and terrorists have to be dealt with firmly.

"At the same time, it is important that in trying to counter terrorism, wrong methods and means are not adopted. Any impression that any community or sections amongst them are being targeted or that some kind of profiling is being attempted should be avoided. This vital, as otherwise, it could lead a major polarization in society," Singh said.

Among those in the audience were Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers, leaders of national and state parties including Sonia Gandhi, Rajnath Singh and eminent personalities from various walks of life.

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