Reaching out to Muslims, Home Minister P Chidambaram today said the country “cannot view Islam as an alien faith” and that it was the “duty of the majority to protect the minority”.

Addressing the 30th general session of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind at the Darululoom Deoband seminary in western Uttar Pradesh, Chidambaram told the huge gathering of ulemas that “a nation can ignore its 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,” Chidambaram said.

“The golden rule in a democracy is that it is the duty of the majority to protect the minority... It is a self-evident rule. It is a rule that is firmly rooted in the universality of human rights. Hence, we have no hesitation in invoking that rule when Tamils are denied their rights in Sri Lanka or Indian students are assaulted in Australia.”

He said it was also the duty of the minority in states like Jammu and Kashmir where it is a majority that they act in “accordance with the spirit of Islam” to safeguard the minorities there.

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