Government Stands by Rights of Minorities: Chidambaram, Interior Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said Muslim clerics and Islamic scholars, who attended the convention of Deoband, the UPA government is committed to unquestionable rights of indigenous minorities around the world working for the development of all sectors of society.

Addressing the first annual convention of the Islamic seminaries under the auspices of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, the Home Minister said: “A nation can ignore its minorities only at your own risk … We must always remember that pluralism is our heritage and strength. It was the duty of the majority to protect the minority. Because the acts of a few, we have allowed to become diversity differences. ”

“The UPA Govt is committed to protecting the rights of all minorities and are denied the right of indigenous minorities worldwide. That’s why we oppose the injustice being done to the Tamils in Sri Lanka and condemn violent assault against our students in Australia, “he said.

Chidambaram, who today became the first Chief Minister to have addressed at a meeting in Deoband, said: “I take this opportunity to reach all sectors of our society. It’s part of my duty as Minister of Interior to communicate with including the efforts being undertaken by the government towards building a just, humane, progressive and civilized society. ”

The interior minister, while extending warm wishes of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and UPA president Sonia Gandhi praised the role of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (JuH) in building the nation and country in the fight for freedom.

“We all know that was one of the leading Muslim organizations, which opposed the tyrannical rule of the British Empire and the theory of the two countries aimed at splitting the nation. Since then he has worked greatly to the independence of the rise of Muslim residing in India. ”

Praising the teachings of Islam, denouncing all violence, Chidambaram said: “We can not see Islam as a faith of others, because it is the land of their ancestors, this is the land of his birth. Is a matter of pride that Islam exists in India along with other great religions. ”

Stressing that pluralism should be the basis of our strength, the interior minister condemned the communalism and urged Muslim leaders to help build a modern nation and promote the concept of a civil society.