NEW DELHI (PTI): Speakers at a seminar Jan.16, expressed concern at the emergence of the so-called “Cultural Nationalism” favored by the communal elements undermining, the ideals of secular democracy. They condemned the failure of the state to protect the Babri Masjid and the lives of innocent people in the post demolition riots. Speaking at the seminar “Beyond Ayodhya,” intellectuals, journalists, lawyers and academicians criticized the security forces, for their functioning as a communal force and the “fascist onslaught” against the Muslims, which subverted the ideals of secular democratic polity and cultural pluralism.
The seminar, organized by the institute of objective studies, discussed the attempts to redefine Indian nationhood in Hindu cultural terms and its implications, communalization of police and paramilitary forces, and the intercommunity conflicts and attempts to evade their solution within constitutional parameters.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 22, 1993
