Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Minorities protest inaction on communal violence



New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) Groups representing India's religious minorities and activists held a protest rally here on Tuesday demanding stronger action against perpetrators of communal violence, with several parts of the country seeing sectarian strife in the past two months.
The rally at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi condemned the 'communal violence on minorities in India' and was organised by the All India Confederation of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Organisations to mark World Religious Freedom Day.
"To choose one's religion is a fundamental right. On this day to mark religious freedom, we condemn violence and atrocities meted out to minorities - the recent attacks on Christians in Orissa and Muslims after the terror attacks," said Madhu Chandra, national secretary of the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations.
Chandra said across the nation members of the confederation resented the government's inaction and were disappointed by the National Integration Council meeting here Monday.
"Crucial issues of arresting perpetrators and putting a ban on radical groups have not been addressed. The action they speak of is very mild," Chandra averred.
Oct 14 was declared World Religious Freedom Day in 2006 at a mega gathering of Dalits at Nagpur, Maharashtra, to mark the day on which B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, quit Hinduism and converted to Buddhism in 1956 to be free from caste oppression.  more 

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