Press Council of India (PCI) chief, Justice Markandey Katju called for unification of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh into one secular state while coming down on Narendra Modi in a oblique reference to the Gujarat chief minister’s ‘Hindu nationalist’ remark.
Delivering a lecture on the role of media in promoting secularism, Justice Katju said, “We must not be a Hindu nationalist, or even Muslim, Sikh or Christian nationalists. We must all be Indian nationalists. India is a country of diverse people and could not be run for a single day without secularism.”
The former Supreme Court judge said any of type of fundamentalism should be uprooted. “Look at the state of affairs in Pakistan. They wanted to have an Islamic state but it has turned into a Jurassic park. There are schisms between Punjab, Sindh or Balochistan provinces. Sometimes I feel it is not a country at all but just a creation of the British to divide Hindus and Muslims. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should reunite into one secular country,” said Katju.
He also accused a section of media persons of becoming ‘kar sevaks’ during the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation. “They became part of the incident instead of covering it. Although I would not like to name them,” Katju added.
He also charged the media with negative portrayal of the Muslim community. “Whenever a bomb blast occurs, within a short time many TV channels start reporting that an email or SMS has come from some Muslim organization like Jaish-e-Mohammed or Indian Mujahideen claiming responsibility. This demonizes the entire Muslim community. An e-mail or SMS can be sent by any mischievous element,” he said.
He termed Mughal king Akbar as the first secular leader who laid the foundation of modern India through his policy of universal tolerance.
Delivering a lecture on the role of media in promoting secularism, Justice Katju said, “We must not be a Hindu nationalist, or even Muslim, Sikh or Christian nationalists. We must all be Indian nationalists. India is a country of diverse people and could not be run for a single day without secularism.”
The former Supreme Court judge said any of type of fundamentalism should be uprooted. “Look at the state of affairs in Pakistan. They wanted to have an Islamic state but it has turned into a Jurassic park. There are schisms between Punjab, Sindh or Balochistan provinces. Sometimes I feel it is not a country at all but just a creation of the British to divide Hindus and Muslims. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should reunite into one secular country,” said Katju.
He also accused a section of media persons of becoming ‘kar sevaks’ during the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation. “They became part of the incident instead of covering it. Although I would not like to name them,” Katju added.
He also charged the media with negative portrayal of the Muslim community. “Whenever a bomb blast occurs, within a short time many TV channels start reporting that an email or SMS has come from some Muslim organization like Jaish-e-Mohammed or Indian Mujahideen claiming responsibility. This demonizes the entire Muslim community. An e-mail or SMS can be sent by any mischievous element,” he said.
He termed Mughal king Akbar as the first secular leader who laid the foundation of modern India through his policy of universal tolerance.
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