Mumbai terror strikes the roots of our nationhood: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday that the recent dastardly attack in Mumbai has hurt the Indian democracy. It was a well-calculated attempt by forces inimical to freedom and peace to destroy Indian democracy by striking at the very roots of our nationhood.

In his inaugural address to the two-day International Conference of Jurists on Terrorism: Rule of Law and Human Rights in New Delhi today, Dr. Singh said the forces of terrorism posed today a fundamental challenge to liberal democracies at home, in our region and around the world.

“When cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Jaipur are targeted, the target is also India’s economic rise. When our economy is hurt, our people are hurt. Our democracy is hurt,” he said.

Dr. Singh called on the governments and authorities to act firmly and quickly against the menace, noticing Mumbai terror strikes, when there is a systematic effort by the terrorists to target a particular community in their bid to spread communal disharmony and conflict. At the same time, he cautioned that no specific group or a section of society should be targeted in the fight against terror.

Underscoring terrorism as a global problem, Dr. Singh appealed all peace-loving, democratic forces across the globe to join hands in the fight against this common menace, as fight against terrorism is not divisible nor the defence of freedom and peace is divisible.

Dr. Singh praised the people for exercising their franchise in state elections and demonstrating their faith in the rule of law and democratic system amidst the grave tragedy of last month. But he marked that democracy does not only mean the exercise of one’s franchise once in five years instead it is a faith in the Rule of Law, which is a continual process.

Underscoring good governance as a key to counter the forces of extremism and terrorism, Dr. Singh said that the efficient and fair functioning of the institutions of democratic governance is the best insurance to fight against the menace. The time has come for all of us to unite and speak as one in defence of our democratic inheritance.