Congress leader and former union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said that in the last 10 years all Indians, except closet seculars, have become communal.
Speaking on the theme ‘Memoirs of a Secular Fundamentalist’ at the 12th Goa Arts and Literature Festival, Aiyar said that India was increasingly becoming non-secular, reports Indian Express newspaper.
“Until I was about 75-year-old, all Indians were secular, except for closet communalists. In the last 10 years, all Indians are communal, except for closet seculars. That has been the radical transformation I have seen over my life,” he said, adding that the biggest transformation in India he has seen was the rise of communalism.
He also reiterated his earlier view that India should sit with the Pakistan establishment and iron out their differences, instead of engaging in surgical strikes. He said that this was the only way of dealing with the Pakistani government.
“If we have disagreements with the government, why do we take it out on the people?…The only way of dealing with the government of Pakistan is not to have the courage to do surgical strikes on Pakistan or air attacks…in Balakot, but to have the courage to sit across the table and talk to the Pakistanis. For 10 years, we have not had the courage to (do this)…,” he said.
“The excuse we make is that talks and terror can’t go together…nothing suits the terrorist better than an atmosphere of tension between India and Pakistan,” Aiyar added.