Muslim uplift at all cost, says Pranab at AMU

“No nation can aspire to greatness when large sections of its population are excluded from the benefits of national achievement and progress. I would like to convey to you from this historic podium that as a responsible government, we are deeply concerned about the status of our deprived communities, including the Muslims, and we stand committed to ensuring that matters pertaining to their welfare and progress are addressed,” he said, adding that it “can’t be taken care of through a simplistic adherence to the so-called trickle-down theory of economics.”

Mukherjee said it is “tragic that proponents of a hard, literalist and exclusivist brand of Islam have intervened vigorously, and often violently, in public discourse to question and attack the Islam of piety, moderation and accommodation, features that have defined this great religion over centuries. To my mind, the only way forward is for the international community to avoid the trap of semantics and declare a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism.”

The external affairs minister also explained the context of the Indo-US nuclear deal to the largely Muslim audience, without naming the US. “Our focus in the coming decade should be on promoting trade and investment, in assisting the modernization of our infrastructure, in assuring predictable and affordable energy supplies and in securing the widest possible access to technologies,” he said, adding that the country’s foreign policy is guided by the ethos of secularism and democracy.