Author: Siraj Wahab
Publication: Arab News
Date: May 31, 2006
URL: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=83016&d=31&m=5&y=2006
[Note from the Hindu Vivek Kendra: Pls see
the comment at the end of the article.]
Many Saudis will be learning more about Arjun
Singh, India's minister of human resources development, who is currently on
a visit to Saudi Arabia to strengthen educational ties between the two countries.
The minister arrived Monday night in Riyadh at the head of a delegation of
India's leading academics.
What many Saudis may not realize is that Arjun
Singh has played a pivotal role in Indian politics for decades and is credited
with preserving that nation's secular identity during dark times in the 1990s
after the destruction of the Babri Masjid, a 400-year-old mosque, when a wave
of communal intolerance threatened India's character of tolerance and diversity.
A loyal supporter of the Gandhis, he helped rebuild the Congress party and
restored Muslim confidence in the party after it was hijacked by P.V. Narasimha
Rao, who had given in to communal forces. Arjun Singh was instrumental in
the restoration of freedom and helped Sonia Gandhi wrest power from the communalists.
Perhaps the most important lesson to learn
from Arjun Singh is his respect for all whether they are part of a minority
or the majority. It was he who purged the hatred and intolerance from the
textbooks of India after the Bharatiya Janata Party's fall from power, ensuring
a secular future of freedom for people of all faiths in India.
As minister of human resources development,
Arjun Singh has ensured that India's young people of all hues get the education
and training needed to drive the Subcontinent giant's economy to the next
level of development while garnering a rising standard of living for its people
that might have been unimaginable a decade ago.
He long ago roved his mettle and his secular
credentials when he was at the helm of affairs at India's second biggest state,
Madhya Pradesh, where Muslims formed a large portion of the electorate. Bhopal,
the state capital, was once a princely state ruled by a Muslim, and the prince
had a great say during the pre-partition era. Muslims of Bhopal, which later
became the capital of Madhya Pradesh, threw their lot with Arjun Singh because
of his transparent and secular character, and the state prospered under his
governance and leadership.
A true statesman, Arjun Singh's business has
always been the Indian people's business, and he has held ministerial positions
under Rao, Rajiv Gandhi and the current prime minister, Manmohan Singh.
During his visit, Arjun Singh is expected
to expedite the implementation of the declaration that Custodian of the Two
Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Manmohan Singh signed in New Delhi earlier
this year to strengthen educational ties between the two countries.
Cooperative agreements between Indian and
Saudi universities are expected to come out of the visit, and Arjun Singh,
now in his 70s, may be able to give Saudi educators and civic leaders insights
on how to purge the cultural baggage from the Kingdom's educational system
and replace it with the lessons that lead to a future of economic growth and
prosperity.
Arab News - The Middle East's Leading English
Language Daily
Comment from the Hindu Vivek Kendra:
One of the many achievements of Arjun Singh
touted is: "It was he who purged the hatred and intolerance from the
textbooks of India after the Bharatiya Janata Party's fall from power, ensuring
a secular future of freedom for people of all faiths in India."Perhaps
he can do the same in Saudi Arabia.
Please refer to the following two articles:
Saudi Arabia's religious hatred
The boston globe
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/09/23/saudi_arabias_religious_hatred/
Don't Be Friends With Christians or Jews,
Saudi Texts Say
The New York Times, May 24, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/24/world/24saudi.html
By Hassan Fattah