Anguish of minority communities is understood: Manmohan Singh

Bangalore, July 26 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that it was incumbent on religious and community leaders to rise together to oppose and counter the spread of 'dangerous ideas' like terrorism.

Expressing anguish over branding an entire community as supporters of terrorism because of the actions and aberrations of 'a very few' he said such thinking was wrong.

In a letter to former Union Railway Minister C K Jaffer Sharief, which was released to the media today, Dr Singh however ''By and large in India we have steered clear of this kind of finger pointing. Overwhelming majority of Indians have a moderate and secular outlook and do not subscribe to fanatic ideologies that propagate violence and terror'', he said.

Mr Sharief had written a letter to the Prime Minister expressing concern over suspecting a particular community altogether for any violence in the west involving the members of the community.

The Prime Minister said in his letter that it was a fact that in recent times India too had not been immune from extremist thought, which fan the flames of intolerance.

He called upon the people to defend their great historical legacy of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual nation which was unique in having adopted a pluralistic democratic and secular order.

''Our national cannot survive if we do not remain faithful to this legacy. The Congress party and UPA are inheritors of this great legacy and tradition and we shall continue to uphold this tradition'', he added.

UNI