AT the two-day meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Integration Council, held recently in Delhi under the presidentship of Shrimati Indira Gandhi, there was a heated discussion on the question of the formation of a Muslim-majority district in Kerala. This resulted in many sharp exchanges between the Jana Sangh leader Shri Vajpayee and the Communist-Marxist leader Shri Sundarayya.

It is also learnt that right at the start of the meeting Shri Vajpayee regretted that in the previous meeting of the Committee held on October 26—which he was unable to attend—certain things were not only said against the Bharatiya Jana Sangh but were also circulated to the press. Shri Vajpayee made it clear that if the forum of the standing committee was to be used for making unwarranted propaganda against the Jana Sangh, then he would be constrained to oppose it. He pointed out that at the Srinagar meeting of the NIC he had criticised the Congress and communist policy of fanning Muslim communalism but there was no mention of that criticism in the press release. He therefore, questioned the propriety of publicising baseless criticism against his party. Many members of the standing committee agreed that the objection of Shri Vajpayee was just and agree that while briefing the press no party or person should be named. The Prime Minister said that greater care would be taken in the matter in future.

The sharp exchanges between Shri Vajpayee and Shri Sundarayya started when the latter described the action taken against the Muslim papers for provocative writings as unjust. Shri Sundarayya argued that only Hindu papers should be brought to book. Whatever the Muslim papers wrote was only in self-defence. Shri Vajpayee challenged this contention and said that law should not discriminate in favour of or against anyone and that raising the Hindu-Muslim question in the matter of press prosecutions was to betray one's own communalism. He futher said that anybody guilty of violating the law ought to be punished. He also observed that the preponderance of Muslim newspapers among those against whom cases had been filed showed clearly as to who was responsible for inciting communal feelings.

Shri Vajpayee again clashed with Shri Sundarayya when the latter criticised the Governor of Kerala for going to the Thali temple for offering prayers, Shri Sundarayya was questioned whether he would have dared to raise such a bogey if the Governor had been a Muslim or a Christian and had visited some mosque or church. Shri Vajpayee asserted that Hindu Governors could not be debarred from exercising their rights of worship simply because Shri Sundarayya was engaged in appeasing the Muslims and the Kerala Government was taking the dangerous step of carving out a Muslim-majority district.

Shri Vajpayee lodged a strong protest when, on the second day of Committee meeting, Shrimati Indira Gandhi referred to the speeches of Shri Golwalkar and said that they should be scrutinised. Shri Vajpayee said that it was totally wrong and improper to single out Shri Golwalkar as a target who, he said, was constantly striving to revive the feeling of nationalism in the country. His speeches had not given rise to any tension any where anytime. The Bihar Government had tried Shri Golwalkar on the basis of one of his speeches, but the case had been dismissed by a three-Judge Bench of the State High Court. Shri Vajpayee urged that all are equal before the law and that the speeches of all leaders should be tested on the same touchstone. There was no point in scrutinising the speeches of only Shri Golwalkar, he said.

The PSP leader, Shri Goray, said that it was not proper to drag in the name of Shri Golwalkar again and again. An impression that the committee was out to persecute somebody should be avoided. Shri Goray further said that there were many to criticise the speeches of Shri Golwalkar but no Muslim had come forward to condemn the provocative speeches of Muslim leaders. He had not come across any expression of protest against the speeches of Sheikh Abdullah by any Muslim organisation. How long could such a state of affairs continue? Shri Goray asked.

The Home Minister, Shri Chavan, admitted that the Home Ministry had got the speeches of Shri Golwalkar examined and had found no basis for prosecution in them. Shri Chavan said that it was not a matter for legal action but for creating public opinion.

Al-Jamiat wants Muslim majority in India...
THE dark forces responsible for the Partition of the country that had been lying low so long seem to have gained enough confidence by now to dream of 51 per cent Muslim majority in India. They are aided and abetted by the more sinister forces, internal as well as external, this time. While Congress and the communists are the main contenders for the Muslim vote inside the country, China and Russia are trying to take the place of the now toothless British lion in using the Muslims as pawn in this game of subverting and balkanising India.

What M.N. Roy & Kripalani thought of it
In spite of the tall talk of secularism over the years and endlessly nauseating sermons for the benefit of the Hindus alone, the net result has been the emergence of bloc Muslim vote as a threat to the security, secularity and prosperity of India. Not that the true nationalists and prophetic pundits did not see the shape of things to come. Immediately after the first General Election, Shri M.N. Roy sounded a note of warning by saying that "Muslims have won the first General Election in India." Acharya Kripalani was so much alarmed that he advocated in VIGIL the disenfranchisement of the Muslims to save the incipient Indian Democracy.

Even Comrades Bhupesh Gupta and Farooqi have now complained of the growing Muslim communalism. This is because the bloc Muslim vote helped the Congress and not the CPI—both in UP and Bihar. On the other hand, Congressmen like Venkatasubbaiah and even V.C. Shukla are waking up to the link up of the Indian Muslims with the Pindi-Peking axis in West Bengal and Kerala.

'Dawat' wants Islam to rule India
The Muslim Press, the only tangible projection of the Muslim mind is, however, quite jubilant at the recent election results which, they think, are of Muslim making. It is now planning for the future. Before the elections Jamat-e-Islami's DAWAT had argued : "If Jana Sangh and CPI can hope to rule India, why not Islam?" And now this refrain has been taken up by Jamiat-ul-Ulema's Aljamiat (March 13). For it the only solution of "our problem (i.e. the problem of Muslims in India) is that we should be 51 per cent is strength."... March 29, 1969