Nagpur: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Thursday urged people not to ask for their rights in the name of religion as their rights are fixed in the Constitution. He said that the people have the habit of asking for their rights in the name of religion but they should ask for their rights as Indians.
"In the Constitution, all rights belong to citizens. In the name of religion, there is freedom, not rights. You ask for rights in the name of religion? From the British era, we have been in the habit of asking for rights in the name of religion. You should ask for rights as citizens, as Indians. Your rights are ensured by the Constitution." said Khan.
The Governor was delivering the Padma Bhushan Late Maulana Abdul Karim Parekh Memorial Lecture at the Nagpur University on the theme 'Peace and harmony among different religious communities for the progress of the nation'.
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Khan said that India was divided in the name of religion and urged people to tell those who are still trying to engineer such division that " we are all one". He also said that the British tried to divide the people on religious lines telling Hindus that they would get a larger share if they abided by their instruction and also told Muslims the same.
"The British divided us. They told Hindus they would get a larger share if they behaved. They told Muslims also they would get a bigger share if they behaved. One was looking at profit at the other's loss," he said. Khan also said that nothing can happen in the country from which a Hindu will gain and a Muslim will suffer losses as now people are the owner of the country.
