Reducing minorities to second class citizens will divide India, says ex-RBI governor Raghuram Rajan
India Today
Former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan warned against majoritarianism and said any attempt to reduce minorities to second class citizens will divide India.
Former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan said on Saturday that any attempt to reduce the minority communities to second class citizens will divide the country and create an internal rift. Rajan was speaking at the 5th national conclave of the All India Professionals' Congress (AIPC) held in Chattisgarh's capital, Raipur.
He opposed any attempts at turning minorities into second-class citizens and said it is time to confront majoritarianism and authoritarianism. “In this age of geo-political development it will make us vulnerable and invite foreign meddling,” added Rajan.
To illustrate his point, he took the example of cash-strapped Sri Lanka and said, “We only have to look south to see that when a country fails to create jobs and tries to attack the minorities, it doesn't lead anywhere good.”
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Rajan also spoke on the importance of liberal democracy in achieving economic growth. He said, "Our future lies in strengthening liberal democracy and its institutions and not in weakening it.”
Speaking on the concept of liberalism, he said, “I must emphasise that liberalism is not anti-religion. The essence of every religion is to seek out good in everyone. It is also the essence of liberal democracy.”
Rajan said he opposes the idea that India needs authoritarian leadership for growth and said it is based on an “outdated model of development that emphasises goods and capital, not people and ideas”.
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