The National Front Government has gone but we have not lost our courage. It is this courage that will endure us in our fight for national unity, social and economic justice and communal harmony.

Our country, our society, has been born of the confluence of the greatest religions of the world. Hinduism is, above all, a religion of synthesis. It has united the animate with the inanimate; the soul of one with the soul of all; the atma with the Paramatma. Islam teaches brotherhood and equality; Christianity lit the lamp of compassion; Buddhism and Jainism brought the message of nonviolence; Sikhism opened its doors to the people of all castes, religions and social strata. Where in all this is a conflict? The conflict is elsewhere and religion is only a pretext.

Religion is the lamp of the soul. Let it light your way. Do not use it to ignite the flames of hatred. If you do so, the temple of mother India will be reduced to ashes. I beseech you, do not let this happen. Religion belongs in our hearts, not on the throne of power.

Today, we face the supreme test. We must decide on the basis of principles whether we will uphold the rule of law and the sanctity of our Constitution, or violate them and run the Indian State through force and coercion. Shall religious polarisation divide the country?

Who is opposed to a temple dedicated to Sri Rama built in Ayodhya? But has it to be done in violation of court orders and by breaking down the mosque?

I have sacrificed my Government on this one issue. I shall devote my whole life, if necessary, to resolving this dispute. But I want all of you to remember that a resolution that comes out of mutual respect and generosity of spirit will be the strongest foundation of this nation's unity and an abiding testament to religious tolerance. I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have worked with total sincerity, to resolve this problem. I also urge the nation to enact a law in parliament that will protect the status of every existing mosque, temple or other religious shrine as of a given date, so that no such dispute can arise in the future.

To build our society we must eliminate entrenched injustice and inequality. We must do this not with anger but with compassion; not with confrontation but through cooperation. If some of us are weak or deprived, we must bring them forward. The nation is a family and we must run it, if necessary, by denying ourselves some of our wants - that is the duty of the elder brother to his weaker brethren and that is the basis of social justice.

Problems of Punjab, Kashmir and Assam still remain on the national agenda. We have to find a solution to these problems with the cooperation of the people there and we have to restore their faith in the essential fairness of Indian democracy.

(Source: Indian Express, New Delhi, 10 November, 1990)