Defence Minister Rajnath Singh points to principle for equality in armed forces

The armed forces have opportunities for youths of all castes and religions to serve the country, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday, adding that the country cannot achieve a stature on the basis of caste, creed and religion.

Singh was speaking at the convocation ceremony of Integral University in Lucknow, a minority dominated university, where he especially sought to stress on India's syncretic culture and its equal treatment of all religions, even as he hailed the induction of UP-born Sania Mirza into the National Defence Academy.

He also highlighted that while earlier participation of women was limited to education and medical sectors, with certain wings in the armed forces completely shut for them, today women are being deployed even on warships and in places like Siachen.


"In Indian armed forces, there is an opportunity to serve the nation for every Indian youth, irrespective of his caste, creed and religion," he said.

He said at Partition, India and Pakistan may have been created on the basis of religion but India has always believed in "sarva dharma sama bhava" (all religions are equal) while preserving its Sanatan culture and also giving the message of Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam (the world is one family), appealing to students to think about enriching this culture.

"India is a place where, for centuries, people have been living with love and brotherhood. One of the world's oldest churches is in Kerala - St Thomas Church. When Parsis were evicted from Iran, the place where they took refuge in and are living respectfully is India. Besides, I can say with certainty that only in India and not in Islamic countries will you find all 72 firke (Islamic sects) in the entire world," Singh said, asking students to research on the sects of Islam, and that if his statement was wrong he would accept it. "This is India and the stature we want to give to the country cannot be achieved on the basis of caste, creed and religion."