We must protect secular character of India: Farooq Abdullah

India's secular character must be protected, said former J&K chief minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Thursday.

Responding to the controversial remark by Meghalaya High Court's Justice S R Sen that 'India should've declared itself a Hindu' country, Abdullah said: "We must protect the secular character of India."

"We are a secular nation. Our forefathers made it a secular nation, and we must protect the secular character of this nation. It's a question of unity in diversity. It is a diversity that we must strengthen," he added.

While disposing of the plea of a litigant who was denied a domicile certificate by Meghalaya government, Justice Sen on Monday said, "Since the partition of the subcontinent, during Independence, was done on the basis of religion, Pakistan declared that it was an Islamic country... India should also have been declared a Hindu country.