India's unity in diversity in danger: Congress

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said India's history of unity in diversity was in danger due to communal ideology and the "incidents of hatred" in the country were the outcome of the "planned conspiracy".

"The country's honour is at stake, as India's glorious history of unity in diversity is in danger due to some communal ideology," she said while addressing the 29th 'Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration' function here.

The "incidents of hatred" were inspired by the narrow mindset, she said adding: "These have not come up suddenly but (are a) planned conspiracy."

The actions were intended to divide the people, she said, adding that her party would fight against them and the citizens of the country would not allow these conspiracies to be successful.

Paying homage to former prime minister Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary, she said: "Indira Gandhi believed that without empowering the socially backward classes, unity in diversity is not possible. For Indira Gandhi, there was nothing greater than the unity of the country."

The remarks comes on the backdrop of recent lynching of a Muslim man over rumours of beef eating, burning of a Dalit family in which two children were killed and returning of awards by eminent scientists and writers.

Speaking at the occasion, former prime minister Manmohan Singh said the land acquisition laws must be fair and equitable.

Stating that there was a lot of inequality in land distribution, he said land reforms needed massive modernization and upgrading as the land issues were crucial for rural and urban India.

During the event, Gandhi presented 'Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration' for 2013-14 to social activist Rajagopal P. V. The award carries an amount of Rs.10 lakh cash and a citation.