Elections-Congress(I) and Minorities

ECONOMIC AND POLlTICAL WEEKLY Elections Congress(I) and Minorities THE election manifesto of the Congress(l) released an December 5 makes an interesting comparison with the party's manifesto for the 1980 elections in respect of the references to minori ties. The manifesto affirms that "the Con- gress(I) will continue to safeguard the educational, religious and cultural rights of the minorities". It also pledges the party to noninterference in the "personal law of the minorities". On recognition of Urdu as second language; the manifesto says that it has "already been accorded second language status in Bihar, Similar actions will be taken in other states,'' There is, however, no reference to communal riots and only an innocuous mention of building a "national consensus against communalism".