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External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh on Sunday proposed the setting up of an international fund to help victims of terrorism, especially those in India where thousands of people have been killed in terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere.
Singh, who addressed an inter-faith prayer meeting here for victims of the World Trade Center tragedy, did not announce the proposal himself. That was left to Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, who told the gathering that Singh wanted the Indian American community to set up a fund on those lines.
“Please take this thought seriously and do whatever you can do,” Mansingh said.
Sources said that Singh, who met with community leaders on Sunday morning in his Manhattan hotel room before addressing the meeting in Union Square Park, close to where Mahatma Gandhi’s bronze statue used to stand until its removal last year for renovation of the area, first mooted the proposal during his meeting with Indian National Foundation (INF) leaders.
The INF is an umbrella body comprising Indian American organizations such as the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), the Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and the National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA).
“The minister said that the fund is for all terrorist victims, particularly for those in India, in order to help their families and their children in their education as well as for their rehabilitation,” Dr Sudhir Parikh, an AAPI member who was present at the meeting, told India Abroad. “We assured the minister that we will work very hard to realize his goal,” Parikh said.
Addressing the inter-faith prayer, Singh said that he had come from India with a message of peace and amity. “We support the United States in its fight against terrorism,” he said, adding, “We have been suffering the menace of terrorism for more than a decade.
“We have brought once again the message of peace and amity to the forefront of the conscience of humanity,” he said amid thunderous applause.
About 250 people, from New York and New Jersey, braved incessant rain and cold winds as Singh addressed the meetings.
Congratulating those present for the spirit with which they had braved the elements, Singh said, “Come rain or sunshine or high water, the fight against terrorism must continue. We need to be resolute, and we need patience."
Singh told the meeting that he had brought with him two urns, one filled with the water of the Ganges and the other containing soil from different parts of India. These, he said, would be presented to New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
“Whenever a memorial is built (for victims of the WTC), this soil and water should be placed at its foundation," he said.
Community leaders are believed to have assured Singh that a fund on the lines he had mooted would be started shortly. “We have already scheduled a fundraiser for the victims of the WTC on October 14 in New Jersey, we can use the same platform to start a fund for victims of terrorism as suggested by the minister," Parikh said.
Besides Singh and Mansingh, Consul General Shashi Tripathi, ambassador at large B K Agnihotri and officials of various Indian organisations addressed the gathering. Hindi film comedian Johny Lever and singer Parvati Khan were also present.
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