HINDRAF’s plea to Manmohan (The Hindu)

Online edition of India’s National Newspaper

HINDRAF’s plea to Manmohan

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: Welcoming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s planned visit to Malaysia next week, the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) Makkal Sakthi has urged him to raise issues concerning the welfare of ethnic Indian minority in that country.

The HINDRAF Makkal Sakthi Chairman, P. Waytha Moorthy, appealed to Dr. Singh to show a sense of “moral responsibility” towards the Malaysian Indians. He was urged to reciprocate their contribution towards India’s freedom struggle.

Dr. Singh could do so by placing the “concerns” of ethnic Indians on the agenda with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, said Mr. Waytha Moorthy over telephone from London, where he lives in exile. India should, rise above being “just India Inc.” P. Uthayakumar, leader of the Pro tem Human Rights Party Malaysia, sent a letter to Dr. Singh, requesting that Malaysian Indian students be granted scholarships for study in India.

Referring to the planned opening of “Little India” in Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Uthayakumar wrote: “The significance is only symbolic.

Little India is no more than a little flower bazaar. Of greater significance to the Indian community in Malaysia will be … the provision of scholarships … [for] study in Indian universities.”

The Pro tem party is the political wing of HINDRAF-Makkal Sakthi, a new name for the banned HINDRAF.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/23/stories/2010102364131300.htm