THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: India wants to maintain friendly relations with all its neighbours but not at the cost of the country's national security, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said.
He was inaugurating the 90th Sivagiri pilgrimage at Varkala near here on Friday. The Defence Minister's remarks assume significance in the wake of India's recent border skirmishes with China in the country's northeast.
"We can change our friends, but not our neighbours," Rajnath reminded, quoting former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to stress the importance of maintaining good relations with neighbouring countries.
"However, there will be no compromise on our national security," he asserted. Rajnath said India's soldiers were fiercely guarding the country's borders by following the ideals of spiritual leaders like Sree Narayana Guru.
Rajnath said that while he was defending the country's 'body' as a Defence Minister, spiritual leaders including those in Sivagiri, were defending the country's 'soul'. "A country can survive only if its body and soul are safe," he said. Rajanth also assured that works relating to the Union government's Rs 70 crore worth projects for the development of Sivagiri will be expedited.
Union Minister for State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said Sree Narayana Guru's teachings based on Vedas and Upanishads disprove the propaganda of people with narrow interests that his ideals were not connected with 'sanatana dharma' (Hinduism). He also blamed the state government for the violence, evil practices and increasing consumption of alcohol and narcotic substances in the state known as the land of Sree Narayana Guru.
Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust president Sree Narayana Dharmasangham Trust president Swami Satchidananda presided over the function. The pilgrimage to Sivagiri, the final resting place of renowned spiritual leader and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, is held every year for three days from December 30 to January 1.