New Delhi, March 10: The people of India "know when to set things right", sidelined BJP leader Yashwant Sinha today said in what seemed like an oblique swipe at the Narendra Modi dispensation.

Sinha was speaking at a condolence meeting for diplomat-turned-politician Syed Shahabuddin in the presence of politicians including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, retired diplomats, and members of the Muslim community.

Though no one made any direct reference to the Modi regime, the subtext was clear. Many speakers noted that Shahabuddin would be even more misunderstood today as a champion of "Muslim" issues.

Shahabuddin's daughter Praveen Amanullah described her father as among the most trolled men in India at a time when the word "troll" had not gained currency. Nitish said the current atmosphere made it all the more important to digitise Shahabuddin's writings. Congress leader Salman Khurshid lamented the dominant discourse along national-versus-anti-national lines.

Sinha said: "I would like to tell my friend Salman Khurshid, don't despair. People of India know when to set things right." The import was not lost on anyone.

Vice-President Hamid Ansari said Shahabuddin was someone who immortalised Ram Prasad Bismil's poem " Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai...."

Sinha said Shahabuddin "was my senior (in college) by two years and a rare combination of a brilliant student who was also a student leader."

He added that Shahabuddin had influenced his decision to move from bureaucracy to politics.

Another friend from college days and former foreign secretary Muchkund Dubey said serving the cause of minorities as Shahabuddin did is "`truly serving the nation".

"Had Hindus done this for Muslims, India would have been a different nation," Dubey added.