Pranab Mukherjee: Tolerance core Indian value

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday that tolerance for pluralism, compassion for all and love for the motherland are core civilisational values of India, where hundreds of languages and all major religions live under one system.

“The idea of Bharat flows from the eternal wisdom of our rich traditions. Our core civilisational values, which are equally relevant today, speak of love for motherland, performance of duty, compassion for all, tolerance for pluralism, honesty in life, self restraint in conduct, responsibility in action and discipline,” the President said at an event here organised by RSS affiliate Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal at IGNOU.

He added that India is a land of great tradition and discovery, which can rise above apparent contradictions and thrive on a composite culture. “Sometimes I wonder about the huge diversity in which we live and we manage to thrive. 200 languages, 1,800 dialects, all seven major religions in the world, every ethnic group, yet we live under one system, one flag, one Constitution. This is to my mind the Bharatiya approach,” he said. 

Constant churning and refinement has been the secret of continuity of the “Bharatiya thought” through times of turbulence, he added. “Despite the diversity in which we live, we enjoy and celebrate, we don’t ignore individuality when we talk of the great confluence coming from different parts of the world in various streams,” he said.

Speaking about the Indian education system, he said it was never allowed to be centralised, and that there has existed a “guru shishya parampara” (student-teacher tradition).

Mr Mukherjee said that in contrast to an eye-for-an-eye approach, Indian civilisation gave humanity the message of happiness for everyone. The President said India has made much economic progress since Independence. He hoped that the ideas generated at the three-day conference would be useful for the country.