Nagpur: Nationalism, patriotism, tolerance and secularism formed the crux of former President Pranab Mukherjee’s address at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur on Thursday as the veteran Congress leader impressed upon the right wing organisation’s cadre the need to maintain communal harmony and pluralism.
Flanked by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and other Khaki clad members on the stage, Mukherjee said that secularism is the soul of India and warned that any attempt to define the country through "religion, dogma or intolerance" will only dilute its existence.
Burdened by the weight of disapproval by his lifelong party and his daughter, Mukherjee said that Indian nationalism is not about one particular language or religion, but about inclusion, universalism and tolerance.
“Indian nationalism is not one nation, one language, one religion, one enemy. It’s perennial universalism of its people,” he told the Sangh cadre.
While the Sangh is often described as a Hindu right-wing organisation, it calls itself a nationalist and cultural organisation rather than a political or religious one.
Mukherjee, who served as President of India between 2012 and 2017, said tolerance is India’s strength and intolerance will only dilute India's national identity. "In India, we derive our strength from tolerance, and respect our pluralism. We celebrate our diversity," he said.
“A dialogue between diverging groups is necessary. We may argue, we may agree, we may not agree but we cannot deny multiplicity of arguments. Only a dialogue can make us respect differing opinions,” said the former President.
The senior Congress leader also cited Mahatma Gandhiji’s explanation of Indian nationalism not being exclusive or destructive. While explaining concepts on nationalism, he also quoted Jawahar Lal Nehru’s book Discovery of India, saying, “Indian nationalism only comes from a congregation of Hindus, Muslims and all other religions. Indian nationalism was and is above political, religion and regional inclination.”
Picking up from where Bhagwat left off in his speech prior to him, the senior Congress elucidated the importance of the country’s leaders being people centric.
“When we go to Parliament, just above the lift in gate number 6, there is a quote by Kautilya which says, in the happiness of the people lies in the happiness of the king. Their welfare is the king's welfare. Kautilya places people at the centre even before India's constitution was laid down,” said Mukherjee.
The senior Congress leader had earlier refused to react on the controversy generated due to his acceptance of the RSS invite. The leader had told multiple media houses to watch his Nagpur speech and derive answers from there.
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