"Our civilization promotes tolerance, accepts differences, respects dissent," President Pranab Mukherjee said.
In his fourth message within a fortnight on the importance of peace and harmony, President Pranab Mukherjee today said daily actions should convey tolerance, which is the binding force of Indian civilisation.
"Our civilization promotes tolerance, accepts differences, respects dissent," the President told NDTV in an exclusive interview. The President is in Kolkata, where the four-day festival of Durga Puja is on.
"Durga Puja is not a worship, but a festival. It integrates all sections of society and conveys a message of harmony and peace," the President said. "We should recognise the underlying message and convey it in our actions."
Over the last few weeks, in the backdrop of events that have given rise to charges of growing intolerance in society, the President has been reinforcing the message of tolerance and unity.
In his message to the people earlier today, the president said, "May this festival strengthen the moral foundations of our society and turn us away from all that divides and destroys."
The President had made his first appeal for tolerance on October 8, days after a mob lynched a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri, allegedly over rumours of cow slaughter. But reports of similar incidents have surfaced since, in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur and in Nahan, Himachal Pradesh.
Yesterday, addressing a function in Bengal's Birbhum district, he said the reports were planting doubts on whether the country is "progressing on the right path" and urged the nation to "eliminate the Asuras or divisive forces".
Today, the government, too, broke its silence, with Union Minister Aun Jaitley saying, "Some of these issues are extremely serious, some can reflect on inter-community relations, others can reflect on sensitive areas such as Jammu and Kashmir."
Appealing for calm and restraint, the minister said, "There has to be a civilised mode of discussing and debating these issues."
Referring to the President's appeals for peace, the minister said, "The President's appeal must be listened to seriously by all and heeded to. It is the correct advice to be given under these circumstances."