File Photo: President Pranab Mukherjee.
President Pranab Mukherjee today said India has prospered due to its power to assimilate and tolerate.
"Our country has thrived due to its power of assimilation and tolerance. Our pluralistic character has stood the test of time," President Mukherjee said while speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Delhi High Court at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
"India is a country of 1.3 billion people belonging to three ethnic groups -- Caucasian, Dravidian and Mongoloid -- speaking 122 languages and 1,600 dialects, and professing 7 faiths," he added.
The theme of the Delhi High Court's golden jubilee celebrations being 'Justice for all', he said "it implies empowerment of the weak and equal treatment of law irrespective of one's individual identity".
Referring to the ancient civilisations having accommodated diversities, the president said: "Multiplicity is our collective strength which must be preserved at all costs. It finds reflection in the various provisions of our Constitution."