Sporadic incidents cannot undermine India's commitment to pluralism, the Vice President said.
Talking on the issue of religious intolerance, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said one could take pride and practice one's religion, but no one has the right to denigrate others' religious beliefs.
He stressed that secularism and tolerance towards others' views are a core part of Indian ethos and that sporadic incidents cannot undermine India's commitment to the values of pluralism and inclusivity, according to the Vice President's Secretariat.
Mr Naidu called for removing barriers hindering the emancipation of women in the country, saying that there are several areas in which women are yet to realize their full potential even though our civilizational principles encourage equal participation of women in various fields.
While inaugurating the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru today, the Vice President addressed the gathering while emphasizing a more significant push for women's education through consistent government efforts. He explained that women always prove themselves in every discipline given an opportunity.
Mr Naidu mentioned that India's stellar contribution in the field of education during ancient times earned it the status of 'Viswa Guru'. The Vice President praised India's educational heritage when referring to distinguished women scholars of old India, such as Gargi and Maitreyi.
He also applauded the progressive rulers and reformers from Karnataka, such as Attimabbe and Sovaladevi, who were great patrons of learning, while also commending the Virashaiva movement committed to the emancipation of women via education.
The Vice President praised the College for empowering women since independence to become catalysts of change and bridging gender disparity in education.
Mr Naidu emphasized the importance of adopting a futuristic approach to education by focusing on developing students' skills ranging from artificial intelligence to data analytics. "Equally important is to possess effective communication skills," he added.
Stressing upon the importance of 'active learning', the Vice President wants educational institutions to adopt an evaluation based on continuous assessment. Calling for breaking rigidity and water-tight compartmentalization of the subjects, he underlined that "Interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity are the way forward."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)