Former President Pranab Mukherjee today warned that any attempt to define India through "religion, hatred, dogmas and intolerance" will dilute our existence and said public discourses must be freed of all forms of violence, as he addressed an RSS event despite criticism by the Congress and his family.
Asserting that India's identity has emerged through a long-drawn process of confluence, assimilation and co-existence, Mukherjee, in a strong-worded speech on 'nation, nationalism and patriotism' in context of Bharat, said India's soul resides in pluralism and tolerance.
Mukherjee's message to hundreds of 'pracharaks' and top-brass of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is often described as a Hindu right-wing organisation, was described as a 'mirror of truth to the RSS' by the Congress, whose several leaders have so far been critical of his decision to attend the event here at the Sangh headquarters.
At the same time, the Hindutva leaders including S Gurumurthy said Mukherjee talked about nationalism not being limited to any religious identity, which was the same message delivered by the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
In an apparent reference to the 'one-nation-one-culture ideology' often identified with the RSS, Mukherjee said India's nationhood is not "one language, one religion and one enemy".
"It is 'perennial universalism' of 1.3 billion people who use 122 languages and 1600 dialects...practice seven major religions... live under one system, one flag and one identity of being Bhartiya and have 'no enemies'. That is what makes Bharat a diverse and united nation," he said.
Mukherjee, who served as President of India between 2012 and 2017, said, "Every day, we see increased violence around us. At the heart of this violence is darkness, fear and mistrust. We must free our public discourse from all forms of violence, physical as well as verbal."