‘Intolerance betrayal of democracy’
15 Aug 2014 6:19 AM IST
Referring to bigotry, he noted that an increasingly turbulent international environment has sparked off rising dangers ‘in our region and beyond. ‘Though an ancient civilization, India is a modern nation with modern dreams. Intolerance and violence is a betrayal of the letter and spirit of democracy.
Those who believe in the poison drip of inflammatory provocation do not understand India’s values or even its present political impulses. Indians know that progress, economic or social, is difficult without peace,’ said Mukherjee.
‘We can least afford to forget this message at a time when an increasingly turbulent international environment has sparked off rising dangers in our region and beyond, some clearly visible, and some crawling out of the debris of unprecedented turmoil,’ he said. The President noted that across parts of Asia and Africa, attempts are being made by radical militias to redraw the maps of nations to create a geography for theocratic ideology.
‘India will feel the heat of blowback, particularly as it represents the values that reject extremism in all its manifestations. India is a beacon of democracy, equilibrium, inter-and-intra faith harmony. We must defend our secular fabric with vigour.
Our security and foreign policies must combine the steel of strength with the velvet of diplomacy even as we persuade the like-minded as well as the hesitant to recognise the substantial dangers that breed within indifference’, he said. He also said the focus of India’s policies should go from alleviation of poverty to elimination of poverty. ‘The poor cannot and will not wait for another generation.’
Those who believe in the poison drip of inflammatory provocation do not understand India’s values or even its present political impulses. Indians know that progress, economic or social, is difficult without peace,’ said Mukherjee.
‘We can least afford to forget this message at a time when an increasingly turbulent international environment has sparked off rising dangers in our region and beyond, some clearly visible, and some crawling out of the debris of unprecedented turmoil,’ he said. The President noted that across parts of Asia and Africa, attempts are being made by radical militias to redraw the maps of nations to create a geography for theocratic ideology.
‘India will feel the heat of blowback, particularly as it represents the values that reject extremism in all its manifestations. India is a beacon of democracy, equilibrium, inter-and-intra faith harmony. We must defend our secular fabric with vigour.
Our security and foreign policies must combine the steel of strength with the velvet of diplomacy even as we persuade the like-minded as well as the hesitant to recognise the substantial dangers that breed within indifference’, he said. He also said the focus of India’s policies should go from alleviation of poverty to elimination of poverty. ‘The poor cannot and will not wait for another generation.’
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