President Pranab Mukherjee reiterates message of unity

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee has been repeatedly speaking out against intolerance after the horrific Dadri lynching and subsequent events in other states.

He said ahimsa (non-violence) was not a negative force and “we must free our public discourse of all forms of violence, physical as well as verbal. Only a non-violent society can ensure the participation of all sections of the people, especially the marginalised and the dispossessed, in our democratic process”.

The President said Gandhiji gave us an object lesson in ahimsa by taking the assassin’s bullets with the name of Ram on his lips. “Every day, we see unprecedented violence all around us. At the heart of this violence is darkness, fear and mistrust. While we invent new modes of combating this ever spiralling violence, we must not forget the power of non-violence, dialogue and reason,” Mukherjee said.

Inaugurating the Sabarmati Ashram’s archives and research centre, he said the real dirt of India lies not in our streets but in our minds, and in our unwillingness to let go of views that divide society into “them” and “us”, between “pure” and “impure”.

“We must make a success of the laudable and welcome Swachh Bharat Mission. However, this also must be seen as just the beginning of a much larger and intense effort to cleanse minds and fulfill Gandhiji’s vision in all its aspects,” said Mr Mukherjee. “So long as the practice of carrying night soil persists, we cannot have real Swachh Bharat,” the President added.