Intolerance is un-Indian

In the backdrop of the recent disturbances at Delhi University, in which the RSS-affiliated student body ABVP disrupted an academic seminar in the name of “nationalism”, President Pranab Mukherjee observed in Kochi on Thursday that there “should be no room in India for the intolerant Indian...” While delivering a lecture, the President said universities must engage in reasoned discussion and debate. But who is listening? Defence minister Manohar Parrikar, answering journalists’ questions, said he was for the freedom of expression “within the legal framework”, although he clarified that he was only making a general observation unrelated to the current controversy. Here is someone who has taken oath of office on the Constitution which guarantees every Indian freedom of expression, like it offers freedom to practise one’s faith, but the minister is fighting shy of saying he will protect free expression, come what may.

Will he protect freedom to practise one’s faith, or the freedom not to be part of any faith? We hope Indians never have to pass such a test. Finance minister Arun Jaitley rushed to the defence of the ABVP, his former organisation, in a less circuitous manner. He said it was only in India that “nationalism” was a bad word. That’s not true. It’s the version of “nationalism” propagated by the ruling party — more properly called majority-religion chauvinism — which raises doubts as it questions the notion of national unity (of people of all faiths, regions, language groups and classes) that flowed out of the freedom movement, in which the RSS forgot to participate.