Speech by Hon'ble President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil, at the Presentation of Kabir Puraskar and National Communal Harmony Awards

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am happy to be present here today on the occasion of the presentation of the Communal Harmony Awards and the Kabir Puraskar for the years 2007 and 2008. These awards are a recognition of the work done for promoting a feeling of oneness between communities. I would like to congratulate all organizations and individuals who have been conferred the awards. As the nation moves forward on the path of rapid economic growth, your work strengthens the humane, liberal and inclusive fabric of our society. Protection of the weaker sections of society, welfare of the minorities and empowerment of women are elements of a progressive and mature approach for building nations in which different segments and sections all feel that they have a stake.

Mankind shares a common origin and, in fact a common destiny. The human race has often been described in our scriptures as "Ekavansha Manusyajathi" - that is all human beings belong to one race. Since ancient times, India has followed a philosophy of living in harmony, a way of living that seeks concentric circles of harmony - within oneself, with other human beings and with nature. Through the ages, many outside influences were brought in by the many peoples who came and settled here. However, these were assimilated into our thinking and culture thus enriching the great diversity of our land, and making it multi-cultural, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic. This array of people, their customs and thoughts co-existing together have fortified the spirit of tolerance, a value which has been at the core of our civilization, at the core of our national life. It has also taught us that emotions of joy, happiness, sadness and hurt affect all human beings. Therefore, it is not surprising that, throughout the ages great Indian men and women philosophers and saints have spoken about the oneness of humankind. Our saints such as Tulsidas, Surdas and Kabir - spread the same message. They were of the view that all religions extol people to be conscious of their duties towards fellow human beings with whom they should adopt a compassionate and tolerant approach.

Kabir was a leading proponent of the Bhakti movement, and preached love for humanity and spiritual quest through devotion to God. If Kabir's understanding of his surroundings and the meaning of life was astounding, even more remarkable was the ease with which he conveyed profound messages in his "dohas" the two line couplets. He often cautioned against the use of harsh words in our speech. In one of his "dohas" he writes:-

Which means:-

Speak in such a manner that it is without egoistic thoughts;

That makes the person calm and, gives others happiness.

This is a reminder about, what we tend to forget, that we should be careful in not using words that offend the sentiments and feelings of others. Such caution is essential for communal harmony as well as for maintaining calm and peace in our societies. As fellow citizens we are also expected to be considerate and sympathetic towards each other. In our country, there are numerous instances where members of one community have unhesitatingly helped members of another community, by providing shelter, help and assistance, including during difficult times. All those who have got awards today are organizations and individuals who have done commendable work in promoting brotherhood between the various communities of our country. They have done exemplary work. There are other instances of common feeling people showing the same feeling in their lives. For example there was a recent case in Nagpur, where Dr. Ravi Wankhede gave his kidney to his friend Salim Chimthanwala, whose both kidneys had failed. They are not related by blood, belonged to different communities, but were yet linked by human ties. It is these feelings that our nation needs. It will help us to deal in eliminating extremism and terrorism and to bring peace and prosperity to our nation. These are the examples that we need to follow. This is the basis of India's culture. We have a precious heritage to maintain and we cannot allow ourselves to act contrary to it. The fact is that all of us, to whatever religion, region or community we might belong to, are Indians. We should not let our narrower identities stand in conflict with our identity as Indians.

We need to understand that those who pursue a divisive agenda see every element of our diversity as an issue for polarizing us for their selfish interests. In such situations, as Indians, we must collectively stand up as one. The message should be that our agenda is for the unity of all Indians, the growth and prosperity of our nation and we will not be divided whatever be the provocation. We will not waiver in our commitment to our intrinsic values and strengths, nor deviate from our national goals. We will retain our diversity as our strength and celebrate our society which has rejoiced in its diversity; in its ability to shelter myriad thoughts, ideas and beliefs. We will continue to contribute to the world with the richness of our culture, thought and philosophy, which is based on harmony and tolerance.

History bears testimony to the fact that whenever harmony existed between peoples and nations, mankind made progress. On the other hand, in situations of disharmony and strife, there was a lack of progress. History contains many such lessons. We must learn from history and we must not repeat mistakes of the past, on the other hand we should learn from history the significance of living together. Human beings universally seek the goals of peace and development. For this, humane and compassionate values should guide their behaviour. This is a pre-requisite for a civilized society so necessary for creating conditions in which human beings can grow and develop. As a system of governance, it is democracy that allows space for all shades of opinions to be expressed and seeks the participation of all in national life. We are fortunate that we have a rich inheritance of values of harmony and that we are a democracy.

Hatred and ill will is not in the interest of our children and the future generations. The youth are the inheritors of the rich legacy of our values, traditions and thoughts; they have the duty of being responsible repositories of this knowledge and, later on, becoming transmitters of it to the next generation. They will, thus, be yet another link in the long chain of generations of Indians who have kept our civilisational values alive. Our education system will have an important role to play in this endeavour. Apart from imparting skills to the youth for earning a livelihood, education should impart values and also help them to become responsible citizens. They should develop the ability to contribute to the welfare of humankind and promote peace. They should spread all over the world Mahatma Gandhi's message of ahimsa, humanity and his belief that all communities are branches of one family. They should understand the power of unity in building the nation. In this context, I recall a Hindi poem:-

I would like to end by once again commending the individuals and organizations who have been honoured at this function. The recognition of your work, should serve to further invigorate you in working collectively for national integration.

Thank you.
JAI HIND
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