Kolkata, March 26: Indians should practice not only tolerance but also acceptance of all religions, senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor said on Saturday. Speaking at ABP Network’s inaugural ‘Ideas of India’ summit, Tharoor referred to the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and said the ascetic held all religions to be true.
Tharoor was addressing the summit on the topic “‘The Idea of Freedom – Law, Liberty, and the Limits of Democracy: A functioning anarchy or a Non-negotiable Democracy?’. “We should practice what Swami Vivekananda had taught us; he held all religions to be true. Just as the Shiva MahimaStotram says just as thousands of streams flow in different directions – some straight, some in curve or crooked but finally dissolve in one ocean, similarly, despite various religious practices, all such doctrines ultimately dissolve in You, the SachchidanandaSwarupa,” he said.
“Also, every Indian should be proud of his/her religion, but the state has no place in religion, or kitchen, bedroom, or food habits of its people”, the Parliamentarian said, taking a dig at the BJP. On the narrative of nationalism and the role of outsiders, Tharoor said, “Indian civilisation has been infused by various ethnicities over many centuries. I share my views with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi in this.”
Responding to criticism about some individuals and political parties hijacking the credit of making India an independent country, he alleged that the Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh did not take part in the freedom movement, and instead urged people to “collaborate” with the British. “The Indian National Congress fought for freedom. The Hindutva view was represented by Hindu Mahasabha and RSS and neither participated in the freedom struggle.
In fact, both these organisations, in different ways, had recommended to people to collaborate with the British. In fact, the Hindu Mahasabha had joined hands with the Muslim League to usurp power in Bengal,” he said. “We should broaden the space for discussion and debate. We should use terms such as pluralism and diversity instead of secularism”, he concluded. UNI
