A WORD OF WISDOM

An interview with Congress President P. V. Narasimha Rao was published in The Times of India on June 1, 1991. In answer to a question, he said that Indian society is made up of many communities, and every part of it should live in freedom and equality. The only way to live in India, he explained, is to live together:

“We have a plural society and all segments of the society should exist in freedom and equality. The only way to exist in India is to co-exist.”

This is a completely true and correct statement. But it does not apply only to Indian society; it applies to every society in the world. The same principle is valid for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and also for Europe and America. Whether it is within a family or across the entire world, the only way to live is by tolerating each other. Without tolerance and acceptance, neither a family nor a nation can survive.

Differences in this world are as natural as human existence itself. Wherever there are people, there will be differences—whether they belong to one religion and culture or to many. In such a situation, a person must choose one of two paths: either to tolerate differences or to refuse to tolerate them and keep fighting endlessly with others.

Our choice is not between having differences and not having them, but between tolerating them or refusing to do so and destroying ourselves. If we want life, it can only be found through tolerance. The only other option is to fight and ruin ourselves. Beyond this, no third choice exists.