The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee delivered a Public Lecture on ‘Tagore & Gandhi: Do they have Contemporary Relevance for Global Peace?’ at Uppsala University in Sweden yesterday.In his speech, the President said ideas of truth, openness, dialogue and non-violence espoused by Tagore and Gandhiji provide the best way forward for a world confronted with intolerance, bigotry and terrorism. Their values and their vision are more relevant today than any time before in a world desperately searching for permanent solutions to conflict and tensions. These ideals therefore need to be propagated far and wide, especially amongst the youth.
The President said India, with its population of 1.25 billion has been home to the harmonious mingling of ethnicities and religions for centuries. We are clear that lasting peace can be built only on a foundation of mutual respect which was consistently and eloquently advocated by both Tagore and Gandhiji. Enduring peace can only be established on the basis of humanity’s moral and intellectual solidarity. Political and economic agreements will not on their own build a lasting peace. Peace has to be founded on the belief that there is only one humanity.