Former President and Congress veteran Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday delivered his first speech from the RSS platform. The former President was speaking at the concluding ceremony of the RSS’s Tritiya Varsh Training programme at the Sangh headquarters in Nagpur. The former President started his address by saying, "I am here amongst you to share my understanding with you of the concepts of nation, nationalism and patriotism in the context of India." He also spoke about ancient institutions of India that attracted students from outside as well. Here are the top quotes from his address at RSS headquarters in Nagpur: Any attempt at defining our nationhood in terms of dogma and identities or religion, region, hatred and intolerance will only lead to dilution of our identity. We accept and respect our pluralism and celebrate our diversity. Our national identity has emerged after a long drawn process of confluence and assimilation, the multiple cultures and faiths make us special and tolerant. Democracy became our most precious guide towards peace and regeneration from the swamp of poverty created by centuries of colonial rule. For us, democracy is not a gift, but a sacred trust. The Constitution of India represents the hopes and aspirations of a billion plus Indians. From our Constitution flows our nationalism. The construct of Indian Nationalism is Constitutional Patriotism. India's nationhood is not one lang, one religion, one enemy. It is perennial universalism of 1.3 billion people who use more than 122 languages and 1600 dialects, practice 7 major religions and belong to three major ethnic groups that live under one system, one flag and one identity of being Bhartiya. People are at the centre of all activities of the state and nothing should be done to divide them. The aim of the state should be to galvanise them to fight a concerted war against poverty, disease and deprivation. Only then can we create a nation where Nationalism flows automatically.
