India is a secular country. It is a land where different religions and faiths flourish. Here, the constitution enforces the freedom of expression and speech as a fundamental right of every citizen. Ironically, such a land is being divided along the lines of tolerance and intolerance.
Tolerance is an inherent value of the country’s citizens due to the huge diversity of the country. Hence people from different groups are bonded under India. In the absence of tolerance, the peace of the country would be hindered continuously.
Hence, tolerance forms the base of the multicultural society of India. Despite Hindus constituting the majority of the country, the Constitution protects every minority community. The tolerance in India allows free intermixing of communities and promotes societal harmony.
Freedom comes with responsibilities
The Constitution of India ensures the right to freedom of speech. This explicitly states that people can freely express themselves in non-violent ways, promoting a truly secular and democratic country.
However, we need to realise that our speech holds the power to hurt others’ feelings or sentiments. Care must be taken to protect the sentiments of people from various communities. It is important to avoid any speech that breaks the social fabric of the country.
Intolerance in recent times
The responsibility of protecting people’s feelings and sentiments is important. However, we have failed to do so in recent times. There have been several instances in the recent past where people have hurt the religious sentiments of people. These seem to have divided society along the lines of tolerance and intolerance. Such incidents must be dealt with with a firm hand.
Taking up too much liberty in the name of tolerance shakes the base of India’s secularism. Hence, tolerance must not be used as a tool to incite people of different communities and maintenance of harmony should be encouraged.