Amidst an ongoing debate over so-called intolerance prevailing in the country, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living Foundation, has said that in his views India is not an intolerant nation.
In the ongoing debate over intolerance prevailing in the country, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living practice, has said that in his views India is not an intolerant country.
Responding to questions during an exclusive Twitter Townhall, Ravi Shankar, who has recently been awarded Padma Vibhushan, said that returning awards is not fair. "It was not good for the image of the country. I disagree with this debate of intolerance. There are some elements, fringe elements in the country, but you can't use that to say that the whole population of the country is becoming intolerant," he said while referring to the much reported award wapsi campaign, which saw many noted artists and authors returning their awards in protest against what they claimed was rising intolerance.
"Award wapsi campaign is a disaster. I do respect all those people who have got the awards," Ravi Shankar said.
Responding to a question that whether he believes that actors Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khanwere wrong in saying that India is slowly becoming an intolerant nation, he said both of them have already accepted that it was not true.
"I do accept that there are people who are swinging to extremes and that's a law and order problem and it is nothing new, it has been there from so many years in this country. In a country of 1.2 billion people, such criminal incidents do happen. But you can't take those incidents and blow them out of proportion," he said.
When asked to comment on government's decision to ban beef and whether the government should be deciding what one should eat and what not, Ravi Shankar said, "As I have understood, it is nothing new, it was already there. On certain days like Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti or Gokulashtmi, this has been in practice since long. It is for the lawmakers to take a decision on it."
"The mainstream population of this country is very tolerant and I would say that sense of belongingness is in our DNA. You can't say this country has become intolerant suddenly," he added.
Courtsey : India Today
