New Delhi: Days after US President Barack Obama’s comments on religious tolerance in India, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said the country’s spirit of unity amidst diversity, non-violence and tolerance has made it one of the oldest continuous civilisation in the world.
“What is the spirit of India? I believe it is our unity amidst the immense diversity of India... It is our traditions of non-violence and tolerance. It is the age old concepts of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is a family) and Sarva Dharma Sambhav (equal respect for all faiths),” she said inaugurating an international conference on Indian Diaspora & Cultural Heritage: Past, Present and Future.
It is adherence to these ideas and ideals, which has made India the oldest continuous civilisation in the world, with a history going back five thousand years, she said.
“Most of the old civilisations of the world are dead and gone, but India has continued to maintain, develop and enrich its cultural heritage,” she said.
Her comments have come in the wake of President Obama’s statement that religious conflict has produced “acts of intolerance” in India, which would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi.
“One is living in an era in which the cultural heritage of many societies is under threat,” she said.
Cultural heritage does not end at monuments and artefacts. It also includes living traditions, the wealth of knowledge and skills that is inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, she said adding, “This is what gives us a sense of identity and continuity. It makes us who we are. The diaspora’s role in preserving cultural heritage is particularly important.”
