Pranab Mukherjee at RSS event: Time to create a happy nation

Former President and Congress veteran Pranab Mukherjee today warned that any attempt to define India through "religion, dogma or intolerance" will only dilute the country's existence, as he attended an RSS event amid criticism by several of his party leaders including his own daughter. Here are some of his best comments at the RSS event today.


* India hasn't fared well in the 'happiness index.' Need a happy nation where nationalism flows 'uninterruptedly', 'automatically'

*Nationalism is not bound by religion or race...Indian nationalism not exclusive nor aggressive


* It was this very nationalism that Pandit Nehru so vividly expressed in the book 'Discovery of India', he wrote, "I am convinced that nationalism can only come out of the ideological fusion of Hindu, Muslims, Sikhs and other groups in India."

People are at the centre of all activities of the State and nothing should be done to divide them.The aim of the St… https://t.co/S2D5HfAQQO

— Pranab Mukherjee (@CitiznMukherjee) 1528384118000

* We must free our public discourse from all sorts of violence

* Secularism and inclusion a matter of faith for us



* 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

* I am here amongst you to share my understanding with you of the concepts of nation, nationalism and patriotism in the context of India

* Concepts of Nation, Nationalism & Patriotism are closely intertwined

We derive our strength from tolerance. We accept & respect our pluralism. We celebrate our diversity. Any attempt a… https://t.co/lG8olDr950

— Pranab Mukherjee (@CitiznMukherjee) 1528384055000

* India was an open society and was globally connected.

* We see the whole world as one family and pray for good and welfare of all.

* Indian nationalism emanated from universalism

* Our national identity has emerged after a long drawn process of confluence and assimilation, the multiple cultures and faiths make us special and tolerant.

* Intolerance will dilute our nationality

The Controversy
Mukherjee was invited by the RSS to address its Shiksha Varg - an annual training camp, meant for swayamsevaks in their third year in the organisation.

The RSS holds training camps for first, second and third-year swayamsewaks.



Earlier, Pranab Mukherjee visited the birth place of the RSS founding Sarsanghachalak Keshav Baliram Hedgewar. According to sources, this visit to pay tributes to Hedgewar was not part of Mukherjee's scheduled itinerary and an impromptu decision was taken by the former president to do so.


Pranab's decision to address the RSS event was opposed both by the Congress and his 'parivar'. His own daughter and Congress leader Sharmistha Mukherjee had yesterday said her father was giving the BJP and the Sangh a handle to plant false stories.



Some Congress leaders, including Jairam Ramesh and C K Jaffar Sharief, have written to him. A few leaders of the party, including Anand Sharma, have personally visited him in a bid to dissuade him from going to Nagpur.

Meanwhile the Congress has upped the ante on Twitter against RSS.

"It is imperative for all Indians to know what the RSS has historically stood for and to understand what it thinks today. People of India should never forget how antithetical their ideologies are to the idea of India," a Twitter post read.