Need argumentative, not intolerant, Indian: Pranab Mukherjee

Each generation has the right to look back and reassess strengths and weaknesses, said President

There should always be room for an “argumentative Indian” but not “intolerant Indian”, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday, emphasising discussion and dissension as crucial for decision-making in the country.

“Our Constitution is a testament to the accommodation of our differences within the framework of an overarching idea of India,” Mukherjee said, delivering the first Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture.

He said India’s pluralism and its social, cultural, linguistic and racial diversity had been the bedrock of civilisation. “That’s why we need to be sensitive to dominant narratives, of those who make the loudest noise, drowning out those who disagree.

“That’s why social media