PEACE AND TOLERANCE IN INDIA

Tolerance is an integral part of India’s traditions. Adhering to tolerance creates an environment where everyone finds room to carry out their constructive activities.

What is tolerance? If you consult an English dictionary, it might tell you that ‘tolerance’ means the capacity for, or the practice of, recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

Tolerance is a highly valuable quality of social life. There are differences among people in terms of various aspects. Given this, if people act only according to their own perceived interests and do not care for others, it is bound to create intolerance, which might even lead to violence. Therefore, the best policy to adopt is tolerance. Tolerance is the only way to establish peace in society and for an individual to live in peace with others. Moreover, adhering to the way of tolerance creates an environment where everyone finds room to carry out their constructive activities.

Tolerance is an integral part of India’s traditions; India is a multi-religious society and has a long history of the culture of tolerance. Almost all the major religions have a presence in India. One can say that India has proved to be a haven for different religions and cultures. In this sense, one can say that India is like a garden in which all kinds of plants and trees flourish. It is part of the identity of India. India embodies the spirit of tolerance.

India is a historical example showing how different religions and cultures co-exist. How did the people of a country have so many religious beliefs, and how could they live together, from the past to the present, with this diversity? This was not due to any coincidence. It was due to the deep-rooted traditions of tolerance in Indian culture. This kind of tolerance is a great strength of India. It gives India a special place on the world map.