Days after the Dadri lynching, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday sent a strong message saying "core values of our civilisation couldn't be wasted".
"We can't allow the core values of our civilisation to be wasted. The core values are that over the years, civilisation celebrated diversity, promoted and advocated tolerance, enjoyed plurality. These core civilisational values keep us together over the centuries," Mukherjee said during the release of a book on him by senior journalist Prabhu Chawla at a function held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The book was released by Vice President Hamid Ansari.
"Many ancient civilisations have fallen. Despite aggression after aggression, our civilisation has survived because of our core civilisational values. If we keep that in mind, nothing can prevent our democracy from moving ahead," he added.
The message comes just days after a 50-year-old Muslim man, Mohammed Akhlaq, accused of eating beef and also storing it in his refrigerator, was beaten to death by a mob on the night of September 28 in Bisara village, near the national capital.
Akhlaq's family has denied the accusation.
In his 15-minute address, the president said being a political leader all along he felt shy speaking at such an occasion where a book on him was written. He said India has made tremendous progress in various sectors and there is no limit to doing more.
- With IANS inputs
