Sabarmati/ Nagpur: Speaking at a function in Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram today in Ahmedabad, president Pranab Mukherjee delivered a sharp message on ‘cleansing India of divisive thoughts’ and said,”The real dirt of India lies not on the streets but in our minds and in our unwillingness to let go of views that divide society into them and us, pure and impure”

The president has repeatedly spoken against ‘intolerance’ after the Dadri lynching incident in September and subsequent events. “Every day, we see unprecedented violence all around us. At the heart of this violence are darkness, fear and mistrust. While we invent new modes of combating this ever spiralling violence, we must not forget the power of non-violence, dialogue and reason,” he said.

Mr Mukherjee also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Swachch Bharat” or Clean India mission and said that “this also must be seen as just the beginning of a much larger and intense effort to cleanse minds and fulfil Gandhiji’s vision in all its aspects.” He cited Gandhiji’s vision of India as an inclusive nation where every section of the population lived in equality and enjoyed equal opportunity and said the essence of being human is “our trust of each other.”

Amid the debate on alleged intolerance, Mukherjee has also emphasised on the liberal traditions of India. He said Ahimsa (or non-violence) is not a negative force and “we must free our public discourse of all forms of violence, physical as well as verbal. Only a non-violent society can ensure the participation of all sections of the people, especially the marginalised and the dispossessed in our democratic process.”

Mukherjee said, “The real essence of Gandhiji’s legacy and its continuing resonance lies in his injunction to us that all our actions must keep in mind the last person. The last person in India is often a woman, a Dalit or an Adivasi.” He further said, “Only those who are confident of their conviction, secure in their faith and rooted in their culture can hope to live in an open house, an open society. If we close ourselves in, seek to be immune from other influences, it shows that we are prepared to live in a house that is devoid of fresh breeze. This capacity for compassion and empathy is the true foundation of our civilisation”.

Speaking about education scenario of the country, Mukherjee said it should include “character building.” “Gandhiji had said and I quote: “Literary education is of no value if it is not able to build up a sound character,” Mukherjee said.

Mukherjee inaugurated the newly built ‘Archives and Research Centre’ inside the Ashram premises, where manuscripts of more than 1.35 lakh original writings of Gandhiji have been kept.