Soul of India resides in pluralism, tolerance: Highlights of Pranab Mukherjee's farewell speech

"The soul of India resides in pluralism and tolerance. The multiplicity in culture, faith and language is what makes India special," Pranab Mukherjee said.

NEW DELHI: "We tried to build a humane and happy township," said Pranab Mukherjee in his last address to the nation as the president, summing up his five years in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The 81-year-old Mukherjee, who will move from the 340-room sprawling presidential residence to a bungalow on Tuesday after handing over the baton to Ram Nath Kovind, said he had tried to spread happiness to a few villages in the neighbourhood in the last five years. "The journey continues," he said. Highlights of Pranab Mukherjee's farewell speech

• When I speak to you tomorrow, it will be as a citizen– a pilgrim like all of you in India’s onward march towards glory.
• We extended our experience to a few villages in the neighbourhood.
• During my five years in Rashtrapati Bhavan, we tried to build a humane and happy township.
• Social inclusion would ensure access to the fruits of progress to all.
• We must empower the poorest of the poor and ensure that the fruits of our policies reach the last person in the line. Eradication of poverty would provide a strong boost to happiness.
• For us, creation of an inclusive society has to be an article of faith.
• Our universities should not be a place for rote-memorizing but an assembly of inquisitive minds. Creative thinking, innovation and scientific temper have to be promoted in our institutions of higher learning.
• As I had said on assuming Office of the President, education is the alchemy that can take India to its next golden age. A reordering of society is possible through the transformative power of education.
• Only a non-violent society can ensure the participation of all sections of the people in the democratic process. Power of non-violence has to be resurrected to build a compassionate and caring society.
• The capacity for compassion and empathy is the true foundation of our civilization. We must free our public discourse from all forms of violence, physical as well as verbal.
• There are divergent strands in public discourse; we may argue, we may agree or we may not agree. But we cannot deny the essential prevalence of multiplicity of opinion. Otherwise, a fundamental character of our thought process will wither away.
• We derive our strength from tolerance; it has been part of our collective consciousness for centuries.
• The soul of India resides in pluralism and tolerance. The multiplicity in culture, faith and language is what makes India special.
• My temple has been the Parliament of India and my passion has been the service of the people of India.
• 5 years ago, when I took the oath of office of President, I promised to preserve, protect & defend our Constitution. Each day of these five years, I was conscious of my responsibility.
• For development to be real, the poorest of the land must feel that they are a part of the nation’s narrative
• I have received much more from the country than I have given; for that, I will remain ever indebted to people of India
• I am overwhelmed by a deep sense of gratitude for the people of India for the trust & confidence they reposed in me.