Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today disapproved of attempts by certain people to ridicule others’ religions and create dissensions in society.

“Practice your religion but don’t abuse and indulge in hate speech and writings”,  he told a gathering at an event organised to mark the 150th anniversary of Saint Chavara at Mannanam in Kottayam.

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Observing that hate speech and writings are against culture, heritage, traditions, constitutional rights and ethos, Naidu said that secularism is in the blood of every Indian and the country has respected the world over for its culture and heritage. In this context, he called for strengthening the Indian value system.

He asked both government and private school authorities to make community service of at least two to three weeks compulsory for students once the prevailing situation due to Covid-19 was over. He said the community service would help the students develop an attitude of sharing and caring in their interaction with others.

Naidu emphasised that the philosophy of share-and-care is at the core of India’s age-old culture and must be widely propagated.

“For us, the whole world is one family as encapsulated in our timeless ideal, ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. It is with this spirit that we should move forward together”, he said.

Urging youngsters to imbibe, protect and promote Indian cultural values, he highlighted the importance of India’s philosophy of sharing and caring for others. He said that living for others will not only give a person a lot of satisfaction but will also make the people remember that person for a long time for his or her good deeds.

He also advised youngsters to remain physically fit by doing ‘yoga’ or any other form of physical exercise and “to love and live with nature”. He asked them to protect nature and preserve culture for a better future.

Urging all states to take a cue from Kerala in the fields of education, social justice, and women’s empowerment, the Vice President said that every state can be transformed into an engine of growth and progress which can be achieved through social and educational empowerment of women and youth belonging to poorer sections of society.

He also emphasised that the benefits of development must percolate down to the last man in the most backward and impoverished segments of our socio-economic order as spelled out in the philosophy of Antyodaya articulated by the visionary thinker, activist, and reformer, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.