Inculcate tolerance: President Pranab's New Year message

President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday asked people to make a fresh beginning in the New Year and inculcate compassion and tolerance for building a peaceful and harmonious society.

On the eve of New Year, the President conveyed his greetings to the people and expressed hope that this would be an “occasion to make a fresh beginning and renew our resolve for individual as well as collective growth”.

“Let us inculcate in ourselves love, compassion, tolerance and work towards creating an inclusive society where peace and harmony prevails,” the president, who has in the past raised the issue of growing intolerance, said.

This is the time to reinforce the civilisational values that bind together the complex diversity of modern-day India and promote them in the country and the world, he said.

The President also spoke about making the country clean and green.

“Let us resolve to make the year 2016 a year in which the people of our country work towards preserving the symbiotic relationship between man and nature. Let us strive to make our country clean and green and the environment pollution free,” he said.