AMN / New Delhi
Congress president Sonia Gandhi today said that there was utmost need to keep “alive” the idea of India and maintained that there was also need to speak out as silence could be interpreted as “consent” to many things going around in the society.
“If we do not speak up, our silence would be taken as a consent,” said Congress president at a function to relaunch ‘National Herald’ here today.
She said: “Even in the darkest of hours, we must keep alive the idea of India”
She said India was facing threats of ‘authoritarianism’ in recent times.
“Today the tried and tested idea of India has been thrown fundamentally into question by rising intolerance, by malevolent forces. It is being encouraged by a culture of vigilantive violence, actively supported by those who are supposed to enforce the law,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi further said that National Herald is a testament to unity and justice and “not the division and hate that the present times are witnessing.” adding that the newspaper will preserve ideas of diversity and coexistence forged by the country’s forefathers.
“Ours is a mission to preserve the credibility and sanctity of our institutions in the democratic design. Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of truth, Jawaharlal Nehru’s ideal of pluralism, Sardar Patel’s vision of unity, and Ambedkar’s vision of social justice, these are the things we must fight for,” she said.
“We are in a war of ideas, we have reached this war to preserve our ideas, which have built India as a model of democracy diversity and coexistence.if we don’t raise our voices, if we do not speak up, our voices will be taken as consent,” she added.
Gandhi said that National Herald would serve as a reminder of what its precious about India.
“The National Herald evokes a time when nationalism fought foreign rule, but domestic rule as greater challenge for our country. It evokes at a time when inclusive conception of our Nation is under attack and the press is pressured to obey and applaud rather than question, speaking right to power is imperative at our age,” she said.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari were also present at the function.