No room for intolerant Indian in the country: President

Delivering a lecture on 'India at 70' in Kerala's Kochi, Mukherjee said, "There should be no room in India for the intolerant Indian.  India has been since ancient times a bastion of free thought, speech and expression."

He said the Indian society has always been characterized by the open contestation of diverse schools of thought and debate as well as discussion.  

"Freedom of speech and expression is one of the most important fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution. There must be space for legitimate criticism and dissent," said Mukherjee at a time when violence errupted at Ramjas College of Delhi after the ABVP opposed an invite to JNU's Umar Khalid, who was accused of sedition last year.

Mukherjee said, "Our premier institutions of higher education are the vehicles on which India has to propel itself into a knowledge society.  These temples of learning must resound with creativity and free thinking."

The President asked students to engage in reasoned discussion and debate rather than propagate a culture of unrest.

"It is tragic to see them caught in the vortex of violence and disquiet," said he.

Lat week, a seminar at Ramjas College was cancelled after ABVP members protested against the participation of Jawaharlal Nehru University students Umar Khalid  and Shehla Rashid Shora.

The ABVP dubbed Khalid 'anti-national.'

A sedition case was slapped on Khalid Umar and  Kanhaiya Kumar a years ago in connection with an event organised at JNU on Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

Following the incident, clashes broke out among rival groups of students outside the Ramjas college on Feb 22.

Several were injured in the violence.

The incident flared when 20-year-old Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur launched her online campaign against ABVP which resulted in a political slugfest among rival political parties and earned her both kudos and criticism.

On Monday, Kaur approached the Delhi Women's Commission alleging she was being threatened with rape on social media for her campaign.