NEW DELHI, July 24, 2002: In his farewell address to the nation as President, K. R. Narayanan made an appeal to Hindus to rekindle the tradition of tolerance. “It is up to our social and political leaders to present the people with the idiom of unity based on religious tolerance and communal and social amity that are intertwined with the teachings of Vivekananada, Gandhi and Nehru,” he said. “My parting appeal to you, dear citizens of this proud and tolerant Republic of India, is to guard our tradition of tolerance, for that is the soul of our culture and civilization, the spirit of our constitution and the secret of the successful working of our democracy,” he said. The outgoing President also spoke about his successor, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, in glowing terms, describing him as a distinguished scientist, scholar and humanist.
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