Practice your religion, don't denigrate other's beliefs: VP Naidu

New Delhi [India], July 9 : Asserting that religion is a personal matter, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said one can take pride and practice one's religion but no one has the right to denigrate others' religious beliefs.
Touching on the issue of religious intolerance, Naidu appealed that religion is a personal matter and that while one can take pride and practice one's religion, no one has the right to denigrate others' religious beliefs.
He stressed that secularism and tolerance towards others' views are a core part of Indian ethos and that sporadic incidents cannot undermine India's commitment to the values of pluralism and inclusivity, according to the Vice President's Secretariat.
Naidu called for removing barriers hindering the emancipation of women in the country, saying that there are several areas in which women are yet to realize their full potential even though our civilizational principles encourage equal participation of women in various fields.
While inaugurating the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru today, the Vice President addressed the gathering while emphasizing a greater push for women's education through consistent efforts of the government. He explained that given an opportunity, women always prove themselves in every discipline.
Naidu mentioned that India's stellar contribution in the field of education during ancient times earned it the status of 'Viswa Guru'. Referring to distinguished women scholars of ancient India, such as Gargi and Maitreyi, the Vice President praised India's educational heritage.
He also applauded the progressive rulers and reformers from Karnataka, such as Attimabbe and Sovaladevi, who were great patrons of learning, while also commending the Virashaiva movement that was committed to the emancipation of women via education.
The Vice President praised the College for empowering women since independence to become catalysts of change and bridging gender disparity in education.
Naidu emphasized the importance of adopting a futuristic approach to education by focusing on developing students' skills ranging from artificial intelligence to data analytics. "Equally important is to possess effective communication skills," he added.
Stressing upon the importance of 'active learning', the Vice President wants educational institutions to adopt an evaluation based on continuous assessment. Calling for breaking rigidity and water-tight compartmentalization of the subjects, he underlined that "Interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity are the way forward."