Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Amra Kunja in Santiniketan. (Pradip Sanyal)

Santiniketan, Dec 6: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today appealed to the nation to be tolerant and allow everyone to follow their own religion and practise their culture.

“Today we are witnessing an unacceptable rise in intol- erance. We must be tolerant of those who might think differently, worship other gods, or speak a different tongue. Our society seems more divided, more angry and, tragically, more violent,” Singh, the chancellor of Visva-Bharati, said at its annual convocation.

The Prime Minister arri- ved here amid heavy security this morning for his first open-air programme since the Mumbai mayhem.

“It is the fundamental right of all to follow their religion, practise their culture and hold to their views. It is nobody’s right to deny anyone this right, or to dictate faith and opinion to others. The essence of a democratic society is that we can disagree, but still work together,” Singh said on a day the Babri Masjid was demolished 16 years ago.

He began the 15-minute speech announcing a Rs 95-crore grant for the university. “We had appointed a… committee under the chairmanship of (Bengal governor and university rector) Gopalkrishna Gandhi to restore the institution to its pre-eminence in the national and international arenas and to reaffirm it as a centre of excellence. There is no dearth of resources available now to the university and I urge all of you to take full advantage of this fund,” he said.

Varsity sources revealed the committee had recommended a grant of Rs 225 crore.

According to the Prime Minister, universities should strive to make learning an “adventure”.

“Gurudev’s legacy is a university and curriculum that broaden the mind, build character and give its scholars and students a holistic perspective on life. Too much of our higher education fails to understand this and puts emphasis on mainly preparing young men and women for the job market,” said the economist and former teacher.

The university awarded the Desikottama — its highest honour — to theatre personality Habib Tanvir, historian Irfan Habib, peace activist Devi Prasad, artist K.G. Subramanyan, space scientist Roddam Narasimha and economists Amlan Dutta and Jean Dreze.

Better campus plea

Visva-Bharati teachers and officials appealed to Singh to bring the campus under a “notified area authority” for better civic amenities.

As the campus was neither under the Bolpur municipality nor the local panchayat, the civic amenities were irregular, they said. “We need roads and proper drainage and sewerage,” said an official.

The Sriniketan-Santiniketan Development Authority, which provides the amenities, said it had limited resources.

The teachers requested Singh to help increase Visva-Bharati’s interaction with foreign universities. “We were moved by our chancellor’s sincerity and concern for Tagore’s institution,” said Ganapathi Subbaiah, professor in charge of academics and research.