Uniformity will be disastrous for multicultural India: President

Darjeeling: Describing India as a "multicultural, multilingual and multiracial nation", President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said attempts to give uniformity to India's diversity would be disastrous.

Participating in the 202nd birth anniversary celebrations of Nepalese poet Bhanubhakta Acharya here, Mukherjee also called for further strengthening of India's ties with Nepal.

"We celebrate our diversity. We do not try to bring any one form or uniformity because we know that will be most disastrous to our social foray and development. Unity in diversity is strength in us. We are united in our national bondage," he said at the event.

On a three-day visit to Darjeeling hills, Mukherjee Described the region as "truly queen of the Himalayas" and asserted he was enjoying "every bit of his stay in the hills".

He called Darjeeling as "mini-India" and said that while various groups live together in Darjeeling they have also held on their own culture and ethnicity.

"The appeal of poets and artists is not confined to geographical or territorial boundary, not even to the limit of time. Their appeal is for all humanity," said Mukherjee about Acharya who translated the Ramayana from Sanskrit to Nepali language.