Gautam Gambhir says tolerance central to idea of India, credits PM Narendra Modi for his views on secularism

Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir put out a strong condemnation of an incident in Gurugram, Haryana, where a Muslim individual was allegedly asked to remove his skull cap and say 'Jai Shri Ram' and was then assaulted by the perpetrators. He also described tolerance and inclusive growth as central to 'idea of India.'

In a tweet that the new MP from East Delhi constituency posted on his timeline, he said, "In Gurugram, Muslim man told to remove skullcap, chant Jai Shri Ram. It is deplorable. Exemplary action needed by Gurugram authorities. We are a secular nation where Javed Akhtar writes "O palan hare, nirgun or nyare" & Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra gave us the song "Arziyan" in Delhi 6."

He further stated his views on the topic by emphasizing that it is PM Modi who guides his understanding of the concept of secularism. "My thoughts on secularism emanate from honourable PM Mr Modi's mantra, "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas." I am not limiting myself to Gurugram incident alone, any oppression based on caste/religion is deplorable. Tolerance & inclusive growth is what idea of India is based on," the former Test cricketer said.

Gambhir has always been forthright in expressing his views on a variety of issues. Whether it's the question of nationalism or women's safety, he has used the social media platform to make his point. The retired left-handed batsman's views on Kashmir often got him into verbal duels with Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, and revealed his strong sentiments on such topics.

While he has made his stance clear on the issue of this alleged assault, there is yet to be a clear line taken by the BJP on what happened. The complaint has been registered by the aggrieved person. Only an inquiry will tell us which organisation was behind these attacks and the nature of the altercation. But it is another example of how clear-sighted the member of India's 2011 World Cup-winning squad is.