The international day for tolerance that falls on November 16 triggered this. It drew attention to tolerance in this country or society or individuals living here or us. Or is it intolerance that we want to focus more on? What does tolerance mean in our context? What is the other point of view? Is it only religious and political? Where do class, gender and sexual preference fit in? The animal-lovers, the vegetarians?

Do we really assume tolerance is a positive value to have? Isn’t the word kind of boring? To what level do we expect people/ourselves to be tolerant? Should we be tolerant of oppression and violence in our midst? Should we let child abuse and sectarian murders pass?

Is tolerance actually the word we want to use for a purposeful interaction among people and polities?

In today’s Special Report, we let the writers imagine the idea the way they wanted to. They explored all dimensions of tolerance and the flip side in these essays they wrote. Together, they say a lot about what tolerance means for us and what it ought to. There is so much to think about and make us better.

Read also: On tolerance