The Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Friday said that the polarisation the world currently witnesses is marked by the growth of social media and intolerance in society.

“Much of the polarisation which we see across the globalised world….the polarisation between right and left and the centre…the polarisation which we experience across the world and India is no exception, is also marked by the growth of social media, the sense of intolerance among communities, the short attention span which the younger generation has,” Chandrachud said while speaking at the Jamnalal Bajaj Awards function in Mumbai.

“But truly, this is not just an isolated phenomenon, which is a product of the free markets and technology. There is something more profound which is going on. It is in the inability of our societies to realise, at the given point, the true worth of self-sacrifice in pursuit of a wider community goal of enabling those who are at the margins of our society, to realise a better future for themselves,” the CJI further said.

The CJI also spoke about how India’s post-independence journey was unique.  “What is that sets India apart from so many nations across the world which became free with us around the same time, but were not able to sustain freedom as a way of life? Some may possibly say that we internalised democracy, we have internalised constitutional values. Others will say the strength of our nation lies in its pluralistic culture, the culture of inclusion, the culture of all encompassing humanity,” he said.

The CJI also said that “it is important for us when we come face to face with injustice, not to look it up as just a passing phase, for if we are not to deal with this with a certain degree of resolve, there is a grave danger that it will envelop and perhaps submerge our societies”.