KOLKATA, IANS, 16 January 2010: India has no need of blind faith, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Saturday, and called for rational thinking to counter outdated dogmas and ideologies.

"India does not need blind faith. We need rational thinking and a scientific temper to counter outdated dogmas and ideologies," the prime minister said, addressing the 150th anniversary celebrations of St. Xavier's Collegiate School here.

Earlier, speaking at another function, the prime minister stressed the plurality of Indian culture.

"Our government believes in the plurality of Indian culture, in the freedom of cultural expression, and in the importance of culture in our social progress and the spiritual development," Manmohan Singh said.

"We seek to strengthen and promote our cultural diversity by ensuring that the distant states and regions of India find due representation in our cultural arena," he said.

Addressing the anniversary celebrations, the prime minister appreciated the work of the Christian missionaries over centuries in the development of education and rational thinking in the country.

"The 19th century, when St Xavier's was founded, was a period of great intellectual ferment in Bengal...It was also a period of profound religious introspection leading to an understanding and appreciation of various religious traditions.

" The prime minister said: "Institutions like St Xavier's laid the basis for English language education in Bengal. But the missionaries did not look upon learning as an elitist enterprise. They adopted an inclusive approach."

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who was present at the celebrations, said: "The college has been granted autonomy. Keeping in view the space constraint they (college) are facing now, we have allocated six acres for a second campus in the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass."

The state government had given autonomy to St Xavier's for six years (starting 2006), of which it has completed three.