President’s address to the Nation on the eve of 61st Independence Day

[Guest guest]

Dear members of AIDS INDIA e FORM.

61st Independence Day greetings.

The following is the full text of the President's address to the Nation on the

eve of 61st Independence Day. This is the first significant message from the

newly elected president of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil to the Nation. In

her 2,215 word speech, no specific issues like HIV and AIDS do appear, even

though the word " health " appears four times.[Moderator]

President's address to the Nation on the eve of 61st Independence Day

My Dear Fellow Citizens,

On the eve of the momentous occasion of the 60th anniversary of our

Independence Day, I extend my warmest greetings to my fellow-citizens in India

and the world over. This is also the 150th year of our historic War of

Independence in 1857.

The saga of our Independence involved the sacrificial struggle of

many freedom fighters – some whose names are etched in history as

stalwarts and the countless, relatively less-known souls - whose

silent contribution conjointly helped to realize the dream of an

Independent India under the charmisitic leadership of the Father of

our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Let us solemnly remember them with

gratitude and reverence and pay homage to their sacrifice for the

liberation of our motherland from the colonial yoke.

I am happy that the two events are being celebrated in a befitting

manner to inspire our younger generation, remind them about glorious

past and inculcate in them a spirit of sacrifice, dedication and

patriotism.

Having traversed sixty long years since independence, it is time for

us to introspect on the progress achieved so far and ponder over the

future course of action. We have excelled in many areas; and in many

others we still have immense scope for improvement.

Democracy in India has taken deep roots. But it cannot be

appreciated in its fullest glory if we construe it merely as a

political arrangement. The real test lies in internalizing the

spirit of democracy and making it a habit of our minds. We have ably

demonstrated to the world, how India – a developing nation of more

than a billion people – can give its people a better quality of life

within the framework of a secular democracy. It is the greatness of

the people of India that amidst all trials and tribulations, they

have kept the sacred flame of democracy burn ever-bright illuminating India's

journey in the new millennium. As members of the largest thriving democracy in

the world, it continues to be the bounden duty of every citizen to ensure that

the system of parliamentary democracy which we have worked successfully grows

from strength to strength.

What is of still greater significance is that the framework of

democratic governance and the reach of representative institutions

have percolated down to the common man. The wisdom of the Founding

Fathers of our constitution has been vindicated in that the process

of democratic decentralization has acquired healthy roots intimately

encompassing village panchayats and urban local bodies. Our endeavour should be

to stamp out the imperfections and entrench democratic decentralization to

ensure participative decision-making of the people in the planning process at

the grass-root level to build a more vibrant India. Along with such

decentralization it is equally important to provide a morally superior and clean

administration.

This would empower every citizen, especially the poor, the

disadvantaged and the marginalized to enjoy the real fruits of

democracy.

The father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi once said, " Salvation of

India lies in the elevation of her women. " It is indeed encouraging

that assured representation has been provided to nearly one million

women in our local bodies. History bears sufficient proof that our

womenfolk have excelled themselves not only as able home-makers but

in devoting themselves to the noble task of nation building. Let us

resolve that they are not left marginalized in our society. Let us

also resolve to expand opportunities for their wholesome

participation in every field of activity and make them harbingers of

sustainable development.

ing equilibrium in diversity is the hallmark of democracy. What sets our

nation apart is that in spite of criss-crossing of a

plethora of culture, languages, religions, customs, faith and

traditions, our people are bound together in unison by a deep-rooted

secular Indian identity. Evolution through synthesis and inherent

respect for pluralism has been the golden thread which has run

through our millennia old civilization. Non-violence, tolerance,

acceptance of all religions and different ways of life, search for

truth and fearlessness are cherished values that have become the

cornerstone of our heritage. We must recapture the spirit of unity

that marked our freedom struggle, linking the people of all parts of

our country in a common endeavour of ultimate loyalty to the nation.

We have to weld the entire nation into a strong, unassailable unity

in which there is no room for distrust between man and man. For any

nation and its people to become great, there is a need to pursue the

path of collective vision. The more developed amongst us should

inspire and enthuse the less developed to race ahead on the road to

development. We must strive to maximize our collective performance

so as to build a nation of equal opportunities. Today, we are,

where we are, entirely due to the collective participation of our

people and our endeavour should be towards fostering an environment

of cooperative federalism and collective pursuit of national goals.

Working within the canons of parliamentary democracy and through the

mechanism of planned economic development, we have made commendable

economic progress. India's stature as an economic entity has gone up

manifold. We are fortunate to live in the times of a buoyant and

upswing economy. Steady industrial growth, growing exports and sound foreign

exchange reserves are all signs of growing economic strength and resilience. A

surplus current account and sizeable capital inflows are other indicators of the

strong fundamentals of our country's economy. World over, there is a growing

realization that India's business environment is changing. We are being watched

with singular interest and both developed and developing countries have shown

great eagerness to forge economic partnerships with us. If we draw up a

balance sheet, listing our strengths and weaknesses, we would perhaps find more

pluses than minuses. Nevertheless, we have to take special care to bring in

egalitarian reforms to ensure that the full benefit of economic liberalization

reaches people at all levels.

Growth, when unevenly spread, dwarfs overall prosperity. Only

through socially inclusive growth can there be sustained consistency

in our growth rates. We have to ensure equitable growth for all.

The fruits of economic development must necessarily touch, especially, the

living and working conditions of our toiling masses and people below the poverty

line. It should be remembered that our freedom fighters toiled not only for

political freedom but dreamt of

transforming political freedom into a vehicle for attaining the goal

of equality and prosperity for all. As Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

said " Democracy means equality, and democracy can only flourish in an equal

society. " Empowerment of our economically deprived section of the society still

remains unaccomplished. Progress must relate to the lives of the people and we

have to conscientiously discharge our

responsibilities towards uplifting the socially and economically

disadvantaged and weaker sections of the society. For this let us

resolve to rededicate ourselves to rid the country of poverty and

build a strong and resurgent India.

Agriculture has a critical role to play for balanced development and

especially a better life for our farmers. Apart from overall

contribution to the national income and helping in the attainment of

the goal of food security for all, a strong and robust growth in

agriculture can help reduce rural poverty. A vibrant agriculture

sector will create a dynamic rural economy which will further drive

our economic growth. The success of the First green Revolution has

been significant and helped us to feed a population, which has

crossed the one billion mark and I express our nation's gratitude to

our farmers, labourers and congratulate our scientists who are

responsible for this glorious accomplishment. However we cannot

remain complacent, we need to sustain the momentum of the first

revolution and must analyze the challenges that we face in the

present agricultural scenario.

Recently I had the occasion to interact with the top agricultural scientists in

a seminar that discussed the issues related to eradication of hunger and poverty

vis-a-vis agricultural development. I am confident that the synergized endeavour

of our policy makers, the farming community, farmers organizations, voluntary

agencies and agricultural scientists and agri-business enterprises can help us

meet the challenges that beset the agricultural front and tackle distressful

situation faced by

farmers in some pockets of the country. In the coming years we need

to ensure that agriculture becomes more rewarding with formulation of

appropriate policies, measures and technologies.

This year as in previous years, we have seen floods in some parts of

the country resulting in loss of lives and damage to property. My

heartfelt sympathies to the people in the flood ravaged areas of the

country. The seriousness of the matter makes it imperative to take

necessary steps to prevent this recurring phenomenon.

There is a new climate of growth and competitiveness in our

industrial economy. A youthful India is taking its place on the

world-stage surely and steadily. The world is on the threshold of a

new wave, where the ability to create knowledge and innovate has

become the key competitive differentiator between nations. The

strength of our knowledge capital is now recognized worldwide and we

need to ensure a supportive environment for it. We are fast emerging

as a major economic power of the world and our entrepreneurs are

surging ahead with fresh self-confidence. The achievements in

knowledge economy, IT and IT enabled services, pharmaceuticals and

other sunrise industries have been spectacular. Our corporate have

made bold and successful forays into the global market and corporate

acquisitions. My good wishes go for our entrepreneurs, big and small, in their

continuing enterprise. The contribution of the working classes has been

considerable and the nation owes a deep debt of gratitude to them.

A significant feature of our changing society is the transformation

taking place in the country's demographic profile. As a people, we

are growing younger. Youth in India constitute a sizeable, vibrant

and resourceful segment of our society who are fired with the desire

to scale greater heights. Children and youth are our hope for

tomorrow. There can be no greater cause, no better investment, no

greater priority for development consensus than bringing the needs,

rights and expectations of the youth to the centre-stage of

development concern. It is our duty to kindle the imagination of our youth so

that the nation surges ahead with added strength and

vigour.

This casts a greater responsibility on our educational institutions

at all levels to harmonize the cognitive faculties of our youth in

the direction of the continued well-being of our nation. While the

prime concern of our educational institutions is and should be

studies, it should not stagnate into a medium which merely

facilitates mechanical acquisition of information. Knowledge

imparted should have an organic and living relationship with the

societal needs and help in mediating the strands of overwhelming

challenges of a rapidly changing modern-day world. While we foster

an atmosphere conducive to promoting higher standards of academic

excellence, we should not overlook the need to nurture a system of

holistic education that teaches positive values and makes good

citizens.

It is also vital that we recognize the importance of health while

planning our social infrastructure. Poor health shackles human

capital. There is an imperative need to widen the coverage and

qualitatively empower both the primary and secondary health care

systems. Affordable health care has to reach the rural and urban

poor and be supplemented by other inter-sectoral interventions like

provision of safe drinking water, better sanitation facilities,

coordinated slums management, nutritional programmes and family

welfare measures.

Fellow-citizens, we cannot forget that we live in a world and in a

neighbourhood. We stand for friendship with all nations and will

continue to work for international peace and security. We should

also continue to intensify cooperation to fight the global challenges of

terrorism, poverty, ignorance, disease and climate change.

This is the occasion to express our gratitude to the brave personnel

of our Armed Forces whose eternal vigil and protection of our

borders, seas and skies under challenging circumstances have ushered

in a climate of peace enabling us to plan the path of future progress and

development of the nation.

As we watch the tri-colour unfurl tomorrow morning, let us all hold

our heads high with pride and confidence and look ahead with optimism towards a

better and brighter future for our great nation.

Dear citizens, rarely there comes a moment in time such as this when

we as a nation stand firm on the solid foundations painstakingly

established by our ancestors, and with nationalistic pride in our

hearts, look ahead to the glorious path of infinite possibilities

that await India with open arms. Today India is poised to take flight into this

open sky of success and perfection, and as loyal citizens of this country, it is

our duty, as individuals, and as a nation to ensure that we do not let this

unprecedented moment in time go unutilized for the dream of a strong, robust and

prosperous India.

It is a vision, a dream, a goal; as success must be the anthem of every nation's

awakening. For our nation to rise and claim its glorious destiny, we must

realize that it is us, and our billion hands that can shape it, and in the

immortal clarion call of Swami Vivekanada, I ask my fellow-citizens to " Arise,

Awake and Stop not till the goal is reached. "

JAI HIND !

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