My
Fellow Citizens:
1.
On the
eve of the 66th Republic Day, I extend warm greetings to all of you
in India and abroad. I convey my special greetings to members of our Armed
Forces, Paramilitary Forces and Internal Security Forces.
2.
Twenty
Sixth January holds an everlasting place in our national memory because it is
the day when modern India was born. Under Mahatma Gandhi’s moral and political
leadership, the National Congress passed the Purna Swaraj resolution
demanding complete independence from British rule in December 1929. Gandhiji
organized nationwide celebrations on 26 January 1930 as Independence Day. From
then on, the Nation took a pledge on this day every year to carry on the
freedom struggle till we attained it.
3.
Exactly
twenty years later, in 1950, we adopted our charter of
modernity, the Constitution. Tragically, Gandhiji had been martyred two years
before, but the framework of a Constitution that has made India a role model
for today's world was constructed out of his philosophy. Its essence lay in
four principles: democracy; freedom of faith; gender equality; and an economic
upsurge for those trapped in the curse of dire poverty. These were made
Constitutional obligations. Gandhiji’s talisman for the country's rulers was
simple and powerful and I quote: "Whenever you are in doubt...recall the
face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask
yourself...will it lead to swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving
millions?" (unquote). Our resolve to eliminate poverty through
inclusive development has to be a step in that direction.
Fellow Citizens:
4.
The past
year has been remarkable in many ways. Particularly because, after three
decades the people have voted to power a single party with a majority for a
stable government, and in the process freed the country’s governance from the
compulsions of coalition politics. Outcome of these Elections has given the
mandate to the elected government to fulfill its commitment to the people by
using its majority for formulating policies and making laws to implement those
policies. The voter has played her part; it is now up to those who have been
elected to honour this trust. It was a vote for clean, efficient, effective,
gender-sensitive, transparent, accountable and citizen-friendly governance.
Fellow Citizens:
5.
There
can be no governance without a functioning legislature. The legislature
reflects the will of the people. It is the platform where progressive
legislation using civilized dialogue must create delivery mechanisms for
realizing the aspirations of the people. It calls for reconciling the
differences amongst stakeholders and building a consensus for the law to be
enacted. Enacting laws without discussion impacts the law-making role of the
Parliament. It breaches the trust reposed in it by the people. This is neither
good for the democracy nor for the policies relating to those laws.
Fellow Citizens:
6.
Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh,
Rabindranath Tagore, Subramanya Bharati and many more - the vocation and the
approach might have been different but they all spoke the same language of
patriotism. We owe our freedom to these great warriors of nationalism. We also
salute the unsung heroes who have died securing the liberation of Mother India.
But it pains me to see that Mother India is not respected by her own children
when it comes to the safety of women. Atrocities of rape, murders, harassment
on the roads, kidnapping and dowry deaths have made women fearful even in their
own homes. Rabindranath Tagore saw women not only as the deities of the
household fire, but also the flame of the soul itself. Where have we
failed, as parents, teachers and leaders, that our children have forgotten all
tenets of decent behaviour and respect for women? We have enacted many
legislations but, as Benjamin Franklin had once said and I quote: “Justice
will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who
are” (unquote). Every Indian must take a pledge to protect the honour of
women from violence of any kind. Only a nation that respects and empowers its
women can become a global power.
Fellow Citizens:
7.
The
Indian Constitution is the holy book of democracy. It is a lodestar for the
socio-economic transformation of an India whose civilization has celebrated
pluralism, advocated tolerance and promoted goodwill between diverse
communities. These values, however, need to be preserved with utmost care and
vigilance. The freedom inherent in democracy sometimes generates an unhappy
by-product when political discourse becomes a competition in hysteria that is
abhorrent to our traditional ethos. The violence of the tongue cuts and wounds
people's hearts. Religion, said Gandhiji, is a force for unity; we cannot make
it a cause of conflict.
Fellow Citizens:
8.
Much is
said about India's soft power. But the most powerful example of India's soft
power, in an international environment where so many countries are sinking into
the morass of theocratic violence, lies in our definition of the relationship
between faith and polity. We have always reposed our trust in faith-equality
where every faith is equal before the law and every culture blends into another
to create a positive dynamic. Wisdom of India teaches us: unity is strength,
dominance is weakness.
Fellow Citizens:
9.
The
multi-nation conflict has converted boundaries into bloodlines, and turned
terrorism into an industry of evil. Terrorism and violence are seeping across
our borders. While peace, non-violence and good neighbourly intentions should
remain the fundamentals of our foreign policy, we cannot afford to be
complacent about adversaries who will stop at nothing to disrupt our progress
towards a prosperous and equitable India. We have the strength, confidence and
determination to defeat architects of this war against our people. Repeated
violations of the ceasefire along the Line of Control and terrorist attacks must
get an integrated response through incisive diplomacy and impregnable security
mechanisms. The world must join India in fighting the menace of terrorism.
Fellow Citizens:
10.
Economic
progress is also a test of democracy. Year 2015 is a year of hope. Key economic
indicators provide for much optimism. Strengthening of the external sector,
move towards fiscal consolidation, moderation in price levels, early signs of
rebound in manufacturing and record agricultural production last year augur
well for our economy. Achieving five percent plus growth rates each in the
first two quarters of 2014-15 is a healthy sign for an early reversion to the
high growth trajectory of 7-8 percent.
11.
The
success of a society is measured by both survival and strengthening of its values,
institutions and instruments of governance. Our national narrative has been
shaped by the principles of its past, triumphs of today and is now ready to own
the future by powering its latent potential.
Fellow Citizens:
12.
Our
national ambition is to raise the quality of life of Indians by quantum leaps
and raise generations enlightened by learning, patriotism, compassion, honesty
and a sense of duty. Thomas Jefferson had said and I quote: “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They
are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty” (unquote). We must strive
for the highest quality in our educational institutions so that we can take our
place, within a visible future, among the knowledge leaders of the 21st century.
I would urge, in particular, that we lay special stress on the culture of books
and reading, which takes knowledge beyond the classroom and frees imagination
from stress of the immediate and the utilitarian. We must be a creative people,
nourished by innumerable, interlinked rivers of ideas. Our youth must lead the
way to mastery of technology and communication in a universe where the cloud
has become a library without frontiers, and vast opportunity awaits within the
computer in your palm. The 21st century is within India's grasp.
Fellow Citizens:
13.
This
future will remain both visible and elusive if we do not discover the ability
to continually cleanse ourselves of retrograde habits and social ills. Over the
past century, some have died, others have faded, but many still exist. We are
celebrating, this year, the centenary of Gandhiji's return to India from South
Africa. We can never cease to learn from a Mahatma. The first thing he did in
1915 was to keep his eyes open and his lips sealed. It is advisable to follow
his example. While we are, rightly, focused on 1915, perhaps we should cast a
glance on what Gandhiji did in 1901, the year when he returned home for his
first break. The annual Congress session was held that year in Calcutta, then
the capital of British India. Gandhiji was a delegate. He went to Ripon College
for a meeting. He discovered that the whole place had been dirtied by
fellow-delegates. A shocked Gandhiji did not wait for any allotted cleaner. He
picked up a broom and cleaned the area. No one followed his example in 1901.
114 years later, let us follow his example, and become worthy children of a
magnificent father.
Jai Hind!
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DS/NT/SH