President of India Pranab Mukherjee's address to the Nation on the eve of 26th January.

President of India Pranab Mukherjee's address to the Nation on the eve of 26th January.

Few Points :-

My Fellow Citizens,

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.

26th January holds an everlasting place in our national memory because it is the day when modern India was born.

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.

Exactly twenty years later, in 1950, we adopted our charter of
modernity, the Constitution.

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.

After three decades the people have voted to power a single party with a majority for a stable government

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.

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?

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.

The Indian Constitution is the holy book of democracy.

Religion, said Gandhiji, is a force for unity; we cannot make it a cause of conflict.

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.

The multi-nation conflict has converted boundaries into bloodlines, and turned terrorism into an industry of evil.

We have the strength, confidence and determination to defeat architects of this war against our people.

Economic progress is also a test of democracy, Year 2015 is a year of hope.

Achieving 5% 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%.

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.

We are celebrating, this year, the centenary of Gandhiji's return to India from South Africa.

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.