Address by the President of India on the eve of the Republic Day of India 2017
Fellow citizens:
1. On the eve of
the sixty-eighth Republic Day of our nation, I extend warm greetings to
all of you in India and abroad. I convey my special greetings to members
of our Armed Forces, Para-military Forces and Internal Security Forces.
I pay my tribute to the brave soldiers and security personnel who made
the supreme sacrifice of their lives in defending India’s territorial
integrity and maintaining law and order.
Brothers and sisters:
2. When India attained freedom on 15th August 1947, we did not have an instrument of governance of our own. We waited till 26th
January, 1950 when the Indian people gave to themselves a Constitution
to secure for all its citizens, justice, liberty, equality, and gender
and economic equity. We promised to promote fraternity, dignity of the
individual, and unity and integrity of the nation.
On that day, we became the largest democracy of the world.
3. The faith and
commitment of people gave life to our Constitution and our founding
fathers, wisely and carefully, steered the new nation past its troubles
of being a poor economy with huge regional imbalances and a vast
citizenry deprived of even basic necessities.
4. It goes to the
credit of the strong institutions of democracy built by our founders
that for the last six and a half decades, Indian democracy has been an
oasis of stability in the region troubled by unrest. From a population
of 360 million in 1951, we are now a 1.3 billion strong nation. Even
then, our per capita income has shown a ten-fold increase, poverty ratio
has declined by two-thirds, average life expectancy has more than
doubled, and literacy rate has shown a four-fold increase. We are today
the fastest growing amongst the major economies of the world. We are the
second largest reservoir of scientific and technical manpower, the
third largest army, the sixth member of the nuclear club, the sixth
member in the race for space, and the tenth largest industrial power.
From a net food grains importing country, India is now a leading
exporter of food commodities. The journey so far has been eventful,
sometimes painful, but most of the times, exhilarating.
5. What has
brought us thus far will take us further ahead. But we will have to
learn to adjust our sails, quickly and deftly, to the winds of change.
Evolutionary and incremental growth will have to accommodate rapid
disruptions brought in by advances of science and technology.
Innovation, more so inclusive innovation, will have to become a way of
life. Education will have to keep pace with technology. In the race
between man and machine, the winner will have to be job generation. The
velocity of technology adoption will call for a workforce that is
willing to learn and adapt. Our education system will have to join hands
with innovation to prepare our youth for life-long learning.
Fellow citizens:
6. Our economy has been performing
well despite the challenging global economic conditions. In the first
half of 2016-17, it grew at a rate of 7.2 percent – same as that last
year – showing sustained recovery. We are firmly on the path of fiscal
consolidation and our inflation level is within comfort zone. Though our
exports are yet to pick up, we have managed a stable external sector
with sizeable foreign exchange reserves.
7. Demonetization, while
immobilizing black money and fighting corruption, may have led to
temporary slowdown of economic activity. As more and more transactions become cashless, it will improve the transparency of the economy.
Brothers and sisters:
8. Born in
independent India, three generations of citizens do not carry the
baggage of colonial past. These generations have had the privilege of
acquiring education, pursuing opportunities and chasing dreams in a free
nation. This sometimes makes it easy for them to take freedom for
granted; to forget the price that extraordinary men and women paid to
win this freedom; to forget that the tree of freedom needs constant care
and nourishment. Democracy has conferred rights on each one of us. But
along with these rights, come responsibilities which have to be
discharged. Gandhiji said and I quote: “The highest form of
freedom carries with it the greatest measure of discipline and humility.
Freedom that comes from discipline and humility cannot be denied;
unbridled license is a sign of vulgarity injurious alike to self and
others” (unquote).
Fellow citizens:
9. Youth today are brimming with
hope and aspirations. They pursue their life goals, which they perceive
will bring them fame, success and happiness, with single-minded
devotion. They consider happiness as their existential objective, which
of course is understandable. They search for happiness in the highs and
lows of day-to-day emotions, and in the fulfilment of the objectives
they have set for themselves. They look for a job as well as a purpose
in life. Lack of opportunities leads to frustration and unhappiness
which manifests itself in anger, anxiety, stress and aberrations in
behaviour. This has to be dealt with by inculcating pro-social behaviour
through gainful employment, active engagement with community, parental
guidance, and empathetic response from a caring society.
Brothers and sisters:
10. One of my predecessors left on my table a framed quotation which reads (and I quote): “The object of government in peace and in war is not the glory of rulers or races but the happiness of the common man”
(unquote). Happiness is fundamental to the human experience of life.
Happiness is equally the outcome of economic and non-economic
parameters. The quest for happiness is closely tied to sustainable
development, which combines human well-being, social inclusion and
environmental sustainability. We must make happiness and well-being of
our people as the touchstones of public policy.
11. Many of the flagship initiatives of the government have been designed to promote the well-being of the society. The Swachh Bharat Mission aims at a Clean India by 2nd October, 2019 to coincide with the 150th Birth Anniversary of Gandhiji. Increased spending on programmes like MGNREGA is enhancing employment generation to rejuvenate the rural economy. Aadhaar, with its present reach of
over 110 crore people, is helping in direct transfer of benefits,
plugging leakages and improving transparency. The Digital India
programme is creating a knowledge economy through universal provision
of digital infrastructure and platforms for cashless economic
transactions. Initiatives like Start-up India and Atal Innovation Mission are fostering innovation and new-age entrepreneurship. Under the Skill India initiative, the National Skill Development Mission is working on skilling 300 million youth by 2022.
Brothers and sisters:
12. It is my firm
conviction that India’s pluralism and her social, cultural, linguistic
and religious diversity are our greatest strength. Our tradition has
always celebrated the ‘argumentative’ Indian; not the ‘intolerant’
Indian. Multiple views, thoughts and philosophies have competed with
each other peacefully for centuries in our country. A wise and
discerning mind is necessary for democracy to flourish. More than the
unison of ideas, a healthy democracy calls for conformity to the values
of tolerance, patience and respect for others. These values must reside
in the hearts and minds of every Indian; inculcating in them a
temperament of understanding and responsibility.
Fellow citizens:
13. We have a noisy democracy. Yet, we need more and not less of democracy. The strength of our democracy is evidenced by the fact that over 66 percent of the total electorate
of 834 million voted in the 2014 General Elections. The depth and
breadth of our democracy sparkles in the regular elections being held in
our panchayati raj institutions. And yet, our legislatures lose sessions to
disruptions when they should be debating and legislating on issues of
importance. Collective efforts must be made to bring the focus back to
debate, discussion and decision-making.
14. As our Republic enters her
sixty-eighth year, we must acknowledge that our systems are not perfect.
The imperfections have to be recognized and rectified. The settled
complacencies have to be questioned. The edifice of trust has to be
strengthened. The time is also ripe for a constructive debate on
electoral reforms and a return to the practice of the early decades
after independence when elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies were
held simultaneously. It is for the Election Commission to take this
exercise forward in consultation with political parties.
Fellow citizens:
15. In a fiercely competitive world, we have to work harder than ever to redeem the promises that we make to our people.
o We have to work harder because our war on poverty is not
yet over. Our economy is yet to grow at over 10 percent for an extended
period of time to make a significant dent on poverty. One-fifth of our
countrymen still remain below poverty line. Gandhiji’s mission to wipe
every tear from every eye still remains unfulfilled.
o We have to work harder to provide food security to our
people and to make the agriculture sector resilient to the vagaries of
nature. We have to provide better amenities and opportunities to our
people in villages to ensure a decent quality of life.
o We have to work harder to provide enhanced employment
opportunities to our youth through the creation of world-class
manufacturing and services sectors. The competitiveness of the domestic
industry has to be improved by focusing on quality, productivity and
efficiency.
o We have to work harder to
provide safety and security to our women and children. Women must be
able to lead their lives with honour and dignity. Children must be able
to enjoy their childhood to the fullest.
o We have to work harder to change our consumption pattern
which has resulted in environmental and ecological de-gradation. We have
to appease nature to prevent it from unleashing its fury in the form of
floods, landslides and droughts.
o We have to work harder because our pluralistic culture
and tolerance are still being put to test by vested interests. Reason
and moderation should be our guide in dealing with such situations.
o We have to work harder to keep at bay the dark forces of
terrorism. These forces have to be dealt with firmly and decisively. The
forces inimical to our interests cannot be allowed to grow.
o We have to work harder to ensure the well-being of our soldiers and security personnel who protect us from internal and external threats.
And,
o We have to work harder because;
We are all equal children before our mother;
And our motherland asks each of us in whatever role we play;
To do our duty;
With integrity, commitment and unflinching loyalty;
To the values enshrined in our Constitution.
Jai Hind!
