Time to widen idea of independence: President Kovind

NEWDELHI: At a time when there is a growing debate on questions of identity, being Indian and incidents of lynching and violence, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday said the country is at the cusp of achieving many longawaited goals and should not get distracted by “contentious issues and extraneous debates.”

In a televised address to the nation on the eve of India’s 72nd Independence Day, Kovind also outlined a new concept of citizenship.

Every citizen will be upholding the principles of the freedom struggle if he or she simply does his or her duty with sincerity and commitment, fulfills personal and professional obligations, keeps promises, does not jump queues and respects the civic space and rights of others ahead in the line, he said.

The President also spoke about how the “power of ahinsa (non -violence)” espoused by Mahat–ma Gandhi was far greater than the “power of hinsa (violence)” in an apparent reference to growing incidents of lynching and violence in parts of the country.

“The power to stay your hand is far greater than the power to strike with your hand and hinsa has no place in the society,”

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The power to stay your hand is far greater than the power to strike with your hand and hinsa has no place in the society RAM NATH KOVIND , president

Kovind, 72, said.

The President said Indianness is not for us alone. “It is part of what our country and our civilization bring to the global stage,” he said. Kovind also spoke about the contribution made by various segments of society including farmers, armed forces, police, paramilitary forces and women in nation building.

The President spoke at length on women’s empowerment. Stressing the role of women in society, Kovind said that as a nation, India must ensure that they have the right and the ability to exercise their choices.

“The expansion of freedom in our country in many senses amounts to the expansion of freedom for women in our country…..whether we see them as mothers, sisters, daughters or simply as women who are entitled to a life of their choosing and deserving of the opportunity and the security to fulfil their potential,” Kovind said.

The choice, Kovind said, is theirs. “As a nation and as a society we must ensure that they have the right aand the ability to exercise that choice.”

In his second Independence Day-eve address to the nation, Kovind also highlighted the role of farmers in providing food security to fellow citizens and the contribution by the country’s armed and police forces in battling terrorism and ensuring law and order.

Talking about the big flagship programmes of the government, the President emphasized that citizens should use the programmes and projects to further individual efforts. “Let us make that sense of ownership our motivation,” he said.

Citing the example of the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, Kovind said the scheme was taking seven flagship programmes to the doorsteps of the poorest and the most deprived among citizens and helping raise the quality of life of the historically weaker communities such as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.