Independence Day: President Ram Nath Kovind remembers Mahatma Gandhi
President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday addressed the nation on the eve of the 72nd Independence Day. Remembering freedom fighters, he stressed on the need to fulfil their dreams for the country. He said the women of the country should be given opportunities to realise their full potential. President Kovind paid tribute to farmers and soldiers for their contribution to the nation. President Kovind said the country has the opportunity to improve the living standard of people who are on the lowest level of social and economic pyramid. President Ram Nath Kovind remembered Mahatma Gandhi and said he was the moral guide of the nation.
Here are the highlights of President Ram Nath Kovind's address:
We can and we must do this together. The government has a leading role but not the sole role. Let us use the government's programmes and projects to further our own efforts. Let us make that sense of ownership our motivation
Together we can help every citizen in our country. Together we can conserve our forests and natural heritage, safeguard our monuments for future generations, renew our rural and urban habitats. Together, we can eliminate poverty, illiteracy and inequality
The outcome of education is not merely a degree or a diploma, but the commitment to help improve the life of another in a way that is sustainable
Our Indianness is not for us alone. It is part of what our country and our civilisation bring to the global stage. In the spirit of Gandhiji and the spirit of India, we believe in the age-old ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam or the "World is one Family"
We are at a pivotal moment. Let contentious issues and extraneous debates not distract us
I would argue that every Indian who does not jump the queue and respects the civic space and rights of those ahead in the line also lives up to the principles of our freedom struggle.
By building capacities for skilling and scholarship; for tech and entrepreneurship; for playing music and producing mobile apps, we are harnessing the unlimited human capital of our youth.
This is true 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
Women have a special role in our society. The expansion of freedom in our country in many senses amounts to the expansion of freedom for women in our country
In doing this, they are upholding our civic freedom. As we improve their professional and personal conditions, we live up to the principles of our freedom struggle
Our police and paramilitary forces take on a variety of challenges. In battling terrorism, in fighting crime and law and order disturbances, or even in helping ordinary citizens by holding their hands while they cross a flooded street
As we give them better weapons and equipment, build supply chains for such equipment in India itself, or ensure welfare benefits for our soldiers, we live up to the principles of our freedom struggle
Our Armed Forces stand guard valiantly on our borders, up in the cruel climate of the mountains or under the blazing sun, or in the skies or at sea. They are upholding our freedom by ensuring security from external threats
As we assist our farmers by providing access to technology and other facilities for enhanced productivity and enhanced incomes, we live up to the principles of our freedom struggle
Our farmers grow food for tens of thousands of fellow citizens whom they have not individually met and will never meet. They are upholding our freedom by ensuring food security and nutrition for our children
Freedom is a constant and relentless endeavour. Even decades after 1947, each one of us can contribute in the manner of a freedom fighter. We can do so if we expand the frontiers of freedom and of opportunity for our fellow Indians and our beloved India
- If we define freedom in narrow, political terms, then August 15, 1947, marks a closure. It was the day the political struggle against an imperial power culminated in success & in our Independence Day. But freedom is a broader concept. It is not fixed and finite
- They came from all regions of the country, all sections of society. They could have compromised and settled for some personal benefit, but they did not. Their commitment to India - to a free, sovereign, plural and egalitarian India - was absolute
- Freedom came to our country on the Midnight of August 14-15, 1947. It was the result of years and decades and centuries of sacrifice and valour on the part of our ancestors and our revered freedom fighters. These were men and women of rare courage and foresight
- Our Tricolor is a symbol of our national pride. It is a constant reminder of our striving and self-belief. This is a day to look back with satisfaction & gratitude for what we have been able to achieve due to the efforts of successive generations of our elders
- We have the opportunity to improve the living standard of countrymen who are on the lowest level of social and economic pyramid. The government and the society are together running Gram Swaraj scheme.
- Gandhiji not only led the struggle for freedom, but he was our moral guide and he will always remain so.
- Goals like electricity for all, freedom from open defecation, houses for the poor, and poverty alleviation are in our reach now.
- When we provide financial resources to the startups run by women, and when we provide LPG connections to crores of houses, we make the India of freedom fighters' dreams
- Women of the country must get a safe environment and opportunities to live their lives according to their will and put their capabilities to proper use.
- Women of the country have a special role in our society.
- Our police and paramilitary forces face several type of challenges. They fight terrorism and control crime to maintain law and order of the country.
- Our soldiers ensure our freedom by securing us from external threats.
- Our farmers produce grains for crores of people, who they have never met before. They empower our freedom by providing us food security and nourishment.
- Our independence is the result of the sacrifices of our ancestors and freedom fighters
- Independence Day is a sacred day for the people of the country