President Droupadi Murmu: Amrit Kaal of 25 years awaits India
Greets nation, Indian missions abroad, and the Indian diaspora on the eve of 76th Independence Day
India's success in democracy is a cause of celebration for every advocate of democracy around the world, said President Murmu in her address to nation on the eve of India's Independence Day
Recollecting the hardships that generations of Indians had to face since the country’s independence, the recently elected President Droupadi Murmu said the great challenges faced by the previous generations will help India reap the benefits as it moves towards 2047, when it will complete 100 years of independence.
Murmu said, “For a nation, particularly an ancient one such as India, the passage of 75 years is merely a blink of an eye. But for us as individuals, it is a lifetime.”
“Senior citizens among us have witnessed a dramatic change in their lifetime. They have seen how, after Independence, all the generations have toiled hard; how we met great challenges and how we have taken charge of our destiny.”
“The lessons learnt in the process will prove useful as we move towards the next milestone in the journey of the nation – the Amrit Kaal, the 25 years to the celebration of the centenary of our Independence”, said Murmu.
She added that by 2047, India would have realised its true potential.
Murmu also mentioned that 14 August is observed as “Partition Horrors Remembrance Day”, the day India saw its rich and fertile land mass usurped by a greedy few – both on its western and eastern fronts. A chicken neck was all that was allowed to connect India to its seven sister states in the east as the erstwhile East Pakistan (Bangladesh) refused to give a sea link.
Most of the affluent families in Pakistan (both East and West) had to leave everything behind to their servants and friends, most of whom had picked up daggers with an eye on their wealth. Thousands of rich families turned into paupers when they arrived India. But they were lucky, considering the remaining Hindus saw rape, pillage and murder which is perhaps the most gruesome in world history. India has remained secular and democratic despite several challenges while Pakistan and Bangladesh, which started off in a much better position have always remained embroiled with domestic issues despite being Islamic nations.
Murmu said that while India’s Independence Day on 15 August is a cause of celebration for Indians, it is also for every advocate of democracy around the world. She said, “When India won independence, there were many international leaders and experts who were skeptical about the success of democratic form of government in India. They had their reasons to be doubtful. In those days, democracy was limited to economically advanced nations. India, after so many years of exploitation at the hands of foreign rulers, was marked by poverty and illiteracy. But we Indians proved the skeptics wrong. Democracy not only grew roots in this soil, it was enriched too.”
Murmu highlighted the importance of unity in diversity, ie, “Bharatiyata”. “Our country is full of diversity. But, at the same time, we all have something in common. It is this common thread which binds all of us together and inspires us to walk together with the spirit of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat,” she said.
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